The facts about 'change orders'

Recently on social media, there have been discussions about the “change orders” associated with the twin-pad arena and library project.

The town entered into a Canadian Construction Documents Committee 2 (2008) Stipulated Price Contract with Aquicon. Change orders are addressed under the contract and are formal requests for funding to deal with items not anticipated at the start of the project. The town or the contractor can request a change order.

Change orders are a normal part of large-scale construction projects. Requests are reviewed and recommended for approval by the town’s architect and project manager.

Overseeing the twin-pad arena and library project is the Construction Steer Group (CSG), which provides direction to Colliers International, the project management firm.

When the CSG was established, council authorized spending limits to deal with change orders.

The spending limits are:

Director of Recreation, Events and Facilities – up to $15,000

Chief Administrative Officer - $15,000 to $100,000

CSG - $100,000 to $250,000

Since construction started, the town has received 18 change orders totalling approximately $200,000. There will be more change orders to come as the project unfolds.

The town uses contingency funds in the project budget to pay for approved change orders. As a result, change orders do not alter the overall project cost.

Some of the related discussions on social media incorrectly suggest that the price of the arena and library project will climb due to change orders, and that as a result the town is not honest about the cost of the project.

The town has always been transparent about the arena and library project.

The stipulated (fixed) price construction contract is $43-million, plus HST.

The overall project cost is $59-million. Within the overall project cost there is a contingency to deal with change orders and other unforeseen costs. 

The town does not anticipate the overall cost of the project to increase.

Suggesting otherwise is simply a falsehood and inflammatory.

For more on this subject, see the following staff report:

Twin-pad Arena and Library Change Order – March 24, 2022

Learn more about the twin-pad arena and library project on our website.

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