Work continues on the design of a multi-million-dollar Town Square Project in Alcona, but there are delays due to COVID-19, Innisfil Council learned on Wednesday night.
Last year, the Town of Innisfil retained Rutherford Contracting Ltd. to design the two-phase project, to be developed on a parcel of land adjacent to the Lakeshore ideaLAB & Library on Innisfil Beach Road.
Phase 1, which was to be completed in 2020, included a refrigerated skating trail; a pavilion containing an accessible washroom as well as storage for equipment that included a zamboni; a splashpad; fencing; concrete walkways; tables and benches.
Phase 2, in the 2021 budget, included a stage and event space, play area, and other future programmable spaces.
The price tag for Phase 1 was budgeted at $6.133 Million; Phase 2 at $4.68 million, for a total of $10.813 million.
The financial plan called for phase 1 to be funded almost entirely by Development Charges levied on new development (just under $5.52 million), with another $113,331 from the Alternative Revenue Source (OLG Slots at Georgian Downs), and a $500,000 Capital contribution.
For phase 2, the town had applied for a $3.432 million Community, Culture & Recreation Infrastructure Fund grant from the provincial and federal governments.
COVID-19 has slowed the process, council was told. Grant applications have been held up by government closures as well as the huge influx of applications; the design review process has been delayed by COVID-related restrictions.
As a result, the design contract has been extended until later in the year – and start of construction is being pushed back to the fall, at the earliest.
The delay in construction turns out to be a good thing, staff noted: construction work already underway would not be eligible for the Community, Culture & Recreation Infrastructure Fund grant. Right now, the project is still eligible – but there are no guarantees the Town will be successful in its application.
Staff warned, “Without knowing the status of the grant, no budget decisions should be made at this time.” If the town is not successful in its grant application, it will be time to look at options for “de-scoping” and cutting back the scale of work, the report suggested.
There has been a further complication. By proceeding with the design of both Phase 1 and 2 of the town square initially, and completing the servicing, the cost of Phase 1 has ballooned to $8.357 million – although Phase 2 costs have dropped substantially, leaving the overall budget for both still at $10.8 million.
Coun. Rob Nicol suggested suspending the project altogether. “We have to make some really tough decisions at this time,” he said, suggesting putting construction on hold “until it’s financially and more socially viable.”
He was told that with the bulk of the funds coming from development charges, there is no real tax in delaying construction beyond what is necessary as a result of the COVID-19 related slowdowns in the process.
“A lot of people think it’s all tax dollars,” said Mayor Lynn Dollin, noting that the major part of the funding will come from development charges collected for parks – and pointing out that “Parks DCs can only be used for Parks. Keep that in mind.”
Dollin also suggested waiting to hear whether the town’s application for Infrastructure grant funding was successful, before making any decisions on the project.
“We approved this based on being able to apply for the grant,” agreed Coun. Kevin Eisses, asking whether the phasing and the design would change, if the town is unsuccessful.
“That’s exactly what we would provide at the next report,” said Meredith Goodwin, Capital Project Manager. “We will give you numerous options to make that decision.”
Council received the update.
