City of Cold Lake council has voted in favour of increasing the budget for the artificial turf field grandstand by $5-million.
The $11-million project has a scheduled completion date of fall 2018, just in time for football season.
“This is the long-awaited grandstand for the artificial turf field,” said Mayor Craig Copeland.
The project jumped by $5-million based on the increased scope of the grandstand.
“We did make the grandstand a little bit bigger in order to include the multipurpose rooms, and then also the geotechnical for that location. There is quite a depth of topsoil and subsurface conditions that are definitely more challenging than if it was just clay-based. We do have to do some work to get to the base and build the field on top of that,” explained CAO Kevin Nagoya.
The cost also includes two iron gates, which will feature the name of the turf field “Tom Varughese Memorial Field.”
The tender process for the artificial turf field concluded on Aug. 3, 2017, with five businesses submitting applications for the job.
The $5-million will be funded through the 2017 and 2018 MSI funding, and $1-million of the 2017 ID 349 funding.
“There were a few things that are bigger than what the original scope would be,” Nagoya said.
One of those things was the results of the geotechnical test, which couldn't be done until after the trees had been removed.
“The landscaping is going to be one of the biggest parts of this contract, just the amount of earth that has to go in and around this project,” Nagoya said, referring to the berm that runs the perimeter of the field.
“When I say landscaping, I am talking about site grading, parking, roads, enhancements, and site servicing,” he added.
Council debated whether to include a dome over the field to the project, but ultimately decided it was a decision for the next city council to make.
“The next council will have the option to put in a dome and utilize the structure as part of the dome features. They can decide if they want to build a twin field house or if they want to put a dome structure over this turf field,” said Mayor Craig Copeland. “It's going to be a pretty nice feature, possibly year-round. It's also going to enhance the parking. It's going to be an elite field, it's just going to be amazing.”
Coun. Vicky Lefebvre was impressed with the number of kids, students, families, and organizations the turf field will benefit.
“We're not only going to be helping children in football, but there's also soccer, rugby, and lacrosse. All of those 500 to 600 kids we have registered in those programs are going to be able to utilize this,” she said.
