City spending $600K to build splash pads, and some say that doesn't add up

At least two upcoming splash pad projects in Hamiltonare on track to exceed$600,000 twice the amount of similar projecs some other cities.

And while two city councillors say this seemsfishy, city staff insist those numbers don't tell the whole story.

The city is designing new spray pads in Glanbrook and Bruce Park, with each costing more than half a million dollars.

Donna Skelly, Ward 7 councillor, says that doesn't sound right. Someone could build a lavish house for that amount, she said.

I can build a nicefriggingmansion and furnish it for the price that we're building a splash pad.- Ward 8 Coun. Terry Whitehead

She's compiled numbers that show other cities pay less than that. In London, for example, prices come in around $370,000. In Mississauga, a splash pad of 88 square metres costs $222,000.

Terry Whitehead, Ward 8 councillor, agrees with Skellythat the city could do better.

"I've felt from day one that we're being taken to the bank," he said at city council's public works committee Monday. "I can build a nice frigging mansion and furnish it for the price that we're building a splash pad."

But Cynthia Graham, the city's manager of landscape architecture services, says those quotes are not apples-to-applescomparisons. They don't include, for example, geotechnical consulting.

Strip those away, she said, and "our prices were quite comparable. For just construction and contingency, we're at around $325,000."

There are some ways to make it cheaper, but most committee members didn't seem to be fans of it.

One option is to create three or four standardized designs to use across the city, so every splash pad would be the same, a staff report said. That would save about $20,000. Another option is to limit splash pads to places with existing water and wastewater connections.

Tom Jackson, Ward 6 councillor, didn't like the idea of limiting locations. Taxpayers value splash pads, he said, and view them as a good use of money.

Sam Merulla, Ward 4 councillor, said the city uses a lowest bidder process to find a builder for its splash pads. He called the process "bulletproof."