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Salmon, skating, shopping, swapping PORT MOODY
$3.8M to fix leaky city hall in PoMo
TC
Referendum ballot count on the rise / B.C. endorses Ottawa’s balanced budget FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2015 Your community. Your stories.
TRI-CITY
NEWS
THE GOLDENEYE PROJECT
Sarah Payne
The Tri-CiTy News
Port Moody city hall is bracing for its own leaky condo crisis after a detailed assessment of the civic centre showed the building is in much worse shape than anticipated, with repair costs skyrocketing to nearly $4 million — $3.1 million more than the original estimate. An investigation by Elemental Architectural and Building Science found water damage on the roof, masonry walls and windows, significant construction deficiencies of the curved masonry walls, a lack of drainage behind the synthetic stucco and both construction and material deficiencies in the masonry veneer system, as well as many other issues. The estimated repair cost is $3.8 million (with a +/30% accuracy projection), which is significantly higher than the $675,000 that was approved last year for repairs to the civic centre. That amount was based on an initial assessment by RDH Building Engineering in 2013; the more detailed investigation by Elemental found “a number of the systems of the building envelope of the civic centre were in considerably worse condition than initially estimated,” according to a staff report. Repairs of this magnitude are expected to have a significant impact on the city’s 2016 budget, said Mayor Mike Clay. Council is waiting for the results of a similar assessment of the recreation complex before discussing the issue at the finance committee as part of discussions around the long-term asset management plan. see $3.8M PRICE TAG, page 15
RUTH FOSTER PHOTO
Researchers collect Barrow’s goldeneye ducks for a study into their migration, breeding habits and sensitivity to hydrocarbons found in oil pollution. The sea ducks were captured in Indian Arm and taken to Pacific Wildlife Foundation offices at Reed Point Marina in Port Moody for the non-harmful surgery. For more, see article on page 20.
SCHOOL DISTRICT 43
Trustees abandon plan to use contingency for hires Diane STranDberg The Tri-CiTy News
School District 43’s newest trustees learned a tough lesson in budgeting Tuesday when they backed down from a plan to gut a contingency fund and hire four teachers they hoped
would restore librarian, speech and language and psychology services to schools. It was a last-ditch effort to deal with concerns about waiting lists and reduced services, issues raised because SD43 will have no extra funds to spend this year. But after some “enlighten-
ment” received over the previous week, Anmore/Belcarra Trustee Kerri Palmer Isaak said she had a change of heart. Adding more staff would have virtually eliminated the contingency fund, Palmer Isaak was told, reducing it to $84,000 from $500,000 and
leaving the district without a cushion in the event of unplanned expenses. “What we learned is the direction we gave was too specific and our needs are vast,” Palmer Isaak said. see hIRInG would, page 7
Vigil tonight for girl killed in crash: pg. 8
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