The Sunshine Coast Regional District board has cut almost $800,000 from the budget for renovating and expanding its new office building on Field Road.
On Sept. 2 the board approved a construction budget of $2.95 million, including about $45,000 for new furniture and computers.
At the meeting, there was little debate among SCRD directors before they voted to approve the budget and let the work begin. The aim is to complete the renovation by the spring of 2005.
John Marian, director for Halfmoon Bay, said the cost estimates for millwork looked expensive, such as $32,000 for a 36-foot-long counter with cabinets underneath for the planning department. John Rees, director for Pender Harbour and Egmont, said "the numbers received in the last six to eight months are very confusing." However, Rees added, "I have a feeling we will see considerable cost savings as this is tendered, provided we have local people bidding."
In July, the budget estimate for renovating the former Ministry of Forests office and building a 6,000-square-foot addition added up to $3.6 million. A staff report said the $1.3 million increase in the budget estimate since February "was not due to an increase in project scope, but rather it was due to price escalations in the construction industry over the period February to July and the refinement in the design details over the same period."
To reduce that $3.6 million budget, which had come as an unwelcome shock, the board scrapped some features and scrimped on others. The roof will be shingle rather than metal, the door and window frames steel rather than wood, the carpet less expensive. The board also agreed to more minimalist landscaping and a simpler upgrade for the old building's electrical system.Scrapping the planned geothermal heating system in favour of conventional heating will save about $274,000. Part of that savings will go to replace some older heating equipment and duct work. The project manager said there is not enough ground water flow to make the geothermal system viable.
Another proposed cost saving, replacing individual offices with an open plan, proved unworkable because the interior walls were necessary for earthquake proofing.
The SCRD has about $1.2 million cash in hand to start paying for the project. The board plans to borrow the rest from the Municipal Finance Authority over a 20-year term at an annual interest rate of 5.75 per cent. To repay the loan at that rate, property taxes will be about 3.5 per cent higher in 2005 than they were in 2003.
Rather than going to referendum to get approval for the loan, the regional district will use an alternative approval process. That means if more than 10 per cent of eligible voters sign a petition opposing the loan, the SCRD will not be able to borrow for the 20-year term. In that case, the plan is to borrow the money over a five-year term, which does not require approval from citizens. That would mean property taxes would increase about nine per cent in 2005.
Not included in the $2.95 million renovation budget is about $52,000 in financing charges, of which about $30,000 will be refunded in 20 years when the loan is paid off. As well, the budget does not cover $131,356 in rent for temporary office space.
