The new ski chalet at Tawatinaw Valley has had some problems, but it’s nothing that can’t be overcome.
Westlock County Interim CAO Rick McDonald said while there is an ongoing issue with water getting into the building as a result of a high water table, the contractors are working on a solution.
“I’m pretty optimistic,” he said. “I wasn’t so optimistic in the runoff season when you couldn’t get near the building; now it’s drying out and we’re getting a chance to work at it so we don’t have that problem anymore.”
Currently the building requires continuous pumping to keep the water out, but the construction contractor Binder Construction and BRZ Architecture, the company supervising the construction, are working on a permanent solution with the help of an expert in site dewatering.
McDonald said at his most recent meeting with the builders, they told him work would be finished in three or four weeks, or roughly by the end of August.
“I think by then we’re going to know how we’re going to deal with the water, because the water experts tell us they can,” he said.
As for the amount of the cost overruns that might result from the water issue — and who will shoulder those costs — nothing has been determined at this point.
The building was budgeted at $1.82 million, and the county put an additional $40,000 in this 2014 budget to cover potential cost overruns. McDonald said there may be more overruns than that, but it’s too soon to say how much and for what.
The county has not yet taken possession of the building, and in accordance with standard construction contracts the county won’t take possession until outstanding issues have been resolved.
“It’s like anything else — if you don’t do the flooring properly, well then we don’t accept the building until you do the flooring properly,” McDonald said. “It’s just that simple, and that’s where we’re at with them.”
He said as for the building itself, there aren’t likely to be any cost overruns. Any overruns would be the result of the ongoing water issues at the site.
“At this point in time, even, we’re not exactly sure who’s going to pay for this — whether this is an issue for the contractor or an issue for us, we’re still working through those scenarios,” he said.
There is a possibility the county could look for legal remedies to any deficiencies in the building itself or any issues of non-compliance with a contract, but nothing has been decided.
“Right now we’re looking at all the options, and obviously we don’t want to negotiate in the media,” he said. “We’ll certainly get a legal opinion when we have gathered all of our information, but I’d like to know where we’re at and we still haven’t identified the full plans yet.”
One way or the other, McDonald said he’s still confident the chalet will be ready and operational for this year’s ski season.
“The building will be useable; there will be no mold and no issues,” he said. “That’s our objective.”
