Delta council has approved a cost-sharing partnership with the school district to resurface the track at South Delta Secondary, but much-needed upgrades to North Delta Secondary’s track and field facilities are still a ways off.
On Monday, July 16, council approved a cost-sharing partnership with the Delta School District for the resurfacing of the track at South Delta Secondary. The project is expected to come in around $300,000, although the cost-sharing agreement includes a $50,000 contingency if more repairs are needed.
The SDSS track, which is unchanged since it was installed in 1987, had its rubberized covering removed this spring. The project will install a new rubber surface, as well as provide possible repairs to the asphalt base.
Construction will take about a month, according to the staff report, but could run longer as the installation is weather dependent. The goal is to have the track finished in time for the start of the 2018/2019 school year.
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The project is one of two track upgrades that have been discussed by council and the school district for more than a year, the other being at North Delta Secondary.
“I think we need to just start,” Counc. Heather King said. “Let’s just start with one.”
Although all members of council approved the cost-sharing project, Mayor Lois Jackson was apprehensive about the process the report went through to get to council.
Normally, this kind of proposal would go through Delta’s parks, recreation and culture commission and be included on the financial plan for the year. However, because the request from the school district came in June and the commission doesn’t meet during the summer, there hasn’t been a chance for the commission to discuss it.
She was also concerned that the language made it sound like the city was undertaking the project, which it will not be. The resurfacing is being handled by the school district, which will award the contracts and oversee the construction. However, the city will still be doing its due diligence, parks, recreation and culture director Ken Kunz said, and asking for detailed cost breakdowns.
When council approved the cost-sharing project, they also agreed on three conditions that need to be met for the project to move forward.
The city will require that an independent consultant oversee the installation, that the contract be placed on BC Bid to ensure all providers are able submit bid prices, and that a shared-use agreement between the city and the school district be developed before the contract is awarded.
During the discussions, council didn’t forget about the NDSS track, which has been on the city’s radar for quite some time.
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However, this project would be much larger in scope, as the track needs to be completely rebuilt rather than just resurfaced. It’s also possible land will need to be transferred from the school district and the city if the project is to be eligible for federal and provincial grants that could cover a large portion of the costs.
Counc. Bruce McDonald reminded other councillors and members of the audience that approving the SDSS track won’t be pushing the North Delta project out of the way.
“It in no way diminishes the requirement for us … to put the North Delta track and field into the kind of community facility it needs to be,” McDonald said.
The South Delta track “is a project of opportunity, that we would not be able to do for this kind of price in any other situation. But the North Delta one is still on the hot burner.”
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