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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, M ar ch 11 ,2 02 1 | 6 TAKEOUT • DELIVERY • CATERING FREE DELIVERY IS A LIMITED TIME OFFER. SOME RESTRICTIONS APPLY. NO PROMO CODE REQUIRED 65 UNIVERSITY AVE. E WATERLOO (519) 725-5252 A shiny new pavilion is expected to be installed next to the RIM Park ball diamonds this spring, though it won't be as shiny as originally anticipated. After the lowest bid ($811,000) to build it came back more than $300,000 over budget back in 2019, city council retendered the project last year after cut- ting back on the scope. According to a report to council last December, the lowest bid the second time around ($893,000) was $80,000 more than the first time, with fewer individual washrooms -- four instead of six -- and storage space for user groups deleted, with the ability to add it in the future. Another cost-saving re- duction was to change the roof structure from steel to cross-laminated timber. "As it turned out, the cost actually increased in this scenario, given the ab- normally high price of tim- ber at present due to the pandemic," the report said. After meeting with the developer, staff deter- mined no further reduc- tions could be made to the project without deleting the outdoor plaza, which would detract from the overall user experience. Four options were present- ed for council's consider- ation. While members ulti- mately voted to award the construction contract and top up the project budget by $400,000, using develop- ment charges and money for parkland dedication to cover cost increases, not all agreed with the decision. "Given how tight things are right now and how cre- ative we're having to be with the money we have for our community, I just don't see this as the best use of funds for our community at this time, no matter where the funds are com- ing from," said Coun. Te- nille Bonoguore, who voted against the motion along with Coun. Royce Bodaly, who questioned the urgen- cy of the project and want- ed to take another look at it down the road. The project, estimated at just shy of $1.4 million (the previous cost of extending underground pipes includ- ed), will be needed to serve a growing population nearby, according to Kevin Van Oo- teghem, city manager of capital programs and pro- ject management. The site located off Uni- versity Avenue East, next to three ball diamonds and the new Waterloo regional hospice, is currently un- serviced with portable washrooms, he said. An accessible, universal washroom is part of the de- sign, along with the four in- dividual washrooms. "With the potential for more residential develop- ment nearby and a future bike park in the vicinity, it's probably getting to a size where it warrants a fa- cility such as this and, cer- tainly in a post-COVID world, handwashing on site will be important," said Van Ooteghem. Coun. Diane Freeman said the city has challenges with its soccer pitches and ball diamond amenities be- ing good enough quality to host travel tournaments, so people want to come to Waterloo and play here. "I am disappointed like others in the fact that we went back out to tender and came back at more money and we're getting less for the money," Free- man stated, "but I do un- derstand the challenges with the pandemic." She believes the wood will look nicer than steel anyway. The design for a new pavilion at RIM Park with a roof structure over the outdoor portion made of cross-laminated timber instead of steel. City of Waterloo image RIM PARK BALL DIAMOND PAVILION TO GET UNDERWAY IN SPRING NEWS BILL JACKSON bjackson@torstar.ca