Estimated costs for a new Athabasca boat launch have grown from $75,000 in 2009, to a new projection of $1.5 million.
“There are some different numbers that have been battered around,” Mayor Roger Morrill said during last Tuesday’s town council meeting.
“I thought the numbers were much, much lower.”
Councillor Paula Evans handed out the first estimate given to council in 2009 for the construction of the boat launch.
“My concern is that in 2009, a cost analysis was done for the entire riverfront project,” she explained. “At that time the estimate for the boat launch was $75,000.
“On the basis of that information, riverfront design and council went ahead with the idea of doing the boat launch out into the river and moving it over to accommodate the boaters, and making a turnaround,” she said.
Evans stated that because of the estimate, council went ahead with the proposed boat launch.
“We are now in 2012, and the project didn’t start until 2011. During that time nobody told us that it was going to turn into a $1.5 million (project),” she said.
“I think if any of us had known it was going to be $1.5 million, we might have said, ‘I don't think we can afford that.’”
Evans said that what council is left with is a, “big bunch of pavement and a huge bill.”
She went on to say that she wants to hear from engineers as to why the cost jumped to such a high price.
“I'm fairly annoyed. I would like to talk to our engineers about this and how you can go from $75,000 to $1.5 million,” she said.
“I want these people to come in, and explain it to council.”
It was noted that both quotes were provided by the same company.
Chief Administrative Officer Doug Topinka said he would arrange a meeting for the engineers.
Councillor Lionel Cherniwchan said he thought instead of the engineers coming to council, a separate meeting would be more appropriate.
“The town, the county and the boaters should be invited,” he said. “There is too much dialogue about this, and misinformation. They should hear it from the horse’s mouth.”
To build a boat launch, a dam has to be constructed around the area and the water removed.
“Not only that, they have to monitor the water for eight months afterwards,” Topinka said. “I think a meeting with the boating community is a good idea.”
Topinka said the bottom 30 feet of the existing boat launch is breaking up, and needs to be replaced. Community member Chad Lasiuk was a delegation at the meeting, and wanted to know what the status of the boat launch is.
“I’m here to voice my concern about the riverfront,” he said to council. “All the boaters I have spoke with were under the assumption that the launch would be re-done when the parking lot was being paved.
“I have been to almost every river in Alberta and have never seen a launch in such bad shape as ours,” he said in a letter to council.
After some discussion, town council has decided to restrict school bus parking at the riverfront lot while the river is open and being used by boaters.
“I would move that at one time buses didn’t park there,” Evans said.
“It’s no problem to ask them to park elsewhere while it’s open river season.”
Evans asked what the buses did while that parking lot was closed, and Topinka said there are other places for them to park in town.
Lasiuk said that most of the bus drivers get picked up once they park their buses at the riverfront for the day, so it wouldn’t be that big an inconvenience for them to park elsewhere.
