Canada Games volleyball courts to cost Paradise 800K
By Mark Squibb
Taxpayers in the Town of Paradise will be on the hook for over $800,000 for the preparation of volleyball courts in advance of the 2025 Summer Games.
Council this week ratified a July 25 e-mail vote to award the construction contract of four volleyball courts in the southeast corner of Paradise Park to lone bidder Modern Paving Limited in the amount of $399,786, HST included. This cost is in addition to the $360,000 worth of sand council purchased last December to fill those courts.
Additionally, council this week approved an increase in engineering fees associated with the project.
The current engineering contract amount was valued at $32,340, plus HST, but councillor Patrick Martin explained that Allnorth Consultants Ltd., forecasted an actual total cost of $51,517, plus HST, an increase of about $19,000, to complete the design of the project. Factoring in HST, the increase amounts to $22,077.
Councillor Larry Vaters asked about the need to increase the budget, and what additional work council can expect from it.
Martin explained the scope of work hasn’t changed, and that the level of effort required was greater than what staff had estimated.
“I was just trying to get a sense of, if we’re going to be spending more, are we getting more out of it, or is it the same amount of work and they just need more time to achieve what they’re trying to achieve?” said Vaters.
That would prove to be the last word on the matter and council moved on without further discussion.
Construction on the courts began on August 5 and will take approximately four weeks. During construction, the beach volleyball courts, the dog park, and the small parking lot within Paradise Park will be closed to all users. The splash pad, accessible playground, temporary baseball fields, concession stand, and bandstand will remain open, although folks will have to park at the Double Ice Complex.
Councillor Patrick Martin noted that several questions were raised during the e-poll debate, which occurred July 24 and July 25. The questions, said Martin, were addressed prior to the vote. The motion carried unanimously.
Martin said the completion of the courts, the only ones in the province to meet national standards, will enable Paradise to host further national tournaments.