New pool costs hit $46M in Lac La Biche as council wants more review

Costs to build a brand new pool at the Bold Center have bubbled to triple the original anticipated price, with the latest designs hitting a total of $46 million. 

Lac La Biche county council largely said those costs are getting too high, and these designs are going back to consultants Turnbull Construction Management for more reviews and to try and reign in the exploding price.  

“The very original discussion of how we arrived at that $38 million was to get those features. So how do we not have those features and be at $43 [million]?,” said mayor Paul Reutov during the meeting. 

An update on the project was held at last Tuesday’s council meeting as construction is set to begin in the fall, specifically focusing on the natatorium and leisure pool, wave pool, new features, and overall budget. 

Reutov expressed his disappointment to the responses from previous requests about keeping the stone facade of the building intact, and keeping the “wow factor.” 

He said it was unfair that as they raise their budget, these added on features get clawed back.  

But what features are in or out is still being settled at the moment, which is part of the project’s expansion in both scale and cost. 

The goal stated during the council meeting was to keep the building facades and build a pool better than their neighbours. 

Discussions of building a new pool have percolated in Bonnyville for years, and have been explored by Cold Lake as well. 

Budgets

Council approved $27 million for the project a year ago, which included $15 million in grants from the federal and provincial governments. 

An April meeting bumped the cost to $39 million and an August update put a top end of costs at $43 million. 

Now, the budget presented requires $46 million: $5 million for designs costs, $35 million for hard construction costs, and $6.6 million in contingencies, roughly 15 per cent of the total build. 

Elements like a wave pool were discussed, but not brought to the table because of additional design changes, and delays in timeline, amongst other factors. The lazy river is included but with a rounder, oval-like shape. 

There are two slides, but one tube slide, and debate from councillors about what a slide entails was discussed. 

Other fun features included dump buckets, rooster tail spray geysers and an arching spray. . There would also be overhead sprays in the lazy river. 

The Nordic spa is another element of uniqueness that will be debated in the future. 

“Our program driven concept is about 35,000 square feet and that compares to the Portage Pool which has about 16,277 square feet,” said project managers Alex Godfrey and Geoff Watson from Turnbull Construction. 

The overall square footage is about 25-30 per cent larger in square footage than in April, and is another driver of the increased cost. 

‘Wow factor’

Each councillor had their moment to speak on the latest presentation, many showing concern about where it was going. 

“The wow factor now has shifted from when we walk into the building to the costs of building,” said councillor Colette Borgun. 

Councillors John Mondal and Kevin Paré said they were drawing hard lines at $35 or $38 million, worried about if the costs would again increase, and whether they came at the expense of core services. 

Councillors Jason Stedman and Lorin Tkachuk took a different approach. While discussing costs, they also said it’s better not to shortchange it now, and try to add elements later, like they did when they did the Bold Center originally. 

Turnbull Construction reps said they would return in three weeks with their changes based on the feedback. 

Phase one is underway with progressive tender work to accelerate towards the construction. That includes utility relocation and selective demolition around the front entry way, which are out for tender currently, targeting awarding those tenders by September. 

Phase two requires a debenture for Lac La Biche County to accomplish. 

The longterm completion of the project is aimed at October 2025. 

The presentation can be seen here.