By Andrew de Souza

Council passes higher Field House budget, rejects irrigation

Dec 15, 2010 | 9:39 AM

The cost of necessary upgrades to the Alfred Jenkins Field House has been approved by city council, but what wasn’t approved was the plan to irrigate the outdoor soccer fields.

On Monday, councillors debated cost overruns at the facility as well as the proposal to spend approximately $80,000 to irrigate the outdoor soccer pitches in order to get them up to Class “A” standards.

In a recorded vote, councillors Charlene Miller, Lee Atkinson, Jayne Remenda and Cheryl Ring voted against the irrigation system. It was enough to split the vote and cause the motion to fail.

Counc. Atkinson said he didn’t like how the Field House was being put in front of any number of other areas in the city that could be improved.

“This is not a priority,” said Atkinson. “We’d like it to be finished because it would look really nice.”

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“To me, if we need this money, it should be factored into all the needs the city has.”

After the irrigation addition was voted down, council voted on the cost overruns the Field House had accrued over its construction, a cost of $522,475 mostly from necessary upgrades that were discovered after the facility was put into use.

According to a report from the city manager's office, the additional costs include about $290,000 for construction overruns such as anti-graffiti coating, netting to protect lights and sprinkler systems, and handrail modifications. $71,000 was needed for exercise equipment, office equipment, and to complete the concession area and about $48,000 will be allocated to engineering fees.

In a recorded vote, councillors Cheryl Ring, Miller and Atkinson voted against the increase, but the motion passed.

The additional cost will be added to the Capital Projects Levy a special tax paid by homeowners. The addition cost means homeowners will see the levy on their bills for an addition year.

adesouza@panow.com