A $3.6 million project will make a splash in Dawson Creek after city council gave staff the go ahead to purchase equipment for a new splash park.
Dawson Creek city council voted in favour of spending the first $1.8 million portion on materials for Kin Park’s upcoming upgrade. This cost includes the design, materials, and the mechanical components. Though, it omits the costs of installation, permitting, and other non-splash park related construction materials – the remaining half of the city’s budget will cover these fees.
During deliberations, councillors asked how the new park would impact the lessening water supply. Mayor Darcy Dober said residents, who have largely been in support of the water playground, need not worry about straining resources as the new equipment will recirculate it.
Water is collected, filtered, and reused through the closed circuit systems in these types of splash pads.
“It uses a fraction of the water of what a flow-through system does,” explained Kevin Henderson, the chief administrative officer at the city of Dawson Creek – according to city staff, recirculation systems use almost 1000 times less water than a traditional, flow-through system.
This splash park will be the one of the first to use this water recycling system in northern B.C., due to the newness and complexity, staff recommended council contract the work to an out-of-town company from the interior.
To determine the most fit candidate, staff said they “scored using an evaluation matrix that included criteria such as qualifications, experience, concept, supporting equipment details, schedule, technical support, warranty, value-added features, and innovation.” Cost, staff said, was not a factor as applicants were told the budget was $1.8 million when drafting their proposals.
Regarding the budget, Devon Aaroe, the city of Dawson Creek’s general manager of development services, said there are “no guarantees” that the project will stay on track.
“The budget was set in the (request for proposal) process that we were expecting to spend $1.8 million. The ask of the proponents was to give us (their) best value project for $1.8 million,” he explained.
City staff said they will begin looking for a general contractor to put the park together this spring.
