Impact of 30 day hold
Cedar Conversion to Elementary

At the December 10, 2014 Business
Committee Meeting the Committee passed
the following motion:
• “That the Business Committee recommends to
the Board of Education of School District 68
(Nanaimo/Ladysmith) that it enact a 30-day
hold on the construction and awarding of
contracts at Cedar Elementary in order to
review the long term impact of the construction
at Cedar Elementary on the District.”
Business Committee Motion
•
At the same Business Committee meeting
Trustees asked for a staff comment on
what impact, if passed, the motion might
have on Facilities support staffing
Business Committee Motion

On December 15th a site visit for trustees was
held at Cedar Elementary.
Progress was
reported as:
◦ Playfield is substantially complete
◦ Demolition substantially complete
◦ Steel stud framing virtually complete
◦ Under slab plumbing is complete
◦ Concrete slabs have been made good
◦ Plumbing rough in nearly complete
◦ Electrical rough in underway
Site visit

At the site meeting staff advised that the
project budget allocations are:
◦ $361,000 – Local capital (Playfield)
◦ $1,000,000 – 14/15 AFG (Building+Site)
◦ $1,000,000 – 15/16 AFG (Building+Site)
◦ $2,361,000 – Total
Site Meeting - Budget Reminder

At the site meeting it was asked how
much has been spent to date?

As of December 10th:
◦ Approximately 100% of the local capital has
been expended.
◦ Approximately 55% of the 14/15 AFG capital
has been expended.
Financials

The impact of a 30 calendar day Hold on the
project would result in a ‘construction’
completion of around August 31. This was
arrived at by adding 30 days to the schedule
reported on November 12th.

A 30 day hold would substantially affect
planning for the opening and complications in
opening would be probable. Up to and
including a possible delay in opening.
Impact to Schedule

It is important to understand that the
project at Cedar is “board managed”
◦ The District is acting as its own general
contractor
◦ Labour is supplied under the CUPE collective
agreement
◦ All subcontracts are with the district
◦ All supplies are purchased by the district
◦ All overhead and rentals are by the district
Contracts affected

The District has an Energy Manager
agreement with BC hydro. They fund 50% of
the salary.
◦ As part of the agreement with have an agreed
SEMP (strategic energy management plan) which
includes 2 projects at cedar separately funded out
of the 14/15 AFG
 C-OP or continuous optimization (2-variable speed
drives)
 Exterior Lighting upgrade + interior lighting controls

Staff recommend to continue with these
projects
Agreement “Directly” affected
A mechanical tender is required. The
publish date has been delayed until the
18th of December and publication will
depend on the outcome of the meeting
tonight.
 Staff feel it would be prudent to delay the
tender, if the ‘hold’ is approved as the
intentions of the District would not be
clear and likely confuse bidders.

The delay of this tender would likely
cause coordination complications later in
the project.
Tender Affected
Staff would turn planning efforts to other
projects in an effort to appropriately
reallocate CUPE forces and support other
‘approved’ projects.
 This shift in project focus would affect the
momentum of the project if restarted.

Planning ‘focus’ affected

Staff working at Cedar secondary would
be reallocated to other approved projects.
These projects include:
◦ Approved 14/15 AFG projects (IS, SEMP, 10
year plan, etc.)
◦ Approved Local Capital projects (North Oyster)
◦ School funded projects (Various)
◦ Other projects (yet to be identified)
◦ Miscellaneous Maintenance work (as required)
Affect on Staffing

30 day hold would:
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Put a hold on the unspent Cedar $
Cause a refocus of planning to other projects
Cause a reallocation of AFG forces
Require re-planning for a condensed schedule
Delay the mechanical tender
Delay or suspend misc. supplies/contracts
In affect be longer than 30 days due to
demobilization and remobilization
Potentially delay opening
Cause an increase in project cost
Create confusion and uncertainty with respect to
future of project
Cause uncertainty around planning for district goals
In summary
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Layoffs could be up to 11 regular and 5
casual – i.e. the full compliment of workers
currently funded outside of the operating
budget.
HR advised that layoffs of this magnitude
require a Section 54 notice.
Section 54 requires that no layoffs occur in
the first 60 days after the notice.
Therefore, Section 54 notice should be given
immediately, if the hold is passed (Dec 18)
60 day layoff period will cause significant
pressures on existing AFG plans and
Operating resources to keep forces
employed.
Past 30 days & Section 54 notice