Moncton won't explain $2.1M jump in new police station cost
Moncton city staff won't say what led to a $2.1 million increase in the cost of a new Codiac Regional RCMP station slated to open this summer.
On Monday, councillors voted 8-2 to approve the spending, which brings the total cost of the Albert Street building to $59.2 million.
A city document refers only to "a number of unforeseen factors and expenses that have arisen." City staff wouldn't elaborate and suggested further increases are still possible.
"As indicated, it's various reasons and the project is still under construction right now," Elaine Aucoin, the city's general manager of sustainable growth and development services, told CBC News after the vote.
"So at this point, that's not even a firm number. That's an estimate of what we predict where we'll be at. So that's as much information as we have right now."
Image | Moncton police building construction oct 2023
Caption: The building under construction in October 2023. When the construction contract was awarded, the building was supposed to be ready by 2024. That got moved to March of this year, then April, May, and now the end of July. (Roger Cosman/CBC)
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The $59.2-million figure includes land the city purchased, remediation of the site, planning and design, new equipment and furniture for the station, and public art.
The project's cost has risen several times.
In 2021, CBC News reported that the estimated cost of the building had risen from $46 million to $57 million, partly because of the cost of materials escalating during the pandemic.
Quebec-based Pomerleau Inc. was awarded the contract in 2022 to build the 6,680-square-metre facility. It is designed for up to 376 officers and civilian staff. A dispatch centre at a fire hall in Dieppe will be moved to the new station.
The new building will replace the station on Main Street, which is too small for the current police force and has various problems, including water leaks. Codiac RCMP also have a rented office space on Main Street that's expected to remain when the new building is complete.
Moncton council initially approved the latest cost increase during a closed-door meeting in February. Monday's vote ratified the decision. Councillors Bryan Butler and Daniel Bourgeois voted against the motion.
"We're so far along we pretty well have to support it," Butler said before voting against it. He was the only councillor who spoke before the vote.
Timelines for completion have also shifted.
When the construction contract was awarded, the building was supposed to be complete in 2024. That was moved to March of this year, then April, May, and now the end of July.
Once complete, officers and staff are expected to gradually move in. Aucoin said everyone should be moved in by the end of September.
"With the project of this size and magnitude and complexity, some delays are expected," Aucoin said in an interview.
"We had some weather situations as well that impacted the some of the working days, as well as some other factors just with the the construction."
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