Staff Report to Council: Policing Facilities Expansion Project – Validation Phase Update

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The West Shore RCMP Detachment Expansion Project has progressed significantly through the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) validation phase. The IPD team has developed a clear understanding of the project's scope, cost, and schedule, and can confidently see a path to deliver within the established $103 million budget.

This report provides an update on the project's status and requests approval for additional validation funding to complete the process and enable a final decision on the project proceeding. This funding request is not an increase to the overall project budget but simply an advance of funding to an earlier stage in the project.

BACKGROUND:

Facility Overview

Jointly owned by The Town of View Royal and the Cities of Langford and Colwood ("the Communities"), the West Shore RCMP Detachment is located at 698 Atkins Avenue in Langford. The existing detachment is approximately 37,000 ft², made up of two largely separate but connected facilities: one built in the 1960s and a newer structure built in 1999 which is approximately 27,803 ft² in size. Once the original 1960s section is replaced by the new 66,951 ft2 facility the detachment will have approximately 94,754 ft2 of useable space.

Project Need and Urgency

West Shore communities have experienced rapid growth over the past decade, resulting in the addition of both officers and support staff to provide policing services. In 2019, RCMP Officer in Charge (OIC) communicated that the current detachment is at or nearing capacity and that additional space is needed to accommodate both current staff and future growth.

Population and Staffing Projections

Population projections and corresponding staffing requirements have been established for the 20-year planning horizon.

Population Growth (2025-2045):

Corresponding Staffing Requirements:

Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) Approach

IPD Implementation

Following the feasibility study recommendations, the Communities successfully implemented an Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) procurement approach. This collaborative delivery method brings together the municipal owners with construction, architecture, structural, mechanical, and electrical team partners under a shared management structure with shared risk and reward.

IPD Team Structure

The IPD team operates under the following principles:

• Shared Management: Collaborative decision-making between owners and design/construction partners
• Shared Risk: Team accountability for project outcomes with profit at risk
• Shared Reward: Performance-based compensation structure that aligns team interests with what is best for project

Validation Phase Purpose

The validation phase is when all IPD team members develop, plan and agree to scope, cost and schedule with the owner in a collaborative and transparent manner. Validation phase completion occurs when this commitment is established contractually, and all subsequent execution work occurs including remaining detailed design and construction occurs without any typical change orders. This means that budget overages are accounted for by depletion of the non-owner IPD team members joint profit pool.

The length of time it takes to complete the validation phase is dependent upon how much design the team needs to do to de-risk the project. Historical validation phase spending in Canada (started in 2012) has been 1.5-3.5% of the total project costs, however, post covid this spending is now trending to 2.5-4.0%.

Current Project Status (July 2025)

Project Budget Confirmation

The IPD team has confirmed the total project budget at $103 million, structured as follows:

Project Challenges and Confidence

The project has proven more challenging than initially envisioned due to:

• Post-disaster building requirements
• Updated seismic code compliance
• Site-specific constraints
• Current material and equipment escalated pricing

Despite these challenges, the IPD team maintains confidence in the path forward to validate the plan to deliver this project within the established $103 million budget, including all contingencies.

Building Systems and Sustainability

The project design incorporates:

• All-electric building systems compliant with Energy and Carbon Step Codes
• Focus on redundancy and operational resilience
• Compatibility requirements with the existing 1999 building
• Collaborative approach between mechanical, electrical, and plumbing consultants and trades

COMMENTARY:

Current Validation Status

The project is currently in the later portion of the IPD validation phase. The original validation budget of $1.2 million (1.5% of the initial $80 million estimate) has been fully expended. The validation process has provided:

• Clear understanding of project scope, cost, and schedule
• Detailed functional programming and space requirements
• Comprehensive risk assessment and mitigation strategies
• Refined cost modeling and target value delivery framework

Additional Validation Funding Required

To complete the validation phase and deliver the final Validation Report, the IPD team requires additional funding of $700,000- $900,000 (when combined with the original $1,200,000 validation funding this amounts to 1.9%-2.0% of the $103 million total project budget). This additional investment will enable:

• Completion of all validation deliverables
• Final cost certainty and risk assessment
• Comprehensive project delivery plan
• Detailed schedule and milestone framework
• RCMP Agreement on the key requirements and deliverables
• IPD partner agreement putting their profit at risk

It is worth noting that the additional validation budget (maximum total of $2,100,000) equates to up to 2.04% of the total project budget, which is below the post covid average spend for a typical project validation.

Proposed Timeline

Assuming approval and authorization in mid-August 2025 by all Communities, the IPD team proposes to deliver the completed Validation Report for Council consideration in late 2025.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:

As noted above, the request for additional validation funding is to complete the validation phase and deliver the final Validation Report. In order to deliver this report, the IPD team requires additional funding of $700,000- $900,000 from the Communities. Of this, Langford would be responsible for up to $540,000 in funding, which equates to 60% (Langford’s portion) of the maximum additional validation budget.

It is important to note that this funding request is not an increase to the overall project budget but an advance of funding to an earlier stage in the project (validation stage) as this work would need to be done in order to complete the project.

STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:

6j – Support the Expansion of the RCMP Facility

OPTIONS:

Option 1
THAT the Council approve up to $540,000 in funding for the RCMP detachment expansion project which equates to 60% (Langford’s portion) of the maximum additional validation budget required to complete the validation phase and enable a final decision on project proceeding.

OR Option 2
THAT Council pause for further review and request additional information or analysis before proceeding with validation completion.

OR Option 3
THAT Council discontinue the current IPD process and explore alternative procurement or delivery methods.

SUBMITTED BY:

Darren Kiedyk, Chief Administrative Officer

Concurrence:
Melisa Miles, Manager of Legislative Services

Concurrence:
Michael Dillabaugh, CPA, CA, Director of Finance

Concurrence:
Braden Hutchins, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer