Summer holiday plans at the Sunshine Coast Regional District are colliding with the debate over the "shocking" estimate of $3.6 million for renovation of the SCRD's new offices on Field Road.
The July 29 meeting of the SCRD board was the last scheduled meeting before September. John Rees, regional director for Pender Harbour, insisted the board should meet as soon as possible to make final design decisions and cut that budget as much as possible. He proposed the SCRD put aside plans to recess for the month of August and push forward with the renovation planning.
"We won't be certain of fixed costs until we go to tender. We won't tender until we decide options," said Rees. "I think we would be negligent for the next six weeks if we held the process that long. Instead of a September start date, we'd be backing up into October, November, December."
Rees said because construction costs are rising quickly, any more delays will push the total cost higher.
Bernie Mulligan, director for West Howe Sound, also insisted the board has to cut the budget for renovations closer to an earlier $2 million estimate.
"If we don't, we'll be moving in that building just as it is," said Mulligan. "I've just about had to disconnect my phone at home because of citizens calling and opposing $3 million plus."
Adrian Belshaw, director for Roberts Creek, did not agree that an August meeting was necessary.
"I think we've earned that summer holiday, every single one of us," said Belshaw. "For me, a vacation is not a luxury. I will not attend any meetings in August."
After some heated debate, directors voted to call a special board meeting to review the cost figures, but did not set a date for that meeting.
Rees proposed adopting all the cost-saving measures suggested by project manager John Hiebert of Task Construction Management. Those cuts total about $650,000, including an estimated $250,000 savings from rejecting a planned geothermal heating system and instead using a more conventional heating system.
John Marian, director for Halfmoon Bay, was adamant that the board should stick to its plans to dig a test hole to look for the groundwater required by the geothermal system, then calculate the "life cycle cost" to see if the higher initial expenditure for geothermal would be paid back by energy savings in the long term.
But Rees said there was no point in looking at the life cycle cost for geothermal heating, and he believed the test hole was a needless expense. He said there is no possibility that the SCRD will recoup the initial cost because it will be mortgaging the heating system, not paying cash. With interest, it would cost around $600,000 over 20 years and wear out long before it paid for itself, said Rees.
"We should be going with what we can afford today a conventional air system," said Rees.
Rees is retired from a career as a quantity surveyor, or professional estimator, specializing in the electrical industry. He worked on many well-known Vancouver developments, including the Block 5161 provincial courthouses, Pacific Centre and the Four Seasons hotel. He questioned the accuracy of the project manager's $3.6 million estimate only a few months after the architect's own quantity surveyor estimated the cost at $2.4 million.
"It's true, material costs have been escalating but I can't make the connection," said Rees.
SCRD finance director John France, who was away on vacation when the project manager's estimate came in, also said that budget estimate "warrants further investigation."
Rees and France both described the $3.6 estimate from the project manager as a shock.
