“When you simply take a reading of a park washroom refurbishing, and you put a price tag of $760,000, you kind of wonder whether it’s gold plated or silver lined,” said Councillor Frank Everitt during last night’s (Monday) Prince George City Council meeting.
That’s the cost of the new washroom upgrades at Carrie Jane Grey Park, but it unfortunately won’t feature gold plating or silver lining.
These costs baffled all the councillors, with many making jabs at how costly this project will be.
“I thought maybe I was going to see a three storey building with, I don’t know, a hot tub and a pool attached, or something for this kind of price tag,” said Councillor Terri McConnachie.
A few different issues caused the City to swallow the price.
Councillor Cori Ramsay brought up the fact that $40,000 already went into consultation for the project, so re-tendering the job could just add more money to the overall cost.
The main driving force in getting these upgrades for these washrooms is to make sure they are ready for the BC Summer Games, and it was noted that the washrooms in their current state weren’t up to snuff.
If the project went back to be re-tendered, they wouldn’t be ready in time for the Games.
Lastly, many Councillors realized that porta-potties would be needed if the upgrades didn’t go through.
“I believe that I don’t want to host the Games dependent on porta-potties,” said Councillor Susan Scott.
The project passed on a 5-3 vote with Councillor Murry Krause absent, and Councillors Brian Skakun, Terri McConnachie, and Kyle Sampson in opposition.
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