For the second time in less than a year council has approved a sizable budget increase for the new public library.
On Monday council granted $1.42 million more for the project, which has been beleaguered with rising construction costs, bringing the total budget to $9.7 million. The move comes just ten months after another million-dollar budget increase, also given to offset construction costs.
Even though municipal staff suggested a number of ways to reduce costs, such as getting rid of the low flush toilets and a skylight over the stairs and combining the heating/cooling system into one unit, council was not willing to lose some of these basic environmental initiatives.
At the request of Councillor Eckhard Zeidler, and at a cost of $80,000, several key sustainability components of the library remained on the table.
While that may cost Whistler taxpayers more upfront, Zeidler is convinced it will save money in the long run.
"On a life cycle basis I believe that the suggestions and the amendments that I put forward tonight that were supported by the rest of council will save this community money in the long run," said Zeidler. "As a matter of fact, I’m absolutely convinced of it. And it’s also the right thing to do from a sustainability point of view."
The low flush toilets will remain at a cost of roughly $10,000.
The $5,000 skylight will remain, allowing natural light to filter down the parkade stairs.
The air handling units, which heat and cool the building, will remain separate. This means the multi purpose room can be heated without having to heat the entire library. Using two systems instead of one will cost $46,000 more.
And the overhang, which shades the west end of the building from the sun, will also stay in place at a cost of $20,000.
"Looking at the vision statement of the library, this building was going to be our showcase of sustainability but does that mean that we’re building some kind of a monument to sustainability for unbelievable amounts of money?" asked Zeidler. "No, not really. The point that I wanted to make tonight is that for a tiny fraction of the overall budget we were deleting some items that really would have made quite a difference in the way the building performs and feels and those four items coming in at well under $100,000 I think make a big difference."
He points to the heating/cooling systems to illustrate his point. By having two units in the building it is estimated the library could save up to $1,500 a year. That assumes that energy costs stay stable, added Zeidler who campaigned in the November election on a green ticket.
"I will reiterate again that if you’re doing a sustainability thing right you’re saving money in it," he said.
The library project, like other projects in Whistler and across the province, is caught up in the booming construction industry, which is facing unprecedented growth. An increasing volume of work compounded by a labour shortage is forcing costs up. Meanwhile the cost of wages, fuel and materials are increasing as well.
Library project manager Jim Charters of Whistler Construction said the cost escalations are unheard of.
"In general nobody could foresee these cost escalations," said Charters. "It’s something that’s beyond all of our control."
Eighty per cent of the library project has been put out to tender. In some cases only one bid is coming in and more often than not it’s way over budget. In other cases no bids are coming in, making for a very uncompetitive field.
"There’s so much work it’s hard to get people who want to get involved," said Charters.
The Whistler Public Library project has been six years in the making with numerous hiccups along the way.
It was delayed as the last council looked to find different development scenarios for building the library.
In 2004 that council approved a $7 million library totaling more than 14,000 square feet off of Main Street, the existing site of the library.
By the following year staff was back before council looking for more money to offset rising construction costs.
In May 2005 council approved a $1.2 million budget increase bringing the budget to more than $8 million.
"This has been a monumental task over the years," said Councillor Tim Wake. "I think we all have a lesson to learn here."
In layman’s terms the lesson is this – if you want to build a dream home but you only have a set amount of money, you build to that number instead of building what you want said Wake.
"I just wonder if we couldn’t have saved a little money here somewhere if we’d started with a different set of parameters at the beginning," he said.
By dividing the size of the building by the construction costs, the library is costing $575 per square foot.
The cost per square foot is just one yardstick to measure the cost of the building said municipal staffer Martin Pardoe.
That number does not take into account the longer life span of the building, the savings in operating costs and the fact that it has a flexible platform and as such can be added to over the years.
"These elements aren’t measured in a cost per square foot basis," said Pardoe.
So while the Whistler library admittedly has a high cost per square foot price tag, it’s not reflective of what the community is actually getting in the long run – a state of the art, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) accredited building in the heart of the village.
For Anne Townley, library board chair, Monday’s request for more money is just one of a long line of hurdles the library has crossed since it was first conceived. She is pleased to have crossed this hurdle too.
"I am really pleased with Eckhard’s viewpoint and how he brought things forward," said Townley. "I totally agree with him and I think if council has made a commitment to move in this direction they need to back that commitment up. And the reality is there is a premium to that commitment. So I’m very pleased that they have decided to go this route."
Council voted 4 to 1 to increase the budget by $1.42 million. Mayor Ken Melamed and Nancy Wilhelm-Morden were not at the meeting because of their commitments at the Torino Olympics.
Councillor Ralph Forsyth voted against the grain – not because he opposed Councillor Zeidler’s changes but because those amendments to keep some environmental components were hastily tallied up to $80,000 without confirmation of the numbers. His vote against was in protest of the procedure not the concept.
Forsyth also put forward a motion that staff re-examine external funding and sponsorship opportunities as well as alternative financing options for the library. This was supported unanimously.
Everyone recognized the need to approve the budget increases sooner than later. Every day of delay is costing money, and the library is three months behind schedule.
John Nelson, general manager of corporate services, said the money to pay for the budget increase could come from general reserves fund, which is estimated at $3 million. Council will be working on its budget in the coming weeks as it must be approved by mid-May.
