The Young Pool site during the initial stages of demolition.
The Young Pool project has met with controversy with Councillors being asked to approve the following resolution at Wednesday night’s meeting in Boorowa.
(a) Receive and note the report; (b) Acknowledge the total asbestos cleanup costs of $667,640; (c) Endorse the variation of contract 136 of 2019 to cover the asbestos cleanup, splash pad and increased foundation costs, increasing the total contract value from $2,181,283 to $3,131,283; (d) Endorse a change of project scope to include a zero-depth splash pad in lieu of a splash pool; (e) That the 2019-2020 budget be adjusted to include these additional costs as part of loan borrowings subject to further advice from OLG; (f) That this budget amendment and increased borrowings, if agreed be placed on exhibition for 28 days; (g) Delegate to the General Manager to execute all necessary documentation.
The Council reports states, ” In May 2019, after the removal of some internal wall sheeting the contractor identified Asbestos Containing Material (ACM) sandwiched between the wall frame and the external brick veneer cladding. Staff, under their delegated authority, instructed the contractor to remove and dispose of the ACM. This equated to 40m2 of ACM being disposed of at a cost of $11,942. ”
It then states, ” In June 2019, after the demolition of the existing building, the contractor identified extensive foundations beneath the building. These foundations were noted as being encased in ACM material. All material in contact with the ACM needed to be disposed of at a licensed facility. Again, staff acting within their delegations, authorised the Contractor to dispose of the material. This equated to 354t of ACM impacted material being disposed of at a total cost of $155,698. ”
It further states, “900t of material being removed from site at a cost of $446,503. In line with Council’s legislative requirement to clean up instances of ACM found during construction, a clean-up order was given to the contract. All ACM finds were considered a latent condition under the contract. Therefore, the contractor is entitled to recover costs associated with these.”
Splash Pad Due to the prevalence of ACM within the soil on site, and the limited budget remaining, staff have requested a design for a zero-depth splash pad. This design can be seen in the below figure. The splash pad shown is anticipated to cost $400,000 and will create small amounts of excavated material. This excavated material will be due to in-ground services (pipes) and the water toys themselves. The original design included a splash pool to facilitate learning to swim by toddler aged children. This was based on the removal of both the “mushroom pool” and the “toddlers pool”. In May 2019 staff directed the contractor not to remove the “toddlers pool” as it was not in the footprint of construction and would provide an additional pool at the facility. This resulted in a cost saving to council of $7,000.”
