Special honour
Naz Rayani earns Chamber’s Lifetime Achievement award Page A3
NEWS: Skateboarders allowed in downtown core /A4 RECREATION: Fishers angle for new synopsis /A10 SPORTS: Royals takes first two games in playoffs /A19
VICTORIANEWS Wednesday, April 1, 2015
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Another $1.5M for bridge Andrea Peacock Victoria News
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Necessary roughness Belmont Bulldogs’ Kaleigh Dupuis, left, attempts to tackle Vic High Titans’ Emma Troost during high school girls 7s rugby action at Vic High on Friday.
The Johnson Street Bridge's contingency fund has increased by $1.5 million, despite an initial recommendation by city staff to increase it by $4.8 million. “I think that is enough to deal with the imminent overages for things that would happen in the next few months,” said Coun. Marianne Alto, who suggested that the increase be lowered to $1.5 million. “Capping it at $1.5 [million] now means that council has perhaps the opportunity for a bit of a shorter tether on the project's expenses.” The $4.8 million increase was suggested to cover costs due to schedule delays and additional legal costs for external legal advice and participation in mediation. In addition to the tighter budget, council also directed staff to report back at the next quarterly update on expenditures incurred and any anticipated additional expenditures and costsavings. “I hope that it sends the message that we're taking every possible opportunity to curtail costs, that we're not prepared to endorse every request, that we're looking for ways to mitigate any cost increases and that we're certainly doing our due diligence in the oversight of the project's expenditures,” Alto said. By doing a gradual assessment of what additional costs may be necessary, Alto said there will be more opportunities to reduce costs. “We're not interested in just authorizing [an] array of expenditures without knowing what they are,” said Mayor Lisa Helps, adding she still expects many of these costs to be recovered in the mediation process. Coun. Jeremy Loveday said he is satisfied with the reduction of the increase from $4.8 million to $1.5 million. PLEASE SEE: Council reins in bridge budget, Page A5
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