HomeMy WebLinkAboutINS-20-001 - Additional Federal Gas Tax - Woodside Park & Sportsfields AllocationREPORT TO: Community and Infrastructure ServicesCommittee
DATE OF MEETING: January13, 2020
SUBMITTED BY: Denise McGoldrick, General Manager, INS, 519 741 2600
PREPARED BY: Niall Lobley, Director, Parks & Cemeteries, 519 741 2600 4513
WARD (S) INVOLVED: All
DATE OF REPORT:December12, 2019
REPORT NO.: INS 20-001
SUBJECT: Additional Federal Gas Tax – Woodside Park & SportsfieldsAllocation
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RECOMMENDATION:
That staff be directed to reallocate Federal Gas Tax money (as noted below) from the
Woodside Park project as outlined in Financial Services Department report FIN-19-039
toward spot enhancements to the artificial turf to extend the asset lifespan (Option2):
and,
That staff be directed to reallocate the residual funds from the Woodside Park project
towards additional enhancements to Woodside Park outlined as Option 3 in Infrastructure
Services Department report INS-20-001; and further,
That staff be directed to reallocate the residual funds from the Woodside Park project
towards Option _______ (3a or 3b) as outlined in report INS-20-001.
BACKGROUND:
In May2019, Council endorsed allocation of $6.9M of additional Federal Gas Tax income toward
nine infrastructure related projects. One of these projects was Woodside Park with an allocation
of $1.1M to installa new exit from the parking lot to Highland Road and thereplacement of the
artificial turf on the two fields within the park.
The City of Kitchener currently hasfour outdoor artificial turf fields. Two operational fieldsat
Woodside Park were installed in 2011 and saw first use in 2012. Two new fieldsat Schlegel Park
and will see their first operational season in 2020. Artificial turf offers advantages over regular
fields in supportingsports programming, offering extended seasons of use, the ability to support
heavier use and areless impacted by wet weather.This means that artificial turf offers the
greatest amount of programmable time among sports fields inventory.
The fields installed at Woodside have a warranty lifespan of eight years, based on good
management and maintenance practices. 2020 will see the ninth season of use commence.
These fields are heavily used, and exposed to a wide rangeof weather conditions and staff have
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observed areas of the fields that are showing signs of age. Given the financial impact of a
replacement and understanding the pressure of our Parks and Sports fieldscapital budget
program, the additional Federal Gas Tax money provided an opportunity to re-invest in this
important infrastructure.
In addition to the improvements at Woodside Park, Council directed that one of the nine projects
under the Federal Gas Program should be investing $1M inimprovements to sports facilities
within parks and open spaces across the city as informed by the Leisure Facilities Master Plan.
REPORT:
Following Council direction, staff engaged a consultant for the replacement of the turf at
Woodside. Working with our consultants, a field assessment was completedprior to detailed
design. Itbecame apparentin this assessmentthat the fields are in overall good condition,
largely due the City’s diligent approach to maintenance and management. The consultant
recommends that rather than a full replacement, a series of repairs to areas of wear on the fields
is all that is required in order to extend their lifespan to 2024-2026(14-16 years).
Staff have also undertaken a comprehensive review of the facilities and amenities at Woodside
Park. In addition to the new entry/exit to Highland Road (identified within the initial project
proposal), staff have identified:
The existing washrooms while adequate, are aging and are no longer compliant with
building code and accessibility requirements. Consideration should be made to upgrade
these facilities. In considering an upgrade, the City would need to meet current code
requirements, accessibility needs as well as considerincludinggender neutral facilities to
enhance the welcome to all users at Woodside Park. If the washroomsare not updated
during proposed works, they will need updating within the next 5 years.
The parking lot is not well configured to maximise parking availability and travel through.
With the new entry/exist envisaged, consideration should be made of a more
comprehensive upgrade to the parking area to maximize use of the space, provide for
accessibility parking bays and improve the flow through the parking lot.
Woodside Park is intensively programmed through March/April to November. At the end
of each day, the gates and facilities need to be closed and secured. Currently, this is
undertaken by staff who need to ensure that they are onsite. Consideration for automation
of the gates and doors on siteto support efficient site and facility opening and closing.
Given the above information, there is opportunity for Council to reconsider how funds within the
Woodside Park project should be allocated.
Deferring replacement has an added advantage.With the installation of artificial turf at RBJ
Schlegel Park, if Woodside was replaced in 2020, the City would likely see all four artificial turf
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fields need replaced in the same future year. Replacement of multiple fields in a single budget
year would be a significant capital pressure (est. $2M - $2.5M in 2019 dollars) and mayalsolead
to programming pressures. By maximising the lifecycle of Woodside turf, Council would stagger
the replacements toanestimatedreplacement ($1M-$1.25M in 2019 dollars) everyfiveto seven
years.
$1.1M was allocated toward Woodside Parkto the replacement of turf ($1M) and the
implementation of a new exit/entry to Highland Road ($100,000).
Staff estimate that:
Spot replacements to the artificial turf to extend lifespan to 2025: $100,000
This would result in approximately $900,000 of the existing budget for Woodside unallocated
($1.1M less $100,000 for entry/exit, $100,000 for spot replacements).
Staff estimate that enhanced improvements to the parking lot and upgrades to the washroom as
noted above, would be approximately $450,000.
City-wide Sport Field Infrastructure Improvements
Staff have also been working on identifying and developing designs for the sports field projects
supported by the $1M investment program. Staff have identified 29 projects across 15 sites
where improvements should be made to existing sports facilities.
These improvements include:
Accessibilityimprovements,such as trails, etc.
Infrastructure itemssuch as bleachers, dugouts, goals, scoreboards etc.
Fencing for areas like outfield and backstops, and
Other sport field enhancements such as drainage and irrigation.
Detailed design and estimating work is beingundertaken on all 29 projects and projects have
been prioritised against the needs identified through the Leisure Facilities Master Plan.
The budget required to complete all 29 projects is estimated to be approximately $1.67M, more
than allocated from the Federal Gas Tax Program. Staff have identified three tiers of projects.
Tier one projects include the highest priority projects and are estimated to have a project value
of $1.02M. Tier 2 and 3 projects are also high priority (when assessed against the city-wide
sports fields inventory) but a lower immediate priority. Tier 2 projects have a value of
approximately $330,000. Tier three projects have a project value of approximately $320,000.
Project locations are shown onmapenclosed.
DIRECTION SOUGHT:
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Staff are seeking Council direction on how to proceed with realigning the project scope of the
Woodside Park work as identified in FIN-19-039
OPTION 1:
Continue as initially proposed.Invest in a full artificial turf replacement and add an entry/exit to
the parking lot. This would see the turf replaced before its maximum lifespan and may lead to
programming pressures and capital budget pressures as all of the existing outdoor artificial turf
fields will need replacement in the future around the same time.
OPTION 2:
Undertake work as initially planned to the parking lot and undertake spot improvements to the
artificial turf. Defer residual capital (~$900k) to the 2025 capital budget to offset the full
replacement costs estimated at $1M - $1.25M(2019 dollars). This would extend the lifespan of
the turf to its maximum extent and would provide support for the capital budget in 2025. Works
leftincomplete at this time would be deferredto a later budget request.
OPTION 3:
Undertake a revised scope of work at Woodside to include;
Spot enhancement to turf to extend the asset lifespan (~$100,000)
Add entry/exit as initially planned(~$100,000)
Upgrade existing washrooms(~$150,000)
Enhance parking lot to improve use and flow & implement accessibility improvements and
install new gates(~$450,000)
Staff estimate that this work can be delivered for approximately $700,000 leaving a residual
$400,000. By undertaking this work future capital costs would be mitigated, the user experience
would be improved and the site would meet current accessibility needs. Greatest value would
be delivered through efficiency of scale and disruption to programmed use would be minimised.
OPTION 3A
That the residual ~$400,000 be reallocated to the Sport fieldImprovement Program. Staff
believe that this would allow for completion of all Tier 2 andmay extend tosomeTier 3
projects in addition to completing all Tier 1 projects. This would maximise the efficiency
of scale within the Sports fieldsImprovement work and alleviate future capital pressures.
However, this would mean that the full replacement value of Woodside turf would need
to be identified within a future capital budget.
OPTION 3B
The residual ~$400,000 to be added to the 10 year capital in 2025 to offset the costs of
the full turf replacement at Woodside. Staff would either identify the remaining capital
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needed from existing approved capital budgets or propose funding through a subsequent
issue paper to be considered by Councilin a future budget year. Tier 2 and Tier 3 projects
within the Sports field program would be deferred to future budgets.
Note: Staff have done extensive work on cost estimates for all works proposed at Woodside and
all works within Tiers 1 – 3 of the sports field infrastructure work. However, these projects are
yet to be tendered and prices could vary. Within Options 2 and 3B this would impact the residual
funds to be allocated to a later budget. With Option 3A staff would reduce the number of projects,
deferring Tier 3 improvements initially to meet the budget available.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
The recommendation of this report supports the achievement of the city’s strategic vision through
the delivery of core service.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
The allocation of $6.9M of Federal Gas Tax was in addition to approved budgetsand responded
to pressures that would otherwise fall to the tax-supported capital program. The projects at
Woodside and Sportsfields supported by this additional budget are not currently provided for
within the 10 year capital program, but will need to be completed if not achieved under the
Federal Gas Tax program.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
INFORM – This report has been posted to the City’s website with the agenda in advance of the
council / committee meeting.
PREVIOUS CONSIDERATION OF THIS MATTER:
This mater was previously consideredat Finance and Corporate Services Committee and
Committee of the Whole in May, 2019, report FIN-19-039.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Denise McGoldrick, General Manager, INS
Encl.
PDF Map showing locations of proposed sports fields projects.
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