Riverview recreation centre cost estimate goes up $4M

The preliminary cost estimate to build Riverview's planned recreation centre has risen to $20 million. 

Town staff gave council the new estimate — $4 million more than the figure in budget documents last year — to ensure enough money is earmarked and to account for construction costs when work begins in 2022. 

"We don't know how costs will vary then," Tammy Rampersaud, a Riverview councillor-at-large who sits on a steering committee for the centre, said in an interview last week.

"So we wanted to be realistic."

Design work for the centre isn't finished, so precise cost estimates aren't available yet, she said.

The centre is expected to include an aquatics facility, field house, indoor walking track and rooms for community use. The town cut an ice rink from its plans last year to reduce the cost by $14 million, though it says a future expansion would still be possible.

Rampersaud said the centre will bring people of all ages together. 

"It's an option to maintain a healthy lifestyle and that goes really well with everything else that we're doing in town to be more active and to get to know each other better," she said.

Construction in 2022 and 2023 is expected to take place on land near Mill Creek Park. It would be built off Bridgedale Boulevard, a new street that councillors last week recommended start being built in 2020.

Staff estimate it could cost $5.4 million to build it eastward from Gunningsville Boulevard to Runnymeade Road. The town plans to eventually connect it to Hillsborough Road.

Fundraising groundwork underway

A steering committee, which Rampersaud sits on, was launched earlier this year to lay the groundwork for a $2 million fundraising campaign. 

The town also hopes to secure funds from the federal and provincial governments for construction costs.

"It's going to be awesome to get funding from other levels of government, but we want to be prepared as a town to stand behind this project and fund it as a municipality in its entirety if we have to," Rampersaud said. 

Debt set to rise

The updated figure was included in the town's 10-year capital budget presented to councillors at a committee meeting last week. The document included a note of caution from staff about the town's future debt.

It's debt ratio — a measure of the portion of the budget spent repaying borrowed money — is projected to rise to 16.5 per cent in 2028. That's above the 16 per cent target previously set by council. It budgeted for a ratio of 9.45 per cent this year. 

The report notes that Kim MacPherson, the province's auditor general, recently raised concerns about the level of debt held by municipalities in the province.

Rampersaud said the town has done a good job in recent years paying down its debt. She said council now reviews the long-term spending plan to have conversations about its priorities. 

"I think that our residents should know that we don't make these decisions lightly," Rampersaud said. "And we're still trying to make sure that we're always responsible with our taxpayers' dollars."

Tax hike projected

The town's long-term plan calls for increasing the tax rate by six cents over the next decade, down from 10 cents in the last version.

The recreation centre would be the latest multimillion dollar municipal sports or recreation complex built in the region.

Moncton's Avenir Centre, a venue for a junior hockey team and professional basketball team, opened last September at a cost of $113 million. Dieppe's $31-million UNIplex with two ice sheets and community space is under construction.