Clarence Valley Council has estimated that the discovery of a non-friable asbestos pipe at McLachlan Park in Maclean will add $105,000 to the cost of the project. The pipe was exposed on May 25 during excavation works to replace the existing levee wall at the southern end of the redevelopment. In a report that will be tabled at next week’s council meeting, the councillor officer states that “alternate methodologies to remove the remaining material” in future stages of the park’s redevelopment, “need to be further investigated in an attempt to reduce removal and disposal costs”. “The removal of the contaminated material and two significant weather events (4 June 2016 and 19 June 2016) have resulted in the project being delayed by approximately 4 weeks,” the report states. Meanwhile, at the northern end of the park where a new toilet block is being constructed, a two-week delay has not resulted in a budget blowout. The report states that $90,000 of the total $170,000 budget has been expended and that the toilet block was due to be completed by July 8. Calling for tenders to replace the existing pontoon and the construction of a new one (both with water and electricity supplies) has been delayed “due to staff resource availability”. “It is planned that the outcomes of the tender will be reported to a future meeting of Council,” the report states. The revised completion date for the pontoons is October 10, 2016. The revised completion date for the car park, at a cost of $120,000, at the southern end of the park is October 17. The two camphor laurel trees that have been removed will be replaced with “advanced Red Cedar (Toona ciliate)” trees at a cost of $60,000 – the “total committed and expended funds [to date] are $22,000”. A full appraisal of the project’s progress can be viewed in the July council meeting papers.