The damage caused by a leak above council chambers in March last year is still affecting city council meetings nearly a year later.
On March 11, 2017, a water line to a sink in a meeting room on the second floor of city hall broke, leaving water seeping through the ceiling of council chambers.
The leak is thought to have started on the Saturday night and continued until Monday when it was discovered. The water dripped onto the mayor’s desk in council chambers and then accumulated on the floor to about an inch deep. Along with the ceiling, electronics in the chambers were damaged.
At the regular meeting of council last week, the microphones in council chambers were not working again.
City staff say it is a very involved project, with all of the remediation work being handled by the insurance company.
A request for proposals for new audio visual equipment closed Friday and so the equipment should be installed in mid-April, says Erin Jackson, the city’s corporate officer.
“We have been working with a consultant to get the specifications and these things really do take quite a while, unfortunately. The whole system was damaged by the flooding and we were able to patch it together to get by temporarily, but we do have to replace a lot of damaged equipment.”
In addition to the mics not working, she says the screen has also been acting up. Total cost of the work won’t be known until the contract is awarded.
Council meetings were held in another room in city hall temporarily, but have been back in council chambers for several months.