The Cochrane aquatic/curling centre was reviewed at Monday (September 26) evening's town council meeting.

Administration has been providing updates to council on the status of the pool (budget and timeline) but a recent announcement has some council members livid.

An updated schedule and budget projection have been completed for the remainder of the project and it is showing a much larger than expected overage, plus an extended timeline.

The new centre is coming in at 6.6% cost overrun (up 3 million dollars) and will see a staggered opening between March and June 2017.

Cochrane Councillor Mary Lou Eckmeier remarked that she will be asking questions and she wants answers.

"My first question is these things don't just happen over night or in a 30 day period so why are we just hearing about these exorbitant overages now? We had a report, I think in June that we were about a million dollars over (with regards to ground issues) now we are getting a report that we are another two million dollars over. There is going to need to be some clear answers...who's responsible, why did this happen, why didn't we find out about it earlier?"

Eckmeier states she also has questions regarding fundraising, or lack there of. Monies need to come from somewhere, and Eckmeier states if the town looks at using MSI grants to cover the shortfall, other projects will be further in debt.

Eckmeier understands that projects such as these often run somewhat over budget, but feels duped to be finding out now; especially after council approved more money for a spray park.

"What is unacceptable is that this comes out of the blue at the 11th hour. Somebody had to know something- a site manager, the builder's, somebody managing it from administration. We are all supposed to be on the same team, and I just don't mean council and administration, or council and the mayor, I mean the entire town; we all want what's best, we don't want high taxes but in the long run if we use MSI grants to do this and then we have to finance other items that is tax dollars...no matter what pocket you take it out of."

A lot of questions will need to be answered at council and Eckemeier believes that many community members will feel exactly as she does.

"It's not that these things don't happen but the fact that this is sort of an out of the blue, 11th hour announcement- I don't like these kind of surprises and I think there's a lot of people that are going to feel just like me."