(Editor's note: This story has been updated with more accurate financial numbers; the rest of the story remains the same).
It will cost $26,448.16 more than expected to build a new marquee sign for the Moose Jaw Cultural Centre, since an engineered frame is required to hold the sign to the wall.
The cost of the project is $69,448.16. Of this, $24,813.05 excluding taxes will come from the Cultural Centre’s large equipment reserve to cover the sign replacement, while $44,635.11 including taxes will come from the parks and recreation department budget to cover the frame’s structural improvements.
During its July 8 regular meeting, council voted 6-1 to approve the costs for the project. Coun. Brian Swanson was opposed.
Background
The parks department began planning for the replacement of only the marquee sign in 2016 with a budget of $43,000, explained Scott Osmachenko, recreation services manager. The sign’s design was not completed in 2016, so the project was carried into 2017, wherein September council gave approval to the final design.
The project was awarded to Brysen Steady Metal Works in October 2017, with the marquee sign to be made of steel that was sandblasted and powder coated so it was long-lasting, resistant to corrosion, durable and suitable for outdoor use. The sign project was carried into 2018 with a cost of $24,814.05.
An analysis of the structural steel frame was completed in late May 2018 to determine if it could accommodate the size and weight of the new sign, Osmachenko continued. The results showed the existing frame structure did not meet national building code standards and $43,000 was required to update the frame.
The parks department used some of the remaining budget to complete the structural drawings for a new frame. Once that occurred, the project was put on hold since there was not enough funding to complete the required frame alterations.
The department asked for an extra $13,500 during the 2019 capital budget deliberations to complete the project, which it received. The department then awarded the alterations project to Brysen for $44,635.11.
This puts the frame project itself over budget by $1,635.11.
Osmachenko noted this past May, the parks department met with the Cultural Centre board to discuss a separate project, where the department learned the organization had funding of $44,799.51 available to replace the marquee sign in its large equipment reserve. Parks department officials later approached the board to see if it was willing to fund a portion of the project — $24,813.05 — through its reserve; the board said yes.
He added that due to staff turnover at the Cultural Centre and within the parks department, the organization’s large equipment reserve account was somehow overlooked before the project was approved in 2016.
Council discussion
“I remember well the budget discussion around replacing the original sign. It was not a short debate,” said Coun. Heather Eby. She continued by saying that, in hindsight, it would have been better to conduct a structural analysis of the frame before the sign was built.
“I am in favour of the project being completed,” she added. “It will be lovely and great. But I hope in the future we can follow a better process.”
Osmachenko agreed, acknowledging that the analysis on the frame was completed after the sign was finished.
There has been major staff turnover at the Cultural Centre during the last year or so, pointed out Coun. Dawn Luhning. Now that a new general manager and staff team are in place, along with the fact regular meetings are happening with the finance department around the equipment reserve, she hoped such financial accounts were no longer overlooked in the future.
The next regular council meeting is July 22.
