Same old song and dance

Council cancels Ameliasburgh washroom contract

More than two months have passed since Standard Paving Ltd. submitted a new schedule for completion of work on the Roblin Lake Park washroom project. In this schedule, the contractor gave a final date of July 3, 2019 for completion. As is the case with past completion dates, deadline day came and went, leading to the County issuing the contractor a notice of default stating that if substantial completion was not achieved before August 16, then the contract would be terminated.

At Thursday’s Committee of the Whole, staff put forward a report recommending the cancellation of the contract due to lack of progress and overall poor quality of work performed to date. Garrett Osborne has been managing the project, and admits it has been a strenuous process. “Several non-performance meetings have been held with the contractor and multiple project completion date extensions have been granted, but the project is still yet to be completed,” said Osborne.

Councillor Brad Nieman asked how much money had already been paid for the project and what the municipality could get back from Standard Paving. Osborne explained that 88 per cent of the work had been completed, meaning the contractor had been paid for that work.

The report also noted that multiple subcontractors hired by Standard Paving Ltd. have claimed they have not been paid for their work on the project, although at this point no formal liens have been registered. One sub-contractor, without permission, entered the work site after hours and removed all materials that they supplied and installed and for which they had not been paid. The OPP were notified of the incident and after speaking with both parties involved, no charges were laid.

“At this point we do have the standard 10 per cent holdback, which is taken off of work he has completed,” explained Osborne. “We can use that 10 per cent to deal with any liens that may come up from sub-contractors. We are certainly not going to come out ahead, but ultimately it shouldn’t cost us anything.”

Mayor Steve Ferguson wanted to see the project completed as soon as possible “If we approve this, how quickly can the work get done and completed?” he asked. Osborne believed it wouldn’t take long, as he would assume the role of general contractor. “I’m quite confident we could complete it this year. The outstanding works aren’t substantial,” said Osborne. “I would assume the general contractor role and hire out necessary sub-trades to complete the works, which is minimal.” Osborne went on to say that the only hold-up might be the availability of local trades.

Councillor Andreas Bolik asked staff to make sure that all paperwork was in order, in case of any legal action. “As this whole debacle may end up in litigation, we need to ensure that all our notes and communications are well recorded,” he said.

Because this report came forward at Committee of the Whole, council isn’t able to terminate the contract until the next council meeting. Councillor Janice Maynard was concerned about the 12-day lapse. “What prevents the contractor from coming in and trying to do more work?” she asked. Osborne explained that until the contract is cancelled, it is still technically Standard Paving’s site. “At this point the contractor would still have the ability to return to the site up until the bylaw is passed. He is still under contract and semiactive on the site,” he said.

Councillor Mike Harper asked about the connection with the Wellington sea wall project and if Standard Paving was being terminated from that incomplete project as well. “We are terminating him on this project. Will this affect his motivation on finishing the Wellington project?” Peter Moyer, Director of Development Services explained that the two contracts are totally separate. “The only connection is the fact that it’s the same contractor. There is some outstanding work required there, but with the high water he can’t get to it. There is no intent at this point to terminate this project.”

Mayor Ferguson called a special meeting of council, held last night, to cancel the contract. With the contract cancelled, the County is now responsible for paying for the work completed since the last payment certificate. Any loss, damage or expense incurred by the municipality by reason of the contractor default may be deducted from the monies still owed to the contractor.

The previous washroom and change room facility at Roblin Lake Park had exceeded its useful life span. A capital budget was established in 2016 for the construction of a new facility, but before it was built, the existing facility was completely destroyed by a fire in May of 2017. A request for tender was issued in May of 2018. The tender was awarded to the low bidder, Standard Paving Ltd. in July of 2018. The schedule submitted with the tender documents by the contractor stated a 16-week construction period commencing on or about July 15, 2018. The first non-performance meeting was held on December 19, 2018. In May of 2019 the project had still not been completed and an updated schedule was requested. The contractor submitted a schedule stating that substantial completion shall be achieved on June 7, 2019, which did not happen, causing the contractor to submit a new date of July 3, 2019, which was also not achieved.