With the new city hall an additional $400,000 over budget, City of West Kelowna staff are nailing down the final details for the new building.
Since the last update to council on Nov. 14, delays from BC Hydro, increased costs for siding, and ongoing litigation matters have also contributed to putting pressure on the revised project budget.
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The projected cost in Nov. was $22.39 million. It has been revised to $22.79 million. The original budget was $18 million.
Construction on the project began in Sept. 2021 but saw approximately nine months of delays.
Staff recommended the $400,000 deficit could be made up through the Growing Communities Fund or operating surplus.
Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, Trevor Seibel, told council at its Feb. 27 meeting that staff are dealing with a couple of key risks being mitigated to keep work on schedule.
They include integrated testing of mechanical and electrical systems, required under the BC Building Code, which wasn’t thoroughly vetted initially.
“We came together quickly to map out exactly the requirements of what that meant under the code…we have a schedule now.”
The other issue pertains to the installation of communications systems by Telus and Shaw which Seibel added has also been worked out.
Seibel said he expects the city will have access to the building by the end of March.
“That’s just to be able to start setting things up. The public occupancy is when we can bring people into the building, and that will be several weeks after, as there is a transition plan being built.”
The new city hall will house West Kelowna city administration, Okanagan Regional, a Member of the Legislative Assembly and Member of Parliament, Service BC, and ICBC.
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