Newmarket dog park construction went over budget: taxpayer watchdog group charges

Easy to 'sit in balcony and fire off press releases', mayor says

Yorkregion.com
Nov. 17, 2015
By Chris Simon

Newmarket's dog park construction went more than $40,000 over budget, according to documents released by the Newmarket Taxpayers Advocacy Group.

NTAG says the town failed to take soil samples and obtain expert recommendations on the site, leading to thousands of dollars in unexpected expenses. The park opened late this summer after months of delays, while crews worked to remove a significant amount of glass and metal debris that littered the area. The debris is from a defunct landfill site that sits under the park.

"The significant remediation and cost that was incurred at the dog park is yet another example of the (town's) poor record on completing thorough due diligence with major capital construction projects," NTAG president Teena Bogner said.

"This waste of taxpayer money, due to lack of foresight and planning, is deplorable," she added.

The project had an approved budget of $150,000, though the tender was awarded for about $135,000.

Construction crews brought the debris to the surface last fall, while they were digging fencepost holes more than .5 metres below the dog park. Crews laid a geotextile composite material below the surface of the dog park, to prevent animals from digging too far below ground level. It was then covered by soil and wood chips.

Glass cleanup cost nearly $8,500, while the complete installation of the geotextile material was nearly $17,900. The town also spent more than $17,800 on signage and a sponsor sign garden bed feature and about $20,800 on screened wood chip installation, Bogner said.

Mayor Tony Van Bynen said council would have been micromanaging a relatively minor capital project by scrutinizing the overruns. Over the past three years, Newmarket's capital budgets have ranged between $23.7 million and $29.3 million.

"A dog park at that price is not a significant capital project," he said. "It was undertaken in response to some very substantial community interest. The due diligence that was taken was appropriate at that time. We were just going to put up a fence and let dogs run around on grass. When we found out there was glass, we took the appropriate steps. The project was well under way and it needed to be completed, so it met the health and safety standards we would expect. It's easy to sit in the balcony and fire off press releases, but the reality is, we've got a business that has some very substantial capital projects. Micromanaging a $100,000 project I don't think is an effective use of council's time. What would happen if we had a $2,000 budget? Council would have to get involved in a $100 decision. I'm trying to put this into perspective."

There was a recognized need for a dog park in town and the municipality secured a stable source of sponsorship funding that reduced the overall cost to the town by a significant amount, Van Bynen said.

Funding was available to complete the dog park because other approved capital budget projects were completed below their anticipated cost, the mayor said.

"The overages that are funded within the envelope are funded from other projects completed that were under budget," Van Bynen said, noting budget control is more stringent on larger projects such as Magna Centre or Riverwalk Commons.

"When we have significant capital projects, we do have a task force that monitors the cost. Some people tend to forget there must have been other budgets under, to come within the overall funding envelope."

The town also shaved close to $12,500 off the price of the park because certain gates, trees and mulch materials were not used at the site as initially planned, he said.

When complications with the project first publicly surfaced earlier this year, town development and infrastructure services commissioner Peter Noehammer promised to keep council abreast of significant cost overruns. However, that didn’t happen, he contends.

"I did say if there was going to be something extensive, we would have to inform council that the project has gone sideways," Noehammer said. "In the end, we were able to do it slightly over budget. Do we go to council every single time for every project where we go slightly over? Only on the more significant overages where there's a large over expenditure. None of us were happy to hear the material was brought to the surface. Had this been a project where we were anticipating excavation, we would have done further geotechnical testing. It was already a park. There has been strong community support; it's absolutely been a successful implementation and a welcome addition to the town's recreation space."

The landfill was in operation between the end of the Second World War and the early 1970s. It has been capped for decades and the park is considered safe for the many recreational activities in the area, including play on nearby soccer pitches and baseball diamonds.