Westlock town council will be presented with a detailed breakdown of costs for the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre at the Dec. 10 council meeting.
Town manager Darrell Garceau said the report will come in response to questions from town councillors and the Westlock News for specific financial details relating to the project.
“We’re just trying to wrap up and conclude with the financial affairs of the Spirit Centre,” he said.
The report will summarize the capital costs incurred for various components of the project, including the fees paid to Balon Contracting and Brenex Building Corporation, as well as the various sub-trades contracts.
It may not necessarily provide details of all the furnishings, however, as some of those expenses came out of the operating budget.
“The furnishings of the building, for example tables and chairs, weren’t part of the capital cost. We built into the operating budget costs relative to that, to furnish the building,” Garceau said.
As for why it has taken more than five months to make this information available to council and the public, Garceau said for several months after the grand opening in June the town was sorting out the holdbacks to be paid to the various contractors, a process that took a few months to complete.
Since the grand opening, the town has also hired a new Director of Finance due to a retirement, which has somewhat complicated the process.
“We just wanted to make sure that all the costs relative to the project,” he said. “We want this information so that everybody knows what the cost of the project is, all costs considered.”
The News filed a request for information under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIPP) Act on Nov. 16, seeking access to invoices that show the specific expenses incurred in the construction and furnishing of the Spirit Centre.
Carol Revega, the town’s FOIPP Coordinator, indicated in a letter that the information would be provided within 60 days in accordance with the legislation, since the information is already being prepared for presentation to council.
Garceau said if the report to be presented to council doesn’t provide all the information specified in the request, he will provide it.
