I have a couple more answers on the Aurora Family leisure Complex project.
$ 600,000 was set aside for contingency.
$900,000 had to be spent when the building department realized additional structure support was needed to open the hallway from front to back of the building. Plans submitted were approval without. The additional support was not included in specifications. Not allowed for in the bid. And not covered in the awarded contract.
$900.000. swallowed up the contingency plus an additional $300,000.
Mould infestation in the cavity above the ceiling required wood structures to be replaced .The problem was not anticipated, needs to be corrected and paid for.
And thereby hangs a tale.
The AFLC arena was designed to be cold. No spectator amenities were provided . All of that was available at the community centre.
Summer ice was not intended.
Then summer ice was provided but the metal building was a hot box. The ice wouldn't harden.
Then it was decided to insulate the roof so ice would freeze in a heat wave.
The ice-making equipment uses thousands of gallons of water every day.... during drought conditions.
Expensive treated potable
clean slightly warmed water had to be wasted into the sewer system....adding to volume of sewage
to be treated and paid for. .
A bank of seating was added for spectators. Heating was added. Mould grew.
The community centre has seating for 850 with electric heating overhead. The heating was good for spectators but the ice was heavy and not good for players.
A problem emerged with condensation dripping down making holes in the ice at the north end.
The beautiful cedar ceiling had to be covered with aluminum foil clad insulation to solve the problem
Seats needed to be replaced during the last term. A federal grant was available and assured by M.P. Lois Brown. The Town did not apply.
Well I mean, if not eligible for the grant, let the government say so. It makes no sense to refuse to make the application. The seats needed to be replaced. The funds were available .
After the Stronach Centre was completed an ice surface problem emerged . Moist warm air up from the ceiling of the swimming pool area was getting into cold air above the ice.
But that's another story.l Another post.
Wednesday, 28 January 2015
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6 comments:
Maybe we should shift that staffer who was charged with business retention & give him/her the task of applying for every single grant or freebie available, It is always frustrating to learn that outside money was neither solicited nor received.
The grant that Ms Buck alludes to was the RINC program from 2009/2010. This was part of the Federal infrastrucutre program.
In concert with the Province, organizations were given grants from both the Feds and the Province. The requirement was that a project would be funded 1/3 - Federal money, 1/3 - Province money and 1/3 the recipent.
The curling club in Newmarket and the Newmarket Soccer Club (believe it or not), both received RINC awards.
All organizations were able to receive awards. Municipal governments, private organizations, youth organizations,etc. If you applied, you had a very good chance of getting something.
Remember when Lotteries were first being introduced with the promise that every town would have a really good sports facility ?
Money is never free. Grants from the province or the fed come with lots of paperwork and stipulations. It is nothing more than taxpayers' money being recycled - sometimes to assist voters at election time. More often than not, a good share of the grant is eaten by consultants, engineering fees and inflated construction costs.
The region has an annual budget of billions of dollars, yet we ask for these handouts as if free money is falling from the sky. One bucket for grants and a second for development charges. Catch it all, it's free!
That may sound bad, but can you endure a photo of Brown or Ballard handing over the prize money?
I'm still not sure if we even filed an application after the ice storm. There was a lot of joking around the table about how complicated the forms were. but I do not recall any answer. Certainly mr Ballard has not appeared with a cheque to my knowledge
That's not fair to the elephant.
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