Surrey City Hall that opened in City Centre in 2014 is in need of more than $1 million in repairs.
On Monday night, Surrey council approved a contract to refinish and repair word soffits.
“In February 2018, it was discovered that the wood soffits at City Hall were failing due to design and installation errors that originated from the contractor who installed the soffit during the construction of City Hall,” staff wrote in an April 11 report to council. “Subsequent to an inspection of the soffits, netting was placed in certain areas around the perimeter of the building to ensure safety of the public while investigations and design solutions were developed through the engagement of a qualified third party.”
The contract is estimated to cost $1,037,400 including GST and has been awarded to Wood Projects Ltd.
City staff report that “risk management and legal services immediately undertook the necessary steps to identify and notify potentially liable parties of the city’s intention to seek recover for the costs of remediation in relation to defects in design and/or construction of the soffits, and will pursue litigation if necessary.”
But staff note this is “potentially a lengthy process that could take several years to resolve.”
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Meantime, city staff say repairs needed include “removal as necessary of existing tongue and groove boards; cutting of wood soffit slats as required to make expansion joints; reinstallation of slats; installation of all fasteners as per contract drawings; installation of stainless steel expansion channels; and refinishing of wood soffit.”
Work is set to commence this May and is expected to wrap up in late summer or early fall.
Funds for the bill will come from the 2019 Capital contingency budget, which staff say is “utilized for unforeseen capital expenditures.”
amy.reid@surreynowleader.com
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