The library and cultural centre is 93 per cent finished with no major projects standing in the way of the building’s completion, according to the municipality’s chief administrative officer.
Mark Fercho met with Delnor and Stantec, the project’s contractor and architect, in February to review the entire building from top to bottom—inspecting 287 items—to ensure everything is up to spec.
“It was a long day,” he told council March 1. “It started first thing in the morning and we didn’t leave until 7 at night. We walked through and talked about each individual piece so we know exactly where every detail is at through to completion of the final product.
“My big take away from this meeting is there really isn’t any one big item between us and completion.”
The news comes after months of delays related to three major projects—the stair treads, glass vestibule and heritage building floors—and after years of construction blunders that have delayed the project three years past its original opening date.
For months Fercho has been hesitant to provide a completion date for the project, and he said he still won’t provide one until he is certain it can be achieved.
“I’d like to target as early in the spring as possible,” he said. “In terms of a date, I’m not going to provide a date.”
The budget for the centre was increased to $9 million in 2014, with the caveat that it will most likely reach $9.5 million before the project is complete. That would put the project $1.5 million over its original budget of $7.5 million.
According to Fercho, to date, $8.7 million has been spent on the project.
The work that remains to be completed includes the manufacturing and installation of railings along the building’s stairwells, cabinetry work and fixtures, as well as some finishing touches.
Once those items are completed, along with a second air test to ensure there is no mould in the building, the municipality will then deem the building substantially complete.
“Once we agree that it’s substantially completed, the building then shifts from the contractor’s ownership to the municipality’s and it becomes our responsibility,” explained Fercho. “So prior to doing that we want to make sure that everything is done and it’s working because then we lose some of our ability for security deposits and the warranty period starts, so it’s a very important step that we take carefully.
“It’s a matter of being sure,” he said.
After substantial completion is reached, then comes occupancy, which depends on Parks Canada signing off on the occupancy permit. Fercho said he has no reason to believe that won’t occur.
“We’re working with them every step of the way, instead of at the end of the process,” he said. “It’s their decision at the end of the day, but we’re working hand in glove with them.”
The building’s life, health and safety systems—elevators, sprinklers, fire alarms, emergency lighting, etc.—will also have to be tested before occupancy can take place, ensuring they are all in working order, and the municipality will also need to receive the “as built” drawings of the building.
“We need completed C Schedules, which are the as builts, so that if going forward things go wrong, we know exactly where the wires or the pipes are.”
The biggest issue holding up the project right now, said Fercho, is the affect one contractor can have on another.
“For example, some of the cabinetry is not completed and some of the contractors, like the plumber and electrician, have less than a week of work left, but they can’t do it until that last piece of cabinetry is in.
“So they’re ready to finish and be gone, but that bit of a hold up from one contractor cascading to another is still one of our issues.”
Fercho said there is also uncertainty around when the glass panels will arrive for the railings.
“I don’t know how many weeks they can take, but it could be a number of weeks after those stair rails are in.”
If the glass panels prove to be the last hold out, Fercho said he might allow the contractor to install plywood panels in the meantime, so the building’s tenants are able to start moving in.
“We couldn’t allow people on the stairs without those panels,” he said, explaining that it’s a liability issue.
While council received its report from Fercho, March 1, members of the library board, decked out in hard hats and steel-toed boots, toured the building to see the progress that has been made in the last few months.
Following the tour, Angie Thom, director of library services, said it’s beginning to look the way she always expected it would.
“It’s starting to take shape,” she said.
“I hesitate to say it will be worth the wait, because I don’t think anybody can say that, but it will be wonderful, it will be worth having done the project and I think people will be happy.”
Nicole Veerman
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