Letter submitted to local papers.
Tuesday August 09, 2011
Dear Editor,
At the TLTI Council meeting Monday August 8, there was considerable discussion and concern about the new township office building and all its deficiencies and problems.
The one-year warranty–which was apparently worthless anyway–expired July 25, 2011.
Since Greer Galloway, the engineering firm hired by our former mayor and council, denies responsibility for any of the deficiencies, Council must decide whether to foot the bill on the backs of taxpayers, or to sue the consulting company (including their architect) and possibly M. Sullivan and Sons (General Contractor).
Out of 10 (so far) identified problematical items, these three are highest priority:
-Beams: have the load bearing area balanced evenly on the connecting beams.
-Leaks: since water is penetrating inside from the beam projections, the area requires a polyurethane sealant. The original requirement for “cladding” was apparently dropped through a change order.
-Humidity Control: since no humidifier was included, humidity in winter reaches a low of 17%–far too low for comfort and health.
Frank Kinsella, former mayor, spoke from the audience. He complained that the building did not turn out as he had envisioned.
He urged Council to discover who was responsible for the numerous change orders (usually made to bring the price down). The ex-mayor must know who from council or staff was responsible for overseeing construction.
Why does he not reveal who it was?
He also urged Council to hire a “construction lawyer”. A forensic construction lawyer would be prohibitively expensive for our township.
Our Recreation Director advises that as much as it will cost us to make the administration building waterproof and viable, it would cost much more to try to recover these costs from a deep-pockets company that is unwilling to stand behind its work.
So far, within just over one year, the Township has spent almost $5,000 on repairs to the new building and $4600 + taxes to EXP Services Inc. for a building-condition assessment. There is no estimate yet on the expense to correct “deficiencies”.
The matter of ongoing expensive maintenance requirements is another consideration the current Council must address. As Mayor Bruce Bryan pointed out, this building might suit southern California but it is not suitable for Canadian winters.
Barbara Jones
Lansdowne