The majority of residents who attended Barbara Bell’s meeting at the Athabasca Regional Multiplex last Wednesday agreed a quick solution is needed to the issues she is facing surrounding her Hees Estates property.
Bell spoke to more than 50 residents at the Multiplex about the many issues she has with the Town of Athabasca and her home.
She moved back to Athabasca in the summer of 2009 and bought what she believed to be her dream home, located at 4201 Hees Court. Less than a month after she moved in, the problems started.
“On August 23, 2009, 28 days after we moved into our brand new home, we started dodging bricks in our backyard from the retaining wall failing,” Bell said. “Bricks were all over. Black landscaping material was exposed and that portion of the hill was a mess.”
Bell was having a hard time sleeping at night for fear of her family’s safety.
“Another substantial part of the hill collapsed (on May 2, 2010),” Bell said. “ The sound of bricks falling off the hill and landing on the deck sent chills to my bones.”
Bell said groundwater that apparently flows under her property is the cause of the slipping, and poses a risk to the whole neighborhood.
As a result of the shifting, Bell’s gas was shut off for fear of an explosion, and it is still off today.
Her argument is that she should not be financially responsible for rebuilding the retaining wall because the issue was present before she bought the house.
A resident said that since no geotechnical study was completed, it is unclear what parts of Hees Estates might also be affected by the underground spring.
The town has been mum on the subject, and no councillors attended Bell’s meeting. One attendee commented that the town is using taxpayers’ dollars to fight the case.
“They are trying to prolong the whole process, and run (Bell) out of money,” a resident said during Bell’s presentation.
Town CAO Doug Topinka, who was not present at the meeting, flatly denied that statement.
“The Town is not using any taxpayers’ money to defend the town against Ms. Bell’s suit as that is the responsibility of our safety codes contractor,” he said.
Bell said she is in too deep to walk away now, otherwise she would.
“I am not willing to settle for just the house,” she said.
Bell talked for three hours, and then a resident asked what she wanted from the people in attendance.
Bell responded she wanted to educate people about the issue, and if they had any further information or suggestions on her situation to bring them forward. The meeting ran longer than most anticipated and there was no time to discuss other issues within the Town of Athabasca.
The consensus of the meeting was if the issue had been dealt with properly from the start, it would have cost less and Bell wouldn’t have had to use her sons’ trust funds to try and save their dream home.
Bell plans on continuing her research, and with new leads, and photos from the meeting, she has more information to sift through. Since there is a lawsuit involved in this matter most parties have been instructed not to comment.
Mayor Roger Morrill said since he wasn’t at the meeting, he was not going to comment. Town lawyers requested all communication with Bell be through her legal representation.
