HomeMy WebLinkAboutFIN-10-128 - Stimulus Project Update - August 2010REPORT
REPORT TO:
Councillor Berry Vrbanovic, Chair, and Members of the
Finance and Corporate Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING:
August 23, 2010
SUBMITTED BY:
Dan Chapman, General Manager of Financial Services
PREPARED BY:
Jaya Chatterjee, Junior Financial Analyst, Financial Planning
WARD(S) INVOLVED:
All
DATE OF REPORT: August 18, 2010
REPORT NO.: FIN-10-128
SUBJECT:
STIMULUS PROJECT UPDATE - AUGUST 2010
RECOMMENDATION:
For Information
BACKGROUND:
This report is part of a series of bi-monthly updates to Finance and Corporate Services
Committee on the status of the City’s Stimulus Funding Projects. This reflects a commitment to
ensure that these infrastructure funds is spent in an open, transparent and accountable manner
and that Council is afforded an opportunity to track the progress of these projects on a regular
basis.
REPORT:
Section 1 – Project Status Update
Appendix “A” provides a summary of project status and Appendix “B” depicts the progress
towards completion of each project compared to the planned timeline. Since the previous report
(June 7, 2010) many projects have made progress. Some projects have not advanced due to
factors beyond the City’s control as discussed in this report or because of the time of year.
Several projects are behind schedule to some degree, but project managers have confirmed
that each project can still be completed with the permitted time frame.
In addition to the project status update mentioned in Appendices A and B, a status update
follows for the issues related to the various Stimulus fund projects outlined in the last Council
report:
CAF King Street Reconstruction:
Amending agreement #1: The City’s request to amend the letter of offer to reduce
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the overall total project cost and increase the percentage proportion of the total
project cost to be claimed has been executed by the City and the Ministry. This
change will not affect value of the City’s claim of $1,230,200 but will ensure that the
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value of the relevant phase of the project aligns with the timeframes identified in the
letter of offer.
Amending agreement #2: The Ministry has extended the project completion date of
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March 31, 2010 to June 30, 2010. In addition, the final submission of the report has
been extended from June 30, 2010 to September 30, 2010. Both parties have
executed amending Agreement #2.
Bridgeport Community Centre:
On July 22nd 2010 at tender closure, staff received four bids. Unfortunately the lowest
bid was $2.06 million resulting in a $410,000 over-expenditure in the construction
budget. Considering the existing impact of the engineering and planning requirements
of $670,000, the total project over-expenditure is currently $1.08 million. On August 5th
and Aug 12th 2010, Special Council meeting was held and direction was given to Staff,
"That work on the Bridgeport Community Centre Renovation and Expansion Project
be stopped and the project, under its current scope, be cancelled”;
“That staff reduce the scope of the Bridgeport Community Centre project to include
renovations and upgrades to the facility as outlined in Community Services
Department report CSD 10-052 previously considered at the August 5 2010 special
Council meeting keeping within the current CC funding envelope allotted for the
original projects cope less incurred expenses and subject to receiving RInC funding
for the reduced project scope and;
"That the Mayor make a request to the Minister of Energy and Infrastructure and
Minister of Health Promotion that consideration be given to reallocating the
remaining Bridgeport Community Centre RInC funding to the projects as outlined in
report CSD-10-055".
A formal request has been made to the Federal and Provincial governments to help fund
the reduced scope of work through RInC. Currently the Joint Secretariat has approved
the revised reduced scope of work and it will be presented to Management Committee
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for approval on August 19, 2010.
ISF:
The City executed an amendment agreement to increase in the amount of advance
funding for fiscal year 2010/11.
Solar Roof:
The City has executed the contract from OPA for the FIT program. KW Hydro provided
the connection impact assessment result on July 21, 2010. The City submitted Notice to
Proceed form to OPA on July 21, 2010.
With improvements in the economy and the extent of stimulus investment, response to project
tenders has been lower than normal on some recent closings. This presents a risk of increasing
project costs. Staff will continue to manage scope of the projects to align to the estimated
project cost.
The City has been regularly submitting monthly claims for ISF projects and the CAF King Street
reconstruction project since December 2009.
Section 2 – Expedited Purchasing Measures
Council has previously approved a number of purchasing measures to expedite projects
receiving funds under the Infrastructure Stimulus Program, while still maintaining a fair, open,
and transparent procurement process. The measures, along with comments on their utilization,
are outlined in Appendix “C”.
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Section 3 – Federal/Provincial Program Updates
Resulting from a lack of clarity related to the release of holdback payments related to Stimulus
projects, Council authorized staff to amend agreements to release the 2% holdback by February
15, 2011. For ISF projects, there has now been a decision for the holdbacks; all final holdbacks
information needs to be submitted in the final claim by April 15, 2011. The City will receive
holdback payment once the City provides OMAFRA with invoice and proof of payment (cheque
numbers). The holdback has to be released before or latest by March 31, 2012 when the
contribution agreement expires. Staff will ensure that holdbacks related to ISF projects are not
released before the normal timeline but before the deadline of March 31, 2012 to avoid any loss
of funds. For RInC projects all the holdbacks have to be released before June 30, 2011.
Section 4 – Other Information
Final Report Date
In accordance with Council’s resolution, a letter from the Mayor’s office was sent to the Minister
of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on June 16, 2010 to request an extension from April 15 to
June 30 for submission of the final report for the Consolidated Maintenance Facility project
under the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund. The City received a response letter dated August 12,
2010 informing that extension requests for the submission of the final claim and all the final
documentation have not been considered at this time. However, the City’s extension request
has been forwarded to ISF Management Committee for its information.
For the Consolidated Maintenance Facility project, it would be problematic to reduce
significantly the timeline to meet the reporting requirement and deadline of April 15, 2011. Staff
will pursue at their level with OMAFRA to accommodate the request. Mayor and Council may
also wish to consider pursuing resolution of this matter on a political level.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
None at this time
COMMUNICATION:
To assist in ensuring the infrastructure stimulus funds are spent in an open, transparent and
accountable manner, staff continues to implement the communications strategy that has been
developed to assist in tracking the progress of all projects. The strategy contains various
communications tools that will give residents an opportunity to follow the work that is underway
on each project.
Federal and provincial signage has now been installed at all project sites, recognizing
federal and provincial funding support; only federal signage was required to be installed
for the King Street reconstruction project, as it is supported by the federal Canada
Adjustment Fund;
Project-specific web pages, featuring an interactive map showing all project sites, is
updated on a bi-monthly basis to ensure a user-friendly way for citizens to access
information on each project. The web pages include background on each project, as well
as status updates as they are provided by the project managers;
Project progress continue to be included in every edition of Your Kitchener; this process
will continue until the projects are complete; and
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Media releases and/or media events are planned for the completion of each project.
Media releases will be issued upon the completion of all projects and public events will
be scheduled for the following projects:
Aquatic Facility Upgrades
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CMF Solar Roof
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Centre in the Square
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McLennan Park Development
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Bridgeport Community Centre
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Sportsworld Arena Upgrade
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ACKNOWLEDGED BY Dan Chapman, General Manager of Financial Services
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