The same three projects that have delayed completion of the library and cultural centre for the last two months continue to hold up the project, once again putting the building’s opening date into question.
When construction began on the long beleaguered project, it was slated for completion in January 2013, but over the course of the next three years, numerous construction errors and unforeseen issues delayed the project—with the roof, walls, floors, stairs, windows and mechanical system all being improperly installed and subsequently being redone.
In December 2014—nearly a year past its original opening date—the municipality announced a new completion date of September 2015, but that date, as well as the subsequent Oct. 2 completion date, have come and gone and the building is still under construction.
Last month, council heard that the plan is to have the building substantially completed by January 2016 and that an opening date would follow shortly after. However, during the Dec. 8 committee-of-the-whole meeting, Mark Fercho, chief administrative officer, said with the most recent delays, he’s not certain when the building will be complete.
“At this point I’m in discussion with Delnor,” he said of the building contractor, “and they haven’t put a firm date on [completion].
“We need more detailed discussion with Delnor on what it will take to get this project through to completion. We’re almost there,” he said.
The three outstanding projects include reinstalling the glass vestibule at the entrance of the building, inspecting, approving and installing new stair treads and railings along staircases and installing wood flooring in the entranceway of the heritage building—the former home of the library and the heart of the entire expansion project.
All three projects need to be completed before the building’s startup and commissioning can begin and municipal staff can start training on the building’s mechanical systems.
Although the floors in the heritage building’s entranceway were expected to be completed last month, Fercho indicated that they are now scheduled to be completed this week.
Fercho explained that the reason the stair treads haven’t been installed is because the final shipment of treads was rejected during the inspection process and had to be sent back and remanufactured.
He said the treads—which consist of a metal bottom and concrete top—are still being manufactured and haven’t yet been shipped to Jasper.
Once they arrive and pass inspection, then the railings can be installed. However, the railings could also see further delays, as the contractor originally hired to do the job has since been let go, and a new one was just recently hired.
That contractor will now have to measure the stairwells, order the parts and have them manufactured and installed.
The final project holding up the building’s completion is the glass vestibule at the entrance of the building, where there have been huge orange and yellow tarps for months.
The contractor is currently waiting on a gasket that’s required for the installation of the glass wall. Last month, Fercho told council the gasket was expected to arrive any day, but as of Dec. 7 it still wasn’t on site.
“I saw a delivery truck there this morning ... so I’m hoping that was the gasket arriving, but I can’t guarantee that,” said Fercho during the Dec. 8 meeting.
Beyond the stairs, floors and glass wall, there are also numerous smaller projects still awaiting completion, including the cedar walls, touchup paint throughout the building, completion of the fire suppression system and reinstallation of countertops—which didn’t pass inspection the first time.
Fercho explained that the hold up on some of the smaller projects has been getting the contractors to town to complete the work.
“When one contractor’s delayed for a week or doesn’t show up that delays us by a couple of weeks and bumps back another contractor,” he said, explaining that in some cases there is a sequence that needs to be followed for the jobs to get done. For instance, the electrical work has to be done before the cedar walls can be completed, and likewise the cedar walls have to be done before the ceiling tiles can be installed.
When the building is complete, it will house the Jasper Artists Guild, Jasper Habitat for the Arts, l’Association Canadienne Francaise de l’Alberta (ACFA) and the library, as well as an office for the mayor and a new conference room where council will hold its meetings.
Nicole Veerman
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