So many unanswered questions
Dear Editor,
I attended the presentation by Stantec and Delnor given to council on May 21 regarding the new library expecting to finally hear some answers to questions that I think council, administration and the public have a right to know. I came away completely frustrated by the total lack of information presented. Very reasonable questions were asked, such as:
When is the expected completion date? The builder is now saying possibly December 2013, 11 months late. No explanation as to the reason why it is taking so long was asked for or given. What on earth are they doing in that building to make a 14-month project take 25 months? Some explanation should have been demanded and given.
How much will the final cost of the project be? The builder and architect have no idea. Of course they don’t. Just four or five months into the project it was already a million dollars over budget. Now we have to deal with the cost of replacing a new roof, fixing unknown mechanical issues, more consultant fees, possible legal fees and the cost of 11 additional months of labor to complete the project—and whatever else may come to light in the next seven months. It’s going to cost a tremendous amount of money. The scary part of this is that the final cost is completely in the hands of the builder and project manager. Council will have no choice but to approve and pay for whatever number they decide. This means that control of the budget has been taken out of the hands of administration and council and they are at the mercy of whatever the builder decides they can legally charge. This is a very dangerous way of doing business.
What are the mechanical issues that are plaguing the project and causing this delay? Hardly a word was mentioned about the mechanical problems. I learned after the meeting that the builder and project manager have been advised by their legal team not to say a word about this issue as it may compromise their accountability and liability as far as fixing or accepting responsibility for any errors made. Wonderful. Now we have a whole flock of high-priced lawyers getting involved and we have no idea as to what the scope and cost of these issues might be. If the builder is engaging lawyers to defend them at this stage of the project, it just indicates to me that something very serious is happening that council must be informed of and expose as soon as possible. This gag order is just another attempt to keep us in the dark and avoid responsibility.
Why do we have to replace a new roof with another new roof and who is going to pay for it? A really meaningless, non answer was given. “We have to go through the processes and protocols accepted in the industry to determine liability.” What the hell kind of an answer is that? I am sure that the processes and procedures (established by the industry) will determine that the town is liable for any mistakes or errors the builder or architect made. I had an opportunity to review the engineers summary of the roof and it is filled with phrases like “insulation missing, conduit penetrations were not sealed, air barrier membrane is situated on the wrong side, mechanical penetrations were not sealed at all, structural roof decking is not air sealed, materials that are totally inadequate were used” and so on. This has to be due to incompetence, negligence, inexperience or just plain shoddy workmanship on the part of the roofer. Do they get to avoid responsibility?
Jack Templeton
Jasper, Alta.
