A city pool renovation has been scaled back to make up for a $1.2-million cost hike.

City planning director John Kiernan said the Transcona Centennial Pool project’s budget rose from $6 million to $7.2 million, once tender prices came in higher than expected.

That led the project to be halted last year, so it could be redesigned to fit its original budget. The redesign scrapped a plan to renovate indoor washrooms and change rooms, with new ones to be built outdoors instead.

The delay also means the new outdoor pool at the site is now expected to be closed an additional summer.

Coun. Russ Wyatt (Transcona) said he’s concerned about the value of the new design, which proposes to build new washrooms on an outdoor pad — which can only be used in the summer — instead of replacing the ones indoors.

“The City of Winnipeg, in its wisdom, is going to build a ... temporary, throw-away building that’s going to be used for two months of the year,” said Wyatt.

Meanwhile, Wyatt believes the existing washrooms in the 40-year-old pool are in dire need of repair.

“Getting the indoor upgraded would give new life to the indoor pool, which operates 12 months of the year,” he said. “We’re trying to avoid a Sherbrook Pool scenario and give this pool another 20 to 30 years.”

Wyatt repeatedly expressed frustration during the city’s community services and parks committee meeting Monday that such changes were made without council oversight.

“Nobody’s informed me, I heard about it through the grapevine,” said Wyatt.

Kiernan said the scope was changed at the direction of the city’s chief administrative officer, with the top priority being to keep the project on budget.

Wyatt successfully moved motions to have city staff check if savings from the outdoor pool being closed an extra summer can be used to top up the project’s budget and if a shuttle can transport area swimmers to the nearest alternative outdoor city pool while renovations continue. The committee approved both measures.

Wyatt said the outdoor pool is now expected to open in 2017, instead of 2016. The indoor pool at the site remains open.

joyanne.pursaga@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @pursagawpgsun