Municipal officials are facing a funding shortfall of at least $600,000 on the much-anticipated artificial turf field at Brennan Park.
At Tuesday's (Sept. 20) Committee of the Whole meeting, District of Squamish (DOS) staff updated council on options for the field. The municipality has allocated $500,000 from the Squamish Sport Legacy Fund toward turfing one of the current all-weather fields. An additional $400,000 was designated to the project from the 2011 Capital Budget, while the Squamish Soccer Association has committed $100,000 to the upgrade. That gives the DOS $1 million to spend on the field.
But preliminary reports indicate that won't cover the bill, Mayor Greg Gardner told The Chief. Recent estimates place the overall cost at $1.6 million, he said.
Council endorsed a $61,625 proposal for R.F. Binnie and Associates Ltd. to examine potential expenses and iron out a plan with precise figures.
In an engineering and parks report, DOS staff stated proper drainage for the artificial field is not only a challenge but alters the final invoice. There are two commonly used ways of dealing with the issues - one is to place perforated pipe within a gravel covering underneath the field, while the other installs porous padding beneath the turf surface.
The pipe system is more expensive, but is more robust and less prone to failure than the underpad system, the report noted.
"It is a significant [cost] difference," Gardner said, adding that the contracted report will attach figures to the two options.
The importance of the drainage design shouldn't be understated, the report continued. Vancouver International Airport sees an average annual total precipitation (rain and snow) of 1,199 millimetres, according to the Canadian Climate Normals 1971-2000 data. A number of Lower Mainland turf fields have experienced drainage problems because of the amount of moisture, the report stated. Yet Squamish's average annual total precipitation recorded at the local weather station is 2,367 mm - almost twice that of Vancouver's rainfall.
The final verdict on whether or not to move forward with the project will rest on the shoulders of the new council after the November municipal election, Gardner said.
"The decision is whether council will want to allocate funds from the 2012 budget to proceed with the project or whether council would not and try and seek funds from other sources," Gardner said.
