Replacing the near quarter-century-old roof of the Nicola Valley Aquatic Centre’s has been delayed due to weather and a smaller work crew than expected.
“A little wetter fall than we normally get here,” said Brad Gilbert, the City of Merritt director of recreation and facilities, regarding the weather delays.
Contractor Kelowna Roofing was initially supposed to schedule eight workers on the project, but were only able to muster five, which Gilbert described as “the biggest contribution to the delays.”
The roof replacement needs to be complete by the end of March as per the requirements of the $110,000 federal grant from the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program the city is receiving for the project.
However, more than $220,000 will be spent by the March 31 deadline meaning the city is not at risk of losing any funding, Gilbert stated in a December CAO report to city council.
“The roof membrane work is complete, so in layman’s terms that’s basically the shingling,” Gilbert told the Herald.
The metal parapet and external insulation and finishing system replacement work is likely to begin in the spring, and is all that is left to be completed. He said the project wrapped for the year in early December and will restart as soon as possible — weather dependent.
Gilbert told the Herald the project is still projected to be under its $300,000 budget.
“Should have plenty of wiggle room,” Gilbert said.
The winning bid for the project came in about $30,000 below budget.
The project began this past September, and the aquatic centre has been operating as usual while construction has been ongoing on the roof.
