Sandwich roundabout, flooding project to cost millions more than planned

Unexpected costs have put the Sandwich Street roundabout and the Flooding Abatement Measures project over budget by more than $4 million combined, according to projections in a report to council.

According to the semi-annual capital variance report, which is in the agenda for the next council meeting, the roundabout project reflects a deficit of $1,182,406 and the Flooding Abatement Measures project reflects a deficit of $3,600,000.

City engineer Mark Winterton said the reason for the deficit on the flooding project is because of the huge uptake from residents in the basement flooding subsidy program. 

"I think this is a sign that our word is getting out, and people are taking advantage of the opportunity to help protect their homes from basement flooding," he said. 

"It's a sign that people are taking this issue seriously."

More applications than before

The program received 7,300 applications between Jan. 1, 2017 and Nov.13, 2018. That's 4,550 applications more than what was received between 2012 and 2016.

According to the report, recommendations will be put forward in partnership with the 2019 Sewer Surcharge budget to address outstanding applications and funding that would be required to keep the program going into next year.

Winterton said with the budget, the city will look at whether it'll need to re-prioritize or adjust the sewer surcharge rate to try and address the deficit.

Archeological engagement process

As for the roundabout project, the deficit can be attributed to "unanticipated archeological costs," according to the report. 

Winterton explained that the project itself was on budget, but because of the archeological significance of the area and the requirement to engage in consultation with First Nations, the city ran into significant delays and a "significant budget variance" on the roundabout.

Former councillor for the ward John Elliott said the deficit "makes sense," because of the archeological digging. 

"It put it way behind schedule," he said, explaining that when the digging began, it wasn't clear how much it would cost the project.

"I understand the archeological part, because it's a lot of history down here, so I know, me, when I was a councillor, I was patient about it, because I understand what they were doing," Elliott said. 

'On a learning curve'

To deal with the roundabout deficit, the administration recommends a number of funding sources from various surplus or related projects.

Winterton said the city wasn't able to secure funding from any senior-level government to help fund the project, even though they set the rules for consultation.

Also, there have been some lessons learned when it comes to the process of public engagement with First Nations, according to Winterton, who said much of the process is still undefined.

"We are very much on a learning curve," he said. 

The work on the roundabout will continue into 2019, according to a separate report to council. That work will include landscaping, surface asphalt, lighting and addressing some minor construction issues.