Update from Shad Qadri on GRC pool repairs

Shad Qadri provided this update about repairs to the pool at the Goulbourn Recreation Centre:

As part of the ongoing GRC Pool construction, painting of the steel beams will be beginning in the days to come and lasting throughout the month of March. Ruiter Construction has scheduled the work to begin the week of March 9th. We thank the residents for their patience with the ongoing pool construction; this stage of the work can generate dust and painting odours. Steps are being taken to minimize the paint smell from spreading including but not limited to; the sealing of the construction zone from the occupied adjacent areas, maintaining an atmosphere negative pressure inside the painting area preventing the air to bleed into the remainder of the building.

Signage regarding the painting will be posted at the entrances of the facility during this phase of the construction. For any questions or inquiries, the Facility Management will be available to assist. We are working hard to return your pool to regular operations in time for summer.

Previously: GRC pool repairs completion scheduled for June 2015

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2 thoughts on “Update from Shad Qadri on GRC pool repairs”

  1. A paint job I’m sure is one of the most minor details of this overhaul.
    The much bigger questions I see are:
    1) What is the list of all the main work that is done on the GRC pool?
    2) What is the total cost, and how much was paid to the company or companies that actually performed the work, including the cost of any materials?
    3) Does all the work come with any warranties?
    4) What was done to ensure everyone’s safety?
    5) Was the original company or companies held accountable for delivering substandard designs and implementation?
    6) Did and does the company or companies that provided the original work that caused so much trouble, provide any other designs, buildings, or any other work to any other municipalities that is or could be causing problems because of substandard work?

    My guesses are, based on what I’ve heard from others, plus my own assumptions:
    (1) A ventilation design flaw caused improper ventilation, and caused mould to build up where it got so bad that it penetrated the grout of the tiles. As a result all the tiles had to be broken out, and rebuilt. I’m assuming that a new ventilation system has been designed and implemented, to make the air flow through the building. Before, as far as I know, the air wasn’t moving through the facility at all.
    (2) There has not been shown any breakdown of costs and what company or companies charged the city for work and materials.
    (3) There is no mention at all about any warranties of current work, and warranties of the original work.
    (4) Rumor had it that the roof had too many problems, with large metal tubes, held up with small flimsy metal bars that rusted. I would imagine that this entire roof would be replaced with a wood like construction like the new Richcraft rec center in Kanata. Talk of a paint job, makes me think that the roof wasn’t replaced at all, and that a bit of sanding, rust removal, and a paint job, provided a bit of a patch up for the time being. This would mean that all those large heavy metal tubes continue to be held up with the same flimsy make-shift welded together construction.
    (5) There is no mention of the original company, and of any efforts made to get them to rectify the flaws on their dime.
    (6) I seriously hope that efforts were made to curb the damage that’s inflicted to public facilities like this. Shotty work and just throwing tax dollars to fix it, in the end costs more and causes interruptions of service.

    I have an additional concern. The lockers weren’t very good. Not quite as bad as the Kanata Wavepool, but one could still fairly easily pry open any of the (locked) lockers, due to a design flaw. On Stittsville Central, recently, there was an article about thefts at the wavepool, on which I commented how flawed those lockers are. The GRC pool’s lockers weren’t much better.
    Was anything done about this? The Richcraft’s lockers are much better. There, you put on your lock, and you can’t force open the lockers, unless you show up with some tools. The wavepool is ridiculous. There you can simply open any of the locks without even raising a suspicion even when it’s crowded. A child could do it. With the GRC pool’s lockers you have to apply a little more force, but it’s still possible to open locked lockers by hand.
    They say, don’t put any valuables in the locker. One can leave their wallet and other valuables in the car, but where do the car keys go?
    I seriously hope that after all this time, the pool doesn’t simply open without any real improvements to things like this. If the roof is still kind of the same, just a bit painted, and the tiles redone, and all the rest is the same, the GRC pool hasn’t improved at all. And all this patching took how long again?

    Everything I said here could be all way off. But the problem is that all we’re hearing are things like “paint job issues” and other minor insignificant details. I have as of yet to see anything in-depth about the issues with the GRC pool, or anything related to accountability.

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