Parts of the Civic Center are expected to remain closed for the remainder of this week after three floors at the west end of the building suffered extensive water damage from storms over Canada Day weekend.
The heavy rains and a faulty roof drain resulted in significant water damage on the first and second floors and minor damage on the third floor on the west side of the 46-year-old building. Carpets, ceiling tiles, computers, office equipment and furniture in the affected areas were damaged beyond repair.
Civil protection services began cleaning up on July 3.
Personnel in the damaged zone have been relocated to remote workplaces pending the completion of repairs. However, late last week staff returned to the third floor offices where the damage was not as severe.
Edward Soldo, general manager of infrastructure and engineering, said he doesn’t expect the first and second floors to reopen until next week at the earliest.
“The water has affected the walls, ceiling tiles and carpeting, so there is a lot of cleaning and drying to do at the facility itself,” Soldo told the Ridgetown Independent News on Friday. “Another contractor will be stopping by on the first and second floors (this) week to specifically take care of replacing some of these items.”
Customer and building service offices on the first floor on the central and east sides of the Civic Center and Chatham-Kent Fire & Rescue Services remain open as those work areas were not impacted by the damage.
Residents are advised to continue doing business with the municipality by phone or online during the closure.
The Monday evening council meeting was still scheduled to take place in person in the council chambers, which was also unaffected.
The water damage highlighted the urgency of the city administration to completely renovate or relocate the community center built in 1977.
“It’s no secret that the Civic Center has been in dire need of repair or replacement for some time,” said Darrin Canniff, Mayor of Chatham-Kent. “This is a aging building and this latest event is another example of the need to find a long-term sustainable solution that will benefit the community and city workers.”
The story goes on
“In the meantime, administration is doing everything it can to clean things up and ensure both the safety of the public and their continued access to our services,” Canniff said.
The council rejected an administration-recommended plan to complete a $18.1 million renovation in January 2020. The plan called for moving the council chambers from the second floor to the first floor, replacing the HVAC system, and making major structural repairs to the electrics, lighting, windows, floors, and plumbing.
The community and investor group that purchased Downtown Chatham Center in 2021 announced in June 2022 a three-stage revitalization project that would involve moving the civic center, library, museum, and art gallery to the mall, as well as building a mall arena with 4,000 seats.
Nustadia Recreation Inc., a Hamilton-based company that develops community arenas and recreational facilities, has been retained by the DCC ownership group to lead the development plans of the estimated $115-125 million project.
However, the DCC group is still waiting for administration to set a date for the proposal to be presented to a council meeting.
Michael Bennett, reporter for the Local Journalism Initiative, The Ridgetown Independent News
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https://ca.news.yahoo.com/water-damage-chatham-kent-civic-191934531.html
