By Joel van der Veen
DAVIDSON — It’s the $1.3-million dollar question: has Davidson raised enough to pay for its new swimming pool?
Recreation director Trevor Ouellette said Thursday he expects to know within two or three weeks, once a firm cost for the project has been determined.
Ouellette, the town council and pool committee have been working with cost projections for the last five months, all of which have indicated the cost would be higher than the target set four years ago.
Initially, the gap was high — as much as $1 million, according to Ouellette — but it has narrowed considerably since then, as the plans have changed and some cost reductions found.
The recreation director said he is awaiting a breakdown for the total cost from CCR Construction, Ltd., of Regina, the general contractor for the project.
Ouellette said he didn’t want to speculate on whether the fundraising total and the project cost would line up.
“Obviously, I hope that they can meet it,” he said, adding later, “The fundraising committee has done such a phenomenal job . . . It’s been a four-year push.”
Four members of the swimming pool committee visited Davidson town council as a delegation during its regular meeting on Tuesday, to discuss the project’s status.
Crystal Johnson reported a revised total from the April 8 community auction, saying the event raised $161,000, along with a $20,000 donation presented by PotashCorp that night.
This brings the committee’s total to $1,331,000, surpassing the initial fundraising goal set in 2012.
Johnson said the committee expected the auction to be its final major fundraising push, adding that the generosity on display reflected a general desire on the part of townspeople to meet that goal.
“We have tapped out this community,” she said.
As the committee moves into the build phase of the project, she and other members wanted to make council aware of some concerns.
Johnson said the committee wishes to have clarification on the roles each stakeholder will play during this phase, including the recreation director, the town council, Walker Projects, the contractors and sub-contractors, and the committee itself.
“People view us as ‘the project’ and we’re getting a lot of questions,” said Johnson. “We’re talking in circles at some level, because we don’t know numbers yet.”
The delegates posed several questions of their own, including when firm numbers would be provided on the total cost of construction, and who would be present for the presentation.
For the full story, please see the April 25 edition of The Davidson Leader.