The third year of water and sewer infrastructure work is about to begin in the Northland Trailer Park but Mayor Mark Heyck isn't saying if the project remains on budget. - Shane Magee/NNSL photo |
City mum on trailer park budget
Northland work subject of recent closed-door meeting; taxpayers on hook for any cost overruns
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Friday, May 1, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
City hall officials aren't saying whether the multi-million dollar water and sewer construction project at Northland Trailer Park will wrap up on budget, now in its third and final year of construction.
Although the residents of the neighbourhood will pay down the $15.8 million the city borrowed to carry out the work, the city committed to cover extra costs. That means taxpayers will be on the hook for any cost overruns.
"I couldn't say at this point," said Mayor Mark Heyck when Yellowknifer asked for an updated estimate of the cost of the work to replace the water and sewer lines, originally installed when the 258-lot trailer park was built in the 1970s. "I wouldn't want to speculate before the project is completed."
Heyck acknowledged changes to the project during construction could impact the final price tag.
The Northland work was the subject of an in-camera meeting April 13. In-camera meetings are closed to the public and usually deal with financial, legal and personnel issues. The agenda for that day shows one financial and two legal matters were discussed.
"The assessment was that staff can't say what the budget will be until it is complete," a city hall source said about the discussion during the meeting.
Coun. Niels Konge said he has not seen a revised cost for the project.
"I think if it's going over budget I think council should be informed, as should the public," said Konge.
Coun. Dan Wong said he didn't have anything to add until the revised figures come back to council.
Coun. Phil Moon Son said he would have to look into the issue in more detail before commenting.
Coun. Cory Vanthuyne suggested the mayor is reluctant to talk about it because it's still an in-camera matter.
"I'm not in a position to comment," Vanthuyne said. "Matters that are raised in-camera - until we make them available to the public - we are not technically able to talk about them publicly."
As someone who works in the construction industry, he said it's common that additional costs arise beyond what was budgeted for a major project.
"I'll just be happy when it's done and these folks can get back on with living their lives normally," Vanthuyne said.
"I do know if there are any overruns, I believe they will be borne by taxpayers," Coun. Adrian Bell said.
The only councillor Yellowknifer spoke to who seemed to know more was Bob Brooks, arguably the project's greatest champion on the previous council in 2012.
Because he pushed for the project, he's paid particularly close attention to how it has unfolded, he said.
"From what I've heard it's going to be fairly close to what we envisioned it would be," Brooks said. "As far as costs go, everything I've seen is within acceptable parameters. However, like I said, we don't have the final numbers yet and I'm not sure when the final numbers will be."
The amount borrowed by the city includes a 20 per cent contingency for cost overruns.
The project's cost will be repaid through what's known as a local improvement charge over 25 years.
A memorandum of understanding with the Condo Corporation No. 8 board - which governs Northland - signed in May 2012 states that even if the cost increases, the monthly cost to each unit in the neighbourhood would not exceed $358.
That means above that point, taxpayers cover extra costs. Northland residents start paying the fee once the work is completed.
The total cost will be tallied and presented to council once the project is complete, which is expected to be September, the mayor said.
When Yellowknifer sought to clarify whether the project remained on budget in March, Chris Greencorn, the city's director of public works and engineering, declined to comment.
RTL Robinson Enterprises Ltd. was awarded the contract to install the new pipes under the roads in 2013. The water and sewer pipes will be the city's responsibility to maintain. The old pipes will be filled with material and left in place.
Asked what complaints, if any, the city has heard about the work, Heyck said there's been nothing beyond what's expected from a large-scale project.
"It's a challenging environment to live in when the roads in your neighbourhood have been torn up for three years, but this was a project that desperately needed to be done and at the end of the day, the residents of Northland and the city itself are going to benefit from having this project completed," Heyck said.
The president of the Northland Trailer Park condo association says residents are excited by what's expected to be the final year of water and sewer work in the neighbourhood.
"The end of the project is in sight and we can look forward to a more settled and more positive community to live in," Tamlin Gilbert stated in an e-mail after consulting with the Condo Corporation No. 8 board.
Gilbert said the board is pleased with how the work has gone so far.
There are a few issues that both the city and the contractor have been made aware of, he wrote.
"We are also pleased that RTL have worked tirelessly to keep the project on track," Gilbert wrote.
