A Thorold councillor is concerned about the state of some work done during the multi-million-dollar renovation of the City’s Municipal Operations Centre.
Jim Handley called the operations centre “a great facility,” but he noted that there were several issues he noticed when he toured the facility recently.
“I was talking to employees, and pointed out where in the new facility was actually a leak in the ceiling that was noticeable,” Handley said at the Dec. 10 council meeting. “You could see it.”
He added that while the women’s change area was compliant with the Ontarians with Disabilities Act (ODA), other areas, including bathroom stalls, were not.
“There's not an actual handicapped bathroom there,” he said.
Handley also said he saw doors jambs that were” totally rusted through at the back of the building” during his tour.
“I got pictures of steel columns where they put in brand new asphalt … brand new steel door, brand new door trim, but left a totally rusted steel column there and in an $8.1-million renovation, to me, that’s totally unacceptable.”
Drains were “plugged already in the new, renovated building” and the centre was flooded after the first significant snowfall of the season, he said, once again emphasizing the cost of the work.
“This is a new $8.1 million – or whatever it is – renovation,” he said. “And I don’t believe what I saw there was very impressive.”
ThoroldToday reached out to Handley, looking for the councillor to expand on his comments but did not receive a response.
Meanwhile, in an email, the city's Director of Community Services Geoff Holman, said that inspections of the work done at the centre on Beaverdams Rd “were completed to permit occupancy and operations."
“However, there are still minor deficiencies that are being addressed with the contractor during the warranty period,” he said, adding that because the work is being completed under warranty, it will not add to the cost for the work done on the centre.
“The project remains within budget, and the deficiencies are being addressed with the contractor, as we are still within the warranty period,” he said, in the email.
When Holman was employed by the City of Niagara Falls back in 2013, that city experienced issues with what was then the recently completed Gale Centre, when glycol was discovered to be leaking from pipes at the $38-million four-pad area. The Thorold building problems are different than what happened in the Falls, however.
“This project involved the expansion and renovation of the building, with the Gale Centre being a newly constructed addition,” he said. “We are still within the warranty period, and the remaining issues will be addressed.”
