Child’s play

Council doesn’t bite on extra $25,000 for playground removal

Discussion regarding new playground equipment at three County parks sparked debate at Thursday’s Committee of the Whole. The playgrounds at Roblin Lake Park, Westfall Park and Fawcetteville Park were constructed in the mid- to late- 1990’s and are at the end of their life cycle. The budgets set for the replacement of playground equipment at Roblin Lake Park, Westfall Park and Fawcetteville Park were $65,000, $75,000 and $65,000, respectively. All proposed designs came in under budget, however, site preparation for each site was not accounted for in the original estimate for the capital budgets, as it was assumed County operations staff would be available to do the work. Acting Operations Director Pat Heffernan explained that with the onset of winter, County operations staff no longer have the resources to complete the planned removals, resulting in the request for council to approve nearly $25,000 in overages to cover the playground contractor removing the equipment. “At the time the tender was alloted it was presumed that we could possibly use staff time as training on equipment to remove existing play structures and sand base,” said Heffernan. “We are into winter now. The project has been deferred to spring with the guarantee of playground equipment being completed by July of 2020.”

Councillor Jamie Forrester told his colleagues that if council is serious about finding 10 per cent in efficiencies, extra costs such as this just can’t happen. “Someone behind the scenes has to say ‘I can’t even bring this to council because someone will questions this saying this is stupid,’” said Forrester. “Twenty-five thousand dollars to move some equipment and move some sand around is ridiculous.” He believed that other options should have been presented to the horseshoe. “If this came to me I would say give me a break. Make this happen with our guys. Don’t bring this silliness to me,” said Forrester.

Heffernan explained that the old equipment was planned to be removed and new equipment installed earlier this fall, but with delays in choosing the equipment, it just didn’t work out that way. “The idea was for staff to do it at the end of construction season. As training for newer operators. We were asked to get a price quote from the contractor if staff couldn’t do it.”

Councillor Janice Maynard asked if there was some creative ways to remove the equipment before spring, citing that the recreation committees might even be interested in volunteering. “I get that these are prices for the contractor to drive down here from Ottawa or Toronto and remove the equipment. I think that between now and the spring, there might be some staff that aren’t busy brushing or ditching and would be able to remove it.” Maynard also questioned why removal wasn’t thought of before now. “It’s kind of troubling that the removal was not thought of in the original proposal,” said Maynard. “I think we can find some way and I know there is a recreation committee that will be more than happy to help you in that endeavour.”

Councillor Andreas Bolik wanted further clarification on volunteers removing the equipment, and whether it was possible. Heffernan explained he would have to look into it. “At this time I wouldn’t want to say whether volunteers would be acceptable, with working around equipment and liability insurance,” said Heffernan.

Councillor Brad Nieman put forward a motion to approve the purchase of equipment, but remove the additional $25,000 for removal and have County staff complete the work, using money from the operations budget to fund it. Heffernan believed that he would be able to find the money to make it happen. “There should be a way to do this in the operating budget, be it through training dollars that we have budgeted or through the parks budget. There is some way that we can do this without any budget constraints.”

Forrester told his fellow councillors that this situation could be used as an example of how to save money. “Moving forward what I would like to see is more options. I would like to see what the proposed cost was, and how it was actually done, and the savings at the end,” said Forrester. “I see huge opportunities for big dollar savings with some of these projects.”

Councillor Ernie Margetson reminded council that they must not micro-manage staff, although instilling a culture of fiscal responsibility was important. Mayor Steve Ferguson agreed. “We have faith in the way in which you will manage this, and it is not up to us as council to dictate how staff is allocated,” said Ferguson.

The motion to strike the $25,000 and have staff remove the old equipment passed.