Council approved to spend $125,000 for an outdoor splash park at the Monday council meeting.
As a last minute item added to the council agenda, Coun. Jeff Toews brought up that there was an opportunity to save more than $100,000 on splash park equipment if purchased before July 15.
Originally the equipment was not in the budget, as the outdoor above ground equipment was expected to be an expense at a later date but the opportunity to save on shipping costs arose.
While unexpected, administration assured council the cost for the equipment would be covered from the project’s existing funds.
Coun. Morgan Nagel opposed the motion as he said he thought they should not be spending extra money when it was recently discovered that the aquatic and centre is almost $1 million over budget due.
The extra expenses stemmed from construction workers discovering the ground was not as compacted as originally thought. As a result, soil had to be removed, re-compacted, and additional fill and concrete were added to stabilize the site.
Nagel also mentioned that the funds raised for Rock the Waves campaign is still under half of the $10.6 million the project needs with only $4.4 million raised according to the campaign website, Rock the Waves.
“No one is going to donate to a pool that is already built,” Nagel said.
Mayor Ivan Brooker noted that the campaign has only been running for a year and is projected to run for a total of 10 years.
“Cochrane has to build for the future,” Coun. Tara McFadden said.
The possibility of sponsors who would donate if the equipment was purchased now was brought up but could not be confirmed.
Council approved the expenditure. Nagel was the only councillor to vote against the purchase.
