An artist rendering of the site for the high school and multi-use rec centre. (Supplied by Town of Coaldale)

By David Opinko

Coaldale council takes action as rec centre costs rise to over $18-million

Jan 20, 2022 | 1:04 PM

COALDALE, AB – The Town of Coaldale is doing its part to mitigate the impacts of the rising costs for its new multi-purpose recreation centre.

During a special council meeting on Monday, it was outlined that the facility is now expected to cost a few million dollars more than what was originally anticipated.

Back in September 2021, it was estimated that the rec centre would cost the town $14,139,167. By December, that increased to $15,575,000 based on the first two tenders that had been received.

Now, the Town has amended the total project budget to $18,879,607 inclusive of contingency.

“We have to be fair to former council,” says Mayor Jack Van Rijn, “like this is not their fault. This is 100 per cent the fault of the times we are living in now based around COVID.”

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Thanks to supply chain issues and several surrounding problems, the cost of structural steel for the facility has increased by 21 per cent, electrical work by 26 per cent, and mechanical by 32 per cent.

READ MORE: Contractor selected for new high school/rec centre in Coaldale

Van Rijn says council discussed the possibility of putting the rec centre on pause for a few years, but as it is a joint project with the town’s new high school, it would actually be more expensive to delay it.

The Town estimates that doing so would result in the rec centre increasing in price to around $25-million since it would need all new systems that are currently set to be shared with the school.

With the new estimates, the municipality now has a budget gap of $3,129,607 for the rec centre.

Council approved a few measures at Monday’s meeting to help alleviate that.

They will hire a professional grant writer who would submit applications for funding from the provincial and federal governments.

The town will increase the fundraising goal in the Coaldale Strong campaign from $1-million to $2-million.

Unallocated funds of $1,387,000 from the 2022 MSI Capital & Canada Community Building Fund will be dedicated to the rec centre.

Finally, as a last resort, council will prepare a $1,742,607 borrowing bylaw that would only be used to cover overages if needed in 2024.

“The saving grace in all of this, talking all these high numbers, is that the vast majority of these funds will not be required until 2024. That gives us three years to look for grants and look for funding opportunities, and if need be, we can take on a debenture.”

More details from Monday’s special meeting can be found here. You can also watch a video of Van Rijn discussing the highlights of the meeting and council’s decisions below.