Council Cancels RFP For Aquatic Park Design Work

Images of what a potential south side aquatic facility would look like presented to Hatters last fall during consultations on the project. (Images courtesy of the City of Medicine Hat)

City council is tapping the brakes on plans for a south side aquatic park, passing a motion Monday to cancel an already issued request for proposal for design work on the project.

“The new council, I think, should have the time to discuss the design prior to awarding any contract to do it and we really just haven’t had that time,” stated Coun. Cheryl Phaff in support of her motion to pause the RFP process.

The city had moved fast in pushing the project forward since the fall with the previous council approving going forward with an ambitious program of building recreation facilities during its last meeting prior to the October election.

That program would see additional sports fields built out in the north end of the city with the combined cost of a full build out of both projects estimated to be up to $150 million or more.

The city issued a 59-page RFP for initial design work on an aquatic facility on Nov. 6 which closed on Nov. 27 with six companies having already bid for the contract to provide those services. The schedualed award date was Dec. 19.

That contract would have been worth up to $3.9 million.

Coun. Bill Cocks said the current council has been “saddled” with a decision of the last one at the end of its term.

“A lot of money to decide to spend at your last meeting,” Cocks told council of the previous council’s decision, adding it was there were issues at play regarding parity in facilities at each end of the city. “It behooves us to put a hold on that, look at the whole thing, where we’ve been, where we’re going and why we’re doing these things.”

He added the Big Marble Go Centre is currently, “grossly underutilized.”

Coun. Mohammad Yusuf agreed with the pause but cautioned against not moving forward with a south side aquatic facility.

Coun. Cheryl Phaff.

Yusuf stated holding off on moving forward with an aquatic facility will impact economic opportunities for the city as well as social ones, specifically, those involving families and youth.

“I’m engaged with that community,” Yusuf stated regarding the last point. “That’s the world that I live in…. I’d like to see that aspect of our community – to make sure that we’re moving ahead with some of these things without necessarily holding it off too long.”

Council discussed timelines for a possible re-issuing of an RFP for the aquatic centre design with interim city manager Joseph Hutter stating it’s unlikely the city can secure provincial or federal funding without some architectural plans.

Council decided not to put any timeline on bringing the RFP process back, voting in favour of cancelling proceeding with the RFP with Coun. Mohammad the lone dissenting vote.

The design work was to include a minimum of two water slides, diving boards, lazy river, water play structures, change rooms, concession as well as accessibility features, according to the RFP.

“Four million dollars is a lot of millions of dollars,” stated Coun. Phaff in comments following the end of Monday’s meeting on her reasons to cancel the RFP process, stressing the need to be respectful of taxpayer dollars.

Six architectural design firms from Alberta, BC and Ontario did place bids for the project by the Nov. 27 deadline.

Phaff stated that it was potentially unfair to businesses to put an RFP out only to cancel it but hopes they will resubmit bids, “if and when we have a new design.”