Construction on Phase 2 of the Wilmot Recreation Complex will begin immediately.

Shovels are expected to hit the dirt at the Wilmot Recreation Complex next week following Wilmot council’s decision to move ahead with the 60-week build for Phase 2 of the project Monday night.

Coming in at 3.9 per cent above a February budget estimate that included a $1.2 million list of enhancements, the project to build an eight-lane competitive swimming pool, leisure pool, walking track and senior and youth centres on the site will now cost $11.6 million.

Initially budgeted at $9.8 million, the cost of the Wilmot Aquaitc Centre jumped in recent months as enhancements were added based on stakeholder and community input. Two of the major enhacements include a second elevator and wider building footprint to accommodate a wider walking track and wider aisles in the pool spectator gallery.

Inflationary costs, a hot construction market and the harmonized sales tax are all playing into the higher bid prices for the project.

Tenders were received May 11, giving members of the project team, including township staff, G.B. Architect and Jackson-Barill Management Inc., a month to review bids to ensure they qualified. All of the tenders accepted for the project were from the lowest qualified bidder.

Guy Bellehumeur, of GB Architect Inc., provided council with an outline of reasons why the bids came in at significantly more than cost estimates delivered in February, not the least of which is the flood of federal and provincial infrastructure money flowing into the construction industry.

Bellehumeur said the influx of money means contractors can essentially “cherry pick” the jobs they want while demanding higher fees to do the work.

Bellehumeur said many projects across the province have closed at more than six per cent higher than initial budget estimates, with some seeing skyrocketing construction fees.

During Monday’s council meeting, councillors were offered a list of options to consider for the project, including delaying construction in hopes of getting better bid prices, or slashing the list of enhancements to cut back costs.

Neither option was recommended since the enhanced features cannot be added later and there’s no guarantee bid prices will come down.

The project is being financed largely through a $6 million grant from the federal and provincial governments’ Building Canada Fund. Development charges will cover about $1 million of the final cost, while $4.6 million from township reserves will cover the rest of the build.

On-site work is expected to begin immediately, with an opening date planned for August 2011.

To read the full story, pick up next week’s Independent.