Replacing the boilers for the main and tot pools at Port Moody's Rocky Point Park with heat pumps will cost almost twice as much as originally anticipated.
According to a staff report to be presented to council’s finance committee tonight, Oct. 15, replacing the boilers will cost $455,438. The original approved budget for the project was $244,000.
Project manager Sandy Tolentino said the increase is due to higher costs for equipment and electrical distribution upgrades as well as general contracting work like building foundations for the heat pumps and trenches for piping that weren’t included in the original budget.
Tolentino said replacing the gas-fired boilers that heat the water in the two pools with electric heat pumps is a component of Port Moody’s plan to reduce its greenhouse gas emission. She said the boiler for the main pool is in “dire need of repairs” and likely wouldn’t operate another season anyway.
Tolentino said some of the extra expense could be covered by reallocating $125,000 that had been budgeted for the installation of thermal pool covers. She said while the covers would have achieved significant reductions of greenhouse gases by helping retain heat in the pools and reducing evaporation, it was determined they’d pose logistical and safety challenges for staff.
The rest of the money — $135,000 — could come from the city’s climate action implementation reserve fund, said Talentino.
In September 2023, Port Moody councillors endorsed a plan to reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent from 2017 levels by 2030 and 97 per cent by 2040 by replacing equipment in 22 civic facilities as it reaches the end of its serviceable life. The initiative is expected to cost $11 million.
Tolentino said while the boiler for the tot pool is only five years old and has lots of life left in it, replacing it at the same time as the main pool’s boiler would be more cost efficient and result in immediate energy cost savings and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
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