A couple of surprise expenditures have resulted in Moose Jaw city council approving $100,000 on Monday night for repairs to a couple of facilities. 

Renovations to the Kinsmen Sportsplex continue to cost the city money, as an additional $56,525 was approved.  

Of the $56,525, $30,000 will come from the $60,000 budgeted for flooring repairs for the Moose Jaw Public Library and $26,525 will be coming from saving from the demolition of the YMCA building. 

The shortfall comes after a number of change orders happened for the changerooms and $1,500 worth of work done by the contractor without approval first. 

“Well, that's also a pretty fundamental part of our contracts is that you have to get approvals before you start. So, it's something that needs to be refreshed with people and it's a reinforcement of standard procedure for doing anything that's outside the contract,” said city manager Jim Puffalt. 

This isn’t the first time council had to approve additional funding for the renovations. 

In April of 2019, council approved $425,000 from the Federal Gas Tax Funds to replace the dryline suppression system, replace the upper built roofing systems and interior renovations to the public washrooms, pool change rooms, and the reception area. 

The roof repairs and suppression system were completed last year at a cost of $303,000, leaving $122,000 for the remainder of the project. 

City council approved an additional $125,000 in August of 2020 from the city hall cooling system replacement project as the request for proposals came in at $247,000. 

An additional, $45,000 was also approved to repair humidifiers for the Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery. Those funds will come out of the facilities building reserve. 

The art gallery houses about $3 million worth of artwork and must be kept up to humidity standards to preserve the work. 

The provincial and federal standards for humidity in museums and art galleries are between 45 and 55 per cent. According to the city, the current humidity levels are between 30 and 42 per cent. 

The humidifiers were installed in 2019 and the city has been having issues with the units since the end of November, 2020 with the issue narrowed down to the transducers needing to be replaced. 

Director of parks and recreation Derek Blais said the transducers are still well under their lifespan. 

“The transducers that we're looking to replace do have a lifespan of 10,000 to 15,000 hours, so many of them didn't meet that. We have, through our investigation, been reaching out to other buildings that have similar type things,” he said. 

A total of 216 transducers need replacing.