City of Cranbrook council Nov. 7 approved an additional $449,000 from the COVID Restart Grant to cover additional construction costs in the renovations at city hall and council chambers.

In 2021, city hall council chambers renovation was a project that came to fruition through a $1,511,716 Investing in Canada Infrastructure program as well as $100,000 from the COVID Restart grant and the remainder funded from other city hall improvement budgets.

The combined project was originally budgeted to be $1,832,876 is now forecast to be $2,282,441. Considering the age of the structure, current construction environment and the challenging hazmat conditions the project has gone well and is schedule to be completed early 2023, a city public works report stated.

Some of the additional costs include:

• Additional hazardous materials abatement associated with the vault, ceiling and electrical room.
• The original vaulted ceiling structure could not be salvaged due to hazardous materials; additional cost to rebuild the vaulted ceiling and decorative features.
• The original lead water main required replacement.
• Added value of the replacement of exterior windows.
• Added value of installing underground conduits for car chargers.
• Construction of new electrical room due to the height and area restrictions.
• Replacement of BC Hydro pole and the addition of three new transformers.
• Structural steel to repair structural issues.

The majority of capital projects happening in the city are experiencing cost increases of at least 30% due to the impacts of inflation and supply chain issues.

Considering the age of the structure, the current construction environment and the challenging hazmat conditions the project has gone well and is scheduled to be completed early 2023, the city reported.

City of Cranbrook photos

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