Construction costs worry Corroon
But Corroon will have to wait another two weeks, after the County Council on Tuesday tabled a vote to find a solution to solve a $19 million shortfall for the 25 different recreation projects.
"Two weeks doesn't seem like a lot, but time is money," Corroon said. "Based on the current climate, the longer we wait on construction, the more expensive it will get. I just get worried."
County voters approved a $63.5 million bond last November to start construction on the new recreation centers and trails. But unanticipated inflation costs, a push for tight environmental standards, and other "unforeseen conditions" have left county leaders scrambling to figure out a way to fund the budget shortfall.
Last week, the council passed a resolution assuring cities that the county will not break its promise to pay out the $63.5 million that the voters approved for the recreation projects. But for the second week in a row, county leaders could not come to a consensus on the $19 million problem.
Corroon proposed a solution: $20 million in money that was supposed to be used to build a stadium for Real Salt Lake that is now sitting in county coffers.
Corroon wants to use the $20 million bond to offset the inflationary construction costs of all the recreation projects.
Erin Litvack, the county's new community-services director, blamed the inflated costs on low unemployment, an inundation of major construction projects in the market and a shortage of construction material.
Darrin Casper, the county's chief financial officer, admitted, "I was unprepared to address how rapidly this inflation is impacting us."
County Council Chairman Mark Crockett was a little uneasy that the chief financial officer had been caught by surprise, saying that typically, "you build in some margin of savings" when putting estimates on construction projects.
"At first level, I'm feeling a little bit misled on what happened in our estimation process on the projects," Crockett said. "I'm stunned at the level of over rise, even though I understand inflation."
E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com
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