Creston City Council has decided to refer decisions around the construction budget of the Creston Emergency Services Building to 2022.
This decision also includes pushing back options for the existing Fire Hall.
City staff said the recommendation was made due to material supply issues brought about by COVID-19, increasing the construction budget.
“While this is not an optimal situation, it is not completely unexpected,” said Mayor Ron Toyota. “Cost increases are being experienced in the construction industry across North America due to extremely limited product supply.”
“There’s no way around the fact that COVID has impacted the cost and supply of all goods, and there is no data to suggest that costs and supply will improve anytime soon. We can only plan with the best information that we have right now,” he added.
Construction of the new building is already well underway on Cook Street.
“We’re extremely pleased to see the building taking shape, with the foundation, walls, and roof in place,” added Mayor Toyota. “We are looking forward to the completion of this new facility that we can all be proud of.”
“The areas where we are seeing the greatest cost increases are mechanical (approximately $400k higher than anticipated), concrete supply (approximately $300K higher than anticipated), openings (windows, doors, etc. approximately $200K higher than anticipated) and finishes (approximately $150K higher than anticipated),” said Michael Moore, Chief Administrative Officer.
“We have also made considerable modifications to reduce costs wherever possible through changing products and methodologies. Since March, we have reduced $500,000 in costs through value engineering, and we will continue this process. Now that the majority of tenders for the big-ticket items are in, we can more accurately plan for completion at the best possible price and value for our community.”
The current funding model for the project includes 29 per cent of the project cost coming from the RDCK and 15 per cent of the construction cost coming from BC Ambulance, as well as potential revenue from the sale of the existing Fire Hall and Ambulance Station.
“We are so close to this building being finished and move-in ready. Council continues to be committed to completing this project to ensure we can meet the health and safety needs of our first responders, while minimizing financial impact to our community,” Mayor Toyota stated.
The project is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2022.
This story was corrected after an error from the reporter.