Splash pad costs prompt lively debate at Hamilton City Hall

The question of whether the city is getting soaked on spray pad costs has prompted another debate, this time, amongst the public works committee.

At issue is information gathered by Ward 7 Councillor Donna Skelly, who found that Hamilton is spending far more to build splash pads than other communities.

Skelly cites the example of Thunder Bay where she says a splash pad has been built for $350,000 with “three or four times the intricacy and size” of one that she’s building in her ward for almost $600,000.

Cynthia Graham, the city’s manager of landscape architectural services, says they’ve looked at Skelly’s information and determined that it is not an apples-to-apples comparison.

Specifically, Graham notes that Hamilton, unlike the other municipalities, includes geotechnical and archeology studies, as well as any consulting fees.

She insists that when those additional costs were removed, “our prices were actually quite comparable.”

A more detailed financial breakdown will be presented to a future meeting of the audit and finance committee.