Track price tag revealed

by Kate Bouey - CASTANET Apr 6, 2016 / 3:22 pm
The cost of the Greater Vernon Athletics Park, next to Okanagan College's Vernon campus, has been revealed. While the price is more than $1 million over the original estimate, it is slightly below the amended budget, according to staff at the North Okanagan Regional District. “The final cost of the facility was $8,588,316,” said Stephen Banmen, NORD's general manager of finance. “The amended budget was $8,605,000.” A 2013 referendum gave NORD approval to borrow $7.53 million for the project which then suffered cost overruns. In 2015, a further $735,000 was added to the budget. Later that year, another $340,000 was added so that showers could be added to the change rooms. The huge increase in the cost of the track project has been blamed on the “dramatic cost escalation in market conditions for building construction” as well as the unanticipated excavation of poor soils from the north-east corner of property not identified during the original geotechnical analysis and related costs. Banmen also said debt issue costs of $120,480 were not factored into the budget. “The project was tendered in stages over 2013 to 2015. In the end, seven major tenders and requests for proposals were awarded for the main components of the project, including design, site grading, civil work, running track, artificial turf field, amenities building and bleachers.” Some minor work on the site still continues. Due to “a couple of deficiencies” related to the civil works and the running track contracts, the district is holding on to $118,000. The running track and sports field officially opened to the public last September.