IQALUIT
Iqaluit's $40-million aquatic centre will be built by a local company, Kudlik Construction, which submitted the lowest of five competitive bids. Council approved Kudlik's $29,636,800 bid for the construction portion of the project Nov. 25.

Iqaluit aquatic centre project manager Pierre Meredith updated city council on the project Nov. 25, presenting Kudlik Construction as the lowest bidder for the project. Kudlik's winning bid was almost $30 million. - Casey Lessard/NNSL photo

"We were pleased with the number of bids that came in," the city's director of recreation, Amy Elgersma, told Nunavut News/North. "There was quite a bit of interest in the project."

Despite being the lowest, Kudlik's bid pushes the construction portion costs $998,260 higher than budgeted.

The project management team will work with Kudlik to find $100,000 in savings, project manager Pierre Meredith of MHPM Project Managers told council.

The Kudlik portion adds to costs incurred to hire Canadrill, which drilled 305 piles down to the bedrock this past summer, at a final cost of $1,195,360. The total predicted construction bill sits at $31.36 million, and the city has increased its contingency to $1.81 million.

The city predicts overruns in construction and consultancy fees to the tune of $1.7 million. A 2012 referendum gave the city permission to borrow up to $40 million for the project, so any overruns have to be countered by savings elsewhere.

Along the way, the city has been able to shave costs. The land purchase price, at $1.74 million, was $200,000 less than budgeted. The rest of the overrun will have to be offset by savings on soft costs, such as financing fees, design fees, project management, studies and reports, furniture, fixtures and equipment, Elgersma said.

"Some choices have been made to make some responsible reductions," she told Nunavut News/North. "I don't see any negative impact to the public or the users of the facility by doing this."

Kudlik will not hit the ground until the contract is signed, a process hindered by delays in finalizing the loan agreement with the Bank of Montreal, Elgersma told council.

"The lawyers are in an intense review of the documents and we expect that should be signed off and completed shortly," she said.

"We're about to enter into a $30-million contract with somebody when we don't have the funding available?" asked councillor Kenny Bell, who opposes the project. "Doesn't sound like a bright idea to me."

Elgersma said no contract would be signed until the lawyers are done their review and the financing is secured.

Outside of the city's commitment, Elgersma leads the REACH campaign, which aims to raise $3 million for the project.

"We're about $380,000 right now, and I'm expecting to be at $400,000 by Dec. 31," she said. The city's event of the year, a charity ball Nov. 29, is raising money for the project. "By the end of 2015, I am hoping we'll have achieved $1 million."

The aquatic centre is on track to open by Nov. 1, 2016, she said.

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