City Council asked to pour more cash into selfie sign

Unanticipated construction costs have now increased the price tag to almost $400,000.

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1 / 1 The new Sault Ste. Marie landmark is to be built in front of the PUC substation at the corner of Huron and Queen streets.

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It's going to cost more than expected to install $35,000 worth of concrete letters to greet visitors arriving off the International Bridge.

A lot more.

When the idea of a Sault Ste. Marie welcoming feature was first proposed as part of the Huron Street Reconstruction, the project budget was set at $160,000.

That price included engineering and fabrication in Stratford, Ontario of the white concrete letters and a big red concrete maple leaf; as well as lighting, landscaping and construction of a welcoming plaza with concrete maple leaves embedded in the ground surface.

The idea for a big Sault Ste. Marie sign was suggested in both the City's Downtown Development Initiative and the Canal District Neighbourhood Plan to foster a sense of arrival in both the city and in Canada.

Similar welcoming features in other cities have proved enormously popular with selfie-takers, including the iconic Toronto sign, erected in July 2015 to greet visitors to the Pan American/ Parapan Am Games.

The new Sault Ste. Marie landmark is to be built in front of the PUC substation at the corner of Huron and Queen streets.

The PUC asked for a number of design changes, which resulted in $40,000 being added to the original $160,000 estimate during the city's 2016 budget deliberations.

But then, PUC noticed that it would have to move a pad-mounted transformer to facilitate the construction, something that wasn't anticipated.

Construction of the sign was planned for this summer.

It hasn't happened.

City councillors will be advised on Monday that other unexpected construction costs have now increased the price tag to almost $400,000, even after the fancy maple leaf-emblazoned ground surface was stripped from the project in favour of plain concrete.

To cover the difference, city staff have found some cash within the Downtown Development Initiative budget, including $35,000 that wasn't spent on Queen Street tree replacements and $29,000 in forfeited improvement grants.

On Monday, City Council will be asked to cough up an additional $125,000 to cover the remaining shortfall and allow the project to proceed.

Monday's City Council meeting will be livestreamed on SooToday beginning at 4:30 p.m.