Stantec, the architect and consultant on the library and cultural centre, has informed the municipality that it believes the project builder is in default of its contract.
That information was presented to both Peter Waterworth, chief administrative officer for the municipality, and the CEO of Delnor鈥攖he builder鈥攄uring a joint meeting Nov. 29.
Stantec鈥檚 letter lists five areas, with numerous bullet points beneath each header, where Delnor is not meeting its obligations. Included in those areas is 鈥渢he covering up of work that does not meet the contract document requirements,鈥� 鈥渘ot performing work in a timely manner,鈥� 鈥渋nexcusable delays,鈥� 鈥渘ot supervising the work so as to ensure conformity with the contract documents,鈥� 鈥渘ot promptly repairing defective work鈥� and 鈥渦nreasonable mark-ups.鈥�
Waterworth brought this information to council, Dec. 3, and explained the course of action from here.
In an interview following the meeting, he said Stantec鈥檚 letter is basically telling the municipality 鈥測ou鈥檙e not getting what you paid for.鈥� During Waterworth鈥檚 meeting with the architect and builder, Stantec also provided targets and possible timelines for the remediation of issues and the completion of the project.
Waterworth received a formal reply from Delnor last week. On Monday, he replied to the company and copied that letter to the surety company, giving 鈥渢hem warning of the difficulties that we鈥檙e facing,鈥� he said.
The surety has a contract with both Delnor and the municipality, protecting the municipality in the event that the builder doesn鈥檛 meet its obligations. Within his letter, Waterworth requested that the surety put a continued presence on the construction site.
In the case that Delnor doesn鈥檛 live up to the contract, the surety has a number of options. Some of those include, employing another builder to do the work, tendering the project and leaving it up to the municipality to select the contractor or paying out the bond鈥攁bout $3.3 million鈥攖o the municipality.
鈥淭his is not a process to be entered into lightly,鈥� said Waterworth.
鈥淔rom our point of view, it鈥檚 the ultimate fallback. Our preferred position remains that the three parties manage to work together to have a project to celebrate at the end of the day.鈥�
Waterworth said, so far, Delnor has expressed its intention to complete the project to the standard it agreed to within the contract.
The builder has also provided a new completion date: the end of March 2014.
If the building is completed by March鈥�14 months after the original completion date of January 2013鈥攖he various user groups could occupy the space in May.
Since construction began in November 2011, there have been numerous delays caused by unforeseen circumstances鈥攍ike the need to level a floor in the existing library building鈥攁nd by errors made by the builder and architect.
The issues caused by the two contractors have resulted in construction delays to determine who is liable for the errors鈥攊ncluding the mechanical issues that plagued the building in the early part of 2013 and the need to replace the roof last summer.
Stantec has taken responsibility for the mechanical issues and, in July, it was determined that both Delnor and Stanec are responsible for the inadequate materials and construction of the roof.
鈥淭here have been problems with the construction from the start,鈥� said Waterworth.
And many of those problems were spotted by Stantec鈥檚 latest architect, the third to take on the project. The first two left for other projects.
When Heather Bretz took on the job, she did a full review of the building鈥攁s is customary with any architect taking on an existing project鈥攁nd she uncovered a number of issues that she felt needed to be addressed.
Because of the extensive list of problems with the building, Waterworth said it is likely the legal disputes over liability will continue following the completion of the building.
鈥淚t is likely some of this will go to formal mediation at the end of the process鈥攇iven the complexity of the issues involved鈥攂ecause it鈥檚 not just these individual items, but also the issues around delay and all the other issues that have been there from the outset.鈥�
During the council meeting, Dec. 3, Coun. Gilbert Wall respond to Waterworth鈥檚 news by saying, 鈥渢his is a disaster.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a disaster for the community, and it鈥檚 a disaster for council, particularly the last one.
鈥淔ive years out, if we get the building we paid for and we鈥檙e confident in the build, a lot of this will be forgotten, but if we go through this process and we don鈥檛 get the building we paid for and we have problems with the build, this could be ongoing for years.
鈥淪o, I think it鈥檚 vitally important that we鈥檙e not only protected legally and administratively, but that we are also protected on site.鈥�
Waterworth responded by saying the municipality鈥檚 lawyers have assured him there is no downside to the actions being taking, and he also noted that increased on- site protection is the reason he has requested further supervision from the surety.
Nicole Veerman
[email protected]
