REQUEST FOR DIRECTION: PARKS CAPITAL PROJECTS

TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL COUNCIL REPORT

TO: Council DATE: November 24, 2025 FROM: Ivan Leung, P.Eng, Director of Engineering MEETING DATE: December 2, 2025

REQUEST FOR DIRECTION: PARKS CAPITAL PROJECTS

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT Council direct staff to proceed with the competitive bid process for the Watkiss Way Community Park construction project, for the purposes of contractor award in January 2026;

AND THAT Council delegate the contract award on the condition that the total construction budget does not exceed $153,440 (net of GST);

AND FURTHER THAT the Financial Plan be amended accordingly.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

Option #2: THAT Council direct staff to proceed with the competitive bid process for the Watkiss Way Community Park construction project, for the purposes of contractor award in January 2026 (Staff would present to Council on the recommended award);

Option #3: Council can direct staff to defer the project as part of 2026 budget deliberations. The impact of this option would be delayed completion past peak ‘usage’ season, and potentially higher construction costs.

BACKGROUND:

Due to staffing and resource shortages within the Engineering and Parks departments, staff was unable to progress the following Parks projects to the competitive bid process stage until late 2025:

1. Watkiss Way Community Park Development (Project C-122, 2025 budget $165,240)
2. Chancellor Park Playground Replacement (Project C-032, 2025 budget for Chancellor Park $300,000)

As anticipated project awards would subsequently be scheduled in January 2026, staff require direction from Council. For the Chancellor Park Playground Replacement project, staff will bring forward a report to the December 9, 2025 Committee of the Whole for discussion.

For the Watkiss Way Community Park project, staff recommend continuing the competitive bid process for the construction of the project, with project completion in winter and spring 2026 (winter for grading works, spring for irrigation and planting works). The recommendation is due to three reasons:

• Based on recent tenders for other construction projects, the Town may continue to benefit from favourable bids if awarded this season;
• The Town would benefit from the small grant funding made available to the Town through BC Hydro re-greening fund, and potentially more, as staff continue to seek grants to improve urban forest canopy coverage;
• Completion of the project would be in time for the community to enjoy when favourable weather conditions arrive.

Staff also recommend Council delegate to staff the award of the construction project, on the condition that the total project costs are within the budget identified in the 2025-2029 Financial Plan, for the following reasons:

• Less administrative burden at a time when resources are short;
• The landscape design has already been approved by Council (June 17, 2025 regular Council meeting). Excerpt of design included in Attachment 1 of this report;
• Risks of cost escalations are minimal as the design is simple and low impact: indicative of Council’s decision at the June 17, 2025 meeting due to the park lands being a lease area from the Province).

ANALYSIS:

Impacts and implications can be summarized as follows:

ALIGNMENT:

The recommended option aligns with the Town’s following core guiding documents as follows:

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION GOAL:

The desired level of public participation for the recommended option is:

[x] Inform [ ] Consult [ ] Involve [ ] Collaborate [ ] Empower

TIME CRITICAL:

If approved, staff will immediately initiate the competitive bid process.

CONCURRENCE:

REVIEWED BY:

ATTACHMENTS:

1. Approved Design (Excerpt from June 17, 2025 staff report)

ATTACHMENT 1 – APPROVED DESIGN