Coun. Bill Harper wants the city to develop a policy around buying goods and services from the United States when the Canadian dollar is in the tank.
On Monday, council received a report outlining a number of requests from the parks, culture and recreation department for early approval of items contained in the 2016 capital budget. Council approved the funding requests for several projects, including heater replacement at Moody Park Outdoor Pool ($48,000), several different initiatives at the Hume Park Outdoor Pool totaling $70,000 and $300,000 for replacement of the artificial turf carpet at Mercer Stadium.
According to staff, additional funding is needed to supplement funds carried forward from 2015 to account for “significant increases” in the U.S. dollar. Synthetic turf can only be sourced in the United States, said staff.
Harper questioned whether the city is able to hold off on the Mercer Stadium project until the Canadian dollar improves.
“That’s a huge chunk of change,” he said of the 70 cent dollars used to buy goods from the United States. “I am wondering if we can develop a strategy around the Canadian dollar and some of the products we have to purchase.
Dean Gibson, the city’s director of parks, culture and recreation, said the city deferred the synthetic carpet at Mercer Stadium last year with the hope of getting an infrastructure grant to help with the cost. He said the artificial turf is 12 years old, and the recommended lifespan is eight to 10 years.
“It would not be our recommendation to defer it beyond this coming season,” he said, noting reliability and safety issues. “The early approval is required primarily so the work can be done and completed before we get into the fall of this coming year. There are weather considerations.”
Harper said he’d still like the city to develop a strategy around the issue of the U.S. dollar for purchases as it can cost the city money.
“Sometimes it’s a double edge sword,” said Coun. Chuck Puchmayr. “You wait for the dollar to adjust and the cost of the commodity goes up. How much are you actually saving? I understand that (dollar) is quite an impact.”
