Cost of new RCMP detachment in Moncton goes up

The cost of a new detachment for the Codiac RCMP is going up.

Moncton's capital budget shows the originalcost at $43.4 million for 2019, but the project is now being pushed to 2020, raising the cost to $46 million.

"What we're hoping here is that we have a number here that's a good number that covers the total cost of the whole project," saidDonMcLellan, thegeneral manager of safety services.

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Gregg Houser, the city's deputy treasurer, said moving the project to the 2020 budget is partly responsible for the higher estimate. The city also added $1.6 million to theproject estimate from money left over from an earlier police authority budget.

Coun. Bryan Butler, a former police officer, said the previous cost was $725 a square foot, and that has gone up to $730 a square foot.

"We really, really, really have to buckle down here and get a price that's within reason with the downtown centre coming online and having to pay that and now $46 million even if it goes down to [$40 million] that's still a lot of money," he said.

The city hasn't chosen a site for the new detachment, which is to be adequate for 200RCMPmembers.

Butler said he supports putting up a new building, but questions the size.

"When the RCMP came in here in 1998, there was 127 members," he said. "Now there's 147 members. So in 20 years they've only hired 20. So if we do that for a while, it's going to be a while before we get to 200, and that's the size of this building it will hold 200 members."

Coun.Pellerin expressed a similar concern.

"Instead of putting all of the cost up front for a building that perhaps won't have 200 officers, wouldn't it be wise to build it and we can expand upon it if need be instead of putting the city in debt for $46 million?"

Coun. CharlesLeger, the chair of theCodiacRegional Policing Authority, said it is bound by certain standards for the new building laid out by theRCMP.

Three companies have been approved by city council to bid on the project, Bird Construction/Terra Trust, Ellis Don Corporation and the Ashford group.

Don McLellan said there are still many issues to resolve about the project, including a proposedfinancing model, which would bepresented to Moncton, Riverview and Dieppe, which are policed by the detachment.

"The trick will be in trying to decide the size of the building that will meet our needs today, 10 years from today and 20 years from today," McLellan said. "So that'sthemagic."

The capital budget was approved in principle, with final deliberations set for Dec.18. Bryan Butler and Paul Pellerin both voted against it.

The new station is still expected to open in 2020.