Fort St. John Council Approves $1.2M More for New Pool Cost Validation, Introduces $90M Loan Bylaw

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The city council has approved an additional $1.2 million to be transferred for the new pool cost validation contract, and it has introduced the facility’s loan authorization bylaw.

During the June 22nd City of Fort St. John regular council meeting, the city council approved staff’s recommendation to add additional partners for the design and cost checking process for the new Aquatics Facility and Indoor Fieldhouse. 

Council also approved an additional $1,200,000.00 to be transferred from the capital reserve to verify the construction estimate. 

The council had originally approved a $1.36 million contract for two companies to design the new aquatics facility. 

The report said the initial budget for checking the Aquatic Facility Replacement construction estimate was $1,800,000. 

The City says the $2.5 million now being spent on the construction estimate is included in the project’s maximum budget of $185,000,000. 

According to the June 22nd staff report, the following parties will be added to the multi-party contract, using the budgets in their June 4th submissions. 

• Structural Engineer Partner – Read Jones Christofferson 
• Structural Trade Partner – Spartan Steel 
• Mechanical Engineer Partner –  AME Consulting Group 
• Mechanical Trade Partner – D. Bauer Mechanical and Arpi’s North 
• Electrical Engineer Partner – WSP Canada 
• Electrical Trade Partner – Westcana Electric 
• Civil Engineer Partner Urban Systems

The city issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) on May 21st and closed the RFP on June 4th. 

The report explained that these additional partners are needed to ensure the city has an accurate construction budget and to gain momentum in the 2027 construction season. 

The Aquatic Facility Loan Authorization Bylaw No. 2635, 2026, was also introduced and read by the council during the June 22nd council meeting. 

The report by city staff said this is the first step in the process to get approval for long-term borrowing. 

The bylaw is required under the Community Charter for a municipality to obtain long-term debt. It establishes the purpose of the borrowing, the maximum amount to be borrowed and the maximum term of the debt. 

This will give the city legal authority to borrow funds from the Municipal Finance Authority to support the project. 

The bylaw will allow the city to borrow up to $90,000,000 toward the total estimated project cost, with a maximum borrowing term of 30 years. 

The bylaw will be submitted to the Inspector of Municipalities for approval, followed by elector approval, and, if successful, will be adopted by the council. 

A referendum has been scheduled for this fall, asking the community to vote on the amount to borrow to build the new pool. 

This will allow the community to vote on the proposed borrowing for the project. It also allows the city to proceed with the required provincial approvals and maintain timelines. 

This bylaw is the first step in the referendum process, and if it is approved by the Inspector of Municipalities, the city will prepare the required materials for the referendum. 

If the city referendum is successful, the bylaw will come back to the council for final adoption at a later date. 

In September 2025, the city’s aquatics facility working group took over the pool project. It has completed several public engagement sessions and announced plans to break ground in 2027 if a referendum is approved by City residents. 

Both reports to the council are posted below.