Barring unforeseen delays, both of the city’s two Infrastructure Stimulus Funding projects should be substantially complete by the March 31, 2011 federally imposed deadline, and thus not at risk to lose millions in government funding.
City manager Tim Commisso on Monday said municipal officials are keeping a close eye on the progress of both the $5.1-million Mary J. Black Library replacement project and the $47.5-million first phase of construction at Prince Arthur’s Landing, Thunder Bay’s ambitious, and sometimes controversial, waterfront redevelopment project.
“We are monitoring all our ISF and Recreational Infrastructure Ontario projects closely and will update council in the fall on their status,” Commisso said in an email response. “But at this time we are optimistic (that) barring any unforeseen circumstances that substantial completion will be achieved for all projects.”
Earlier in the day the federal government’s Parliamentary Budget Officer, Kevin Page, released a 13-page report that presented a trio of scenarios for the deadline date. The best-case scenario, which is unlikely the report says, shows all projects substantially completed and eligible for full funding.
The worst-case scenario suggests up to 13.7 per cent, or $500.5 million, of the federal government’s $4-billion ISF could remain unallocated if Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s ruling Conservatives sticks to their guns and refuses to push the deadline forward next spring.
It’s led several municipalities to ask Ottawa for an extension, which Harper has repeatedly said he won’t consider.
Commisso said Thunder Bay isn’t officially making a request, but would not be opposed to an extension.
“We are not formally part of the list, but in my view, we would certainly support the extension, in part due to the fact that our winters in Northern Ontario tend to limit the extent to which construction takes place in winter,” he said.
In addition to the library and the waterfront, the city, through the Recreational Infrastructure Ontario fund, is proceeding with a $1-million rehab of Fort William Stadium, a $924,000 upgrade of the Canada Games Complex and $40,000 to make improvements to existing bike and walking paths.
Katherine Dugmore, the city's waterfront project manager, on Tuesday said Prince Arthur's Landing has been well planned from the start and well-scheduled to meet the March 31, 2011 deadline.
She added that four of the nine contracts have already been tendered, and of the five remaining, one is for signage and one is for furnishing.
Dugmore did say that there are things out of her control that could cause delays.
"There are any number of complexities that can interfere with that, including the availability of sub-trades and contractors, weather, disputes, strikes and material shortage. Any of those things can impact any contract schedule," Dugmore said.
Chief Librarian Gina La Force said she sees no reason why the new facility, being erected adjacent to the West Thunder Community Centre on South Edward Street, won’t hit its deadline and therefore quality for $4.11 million in federal contributions.
“If we’re substantially completed by then, then that should be an academic exercise,” La Force said when reached Monday by phone. “I’ve just spoken to our project manager for an update, so barring anything that’s completely out of our control and that we don’t expect to happen, we should be substantially complete.”
According to the PBO report, under the most likely mid-case scenario about 936 projects across Canada, representing $293 million, will be unfinished when March 31, 2011 hits. That’s about 23.9 per cent of the country’s approved IFS projects.
The most pessimistic view shows 1,814 projects not completed.
As of March 31, 2010, only a quarter of approved projects were complete. Should the feds not extend the deadline, municipalities could be left footing the bill.
That’s a dangerous line to tread, Brock Carlton, the chief executive of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, told the Canadian Press.
“All municipalities are strapped for cash. If the delays are beyond the control of municipalities, it isn’t fair and that’s why we’re calling for flexibility,” Carlton said.
Meanwhile Liberal critic Gerard Kennedy said municipalities cannot control weather conditions or how long Conservative approvals took.
“It’s not fair to stick property taxpayers holding the bag,” he told CP.
According to the report, the PBO’s analysis shows a substantial delay in project start and end dates than those originally proposed.
Page told CP in the past government have rolled infrastructure funds not spent into future year’s budgets, allowing the money to be spent beyond any deadlines set.
The report also says that because so many projects have not submitted regular progress reports that it’s nearly impossible to gauge how far along they might be and that projection data is thus incomplete.
