Weekend highlights Sports scores and stories from across Nanaimo.
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www.nanaimobulletin.com
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2015
VOL. 27, NO. 52
Construction costs push water plant beyond budget
Petition targets lack of books
BY TAMARA CUNNINGHAM
LIBRARY USERS believe fewer titles available to public after Harbourfront branch renovation.
I
THE NEWS BULLETIN
Nanaimo’s state-of-the-art water treatment plant project could run $1.5 million over budget, according to city water resources manager Bill Sims. A new $71-million filtration system, one of the city’s most costly infrastructure projects in recent times, will potentially be $1.5 million over budget, thanks in part to higher-than-expected construction expenses and a switch to provincial sales tax. The City of Nanaimo is in the last leg of construction for the South Forks water treatment plant and filtration system, with hopes of sending treated water into the city distribution system by mid-December. Construction began two years ago, prompted by new requirements by Island Health that the city take more stringent measures to prevent waterborne illness. Already the system is attracting industry attention for its technological advances, Sims said in a staff report. But the project is also surpassing its $1.35-million contingency. “When the project was tendered we were in the middle of that transition from HST back to PST and GST and the province adjusted the rules, so there was a $2-million hit to the project,” Sims said, who adds that it took a chunk out of a contingency that normally would be $4-5 million. Overall the costs are not unexpected and other than higher construction tenders and the PST change, “things have gone as best as we could hope for with a project of this complexity,” he said. See ‘DEADLINE’ /4
BY TAMARA CUNNINGHAM THE NEWS BULLETIN
KARL YU/THE NEWS BULLETIN
Pottery practice
Grei Orser makes bowls for the Empty Bowl fundraiser at Woodlands Secondary’s pottery studio on Saturday. With Woodlands’ pottery program and student council planning the Empty Bowl fundraiser meal for Dec. 10, volunteers are hard at work making bowls. Loaves and Fishes Community Food Bank is the beneficiary of the event and more volunteers are sought for bowl making on Saturday (Nov. 14). Please contact Jean Kloppenburg at jkloppenburg@sd68.bc.ca for more information.
It feels like the collection at Nanaimo Harbourfront Library has been “whittled away,” says former librarian and bookstore owner Thora Howell, who is helping to collect signatures to bring back the books. The Harbourfront library reopened in October after a seven-month renovation project, estimated at about $900,000. The library claims it’s still stacked with plans to expand its children’s section, but Howell said all you have to do is go into the branch to see the “incredible absence of material.” Howell, who previously owned Bastion Bookstore, said she’s a huge supporter of libraries and is a former librarian herself, but she and about 10 to 15 other residents have concerns about the new renovation. She believes the collection was once at 120,000 items and now sits at 35,000. There are fewer books, said Howell, who adds that as far as she can tell, there was no consultation with library users. A photography section disappeared some time ago and the Pacific Northwest Room has been dissolved, she said. “That library doesn’t reflect anything of this community, it just doesn’t,” said Howell, who’s now collecting signatures on the petition. The Vancouver Island Regional Library saw concerns in an anonymous press release distributed last week and wrote a retort to “correct misstatements” and provide clarity. It says before the refurbishment it had the capacity to hold 120,000 items but actually held 50,000. Communications officer Natasha Bartlett said there was no major effort to get rid of books but an estimated 5,000 books have been redistributed into the general floating collection, which is available to all library users, not just those browsing the Harbourfront library. See ‘BOOKS’ /4
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