Another target date is about to be missed for the opening of the new recreation centre, nearing completion in a demolition-and-rebuild project that began in the summer of 2016.
In late January, the Town of Hay River predicted the rec centre would be turned over from the contractor and opened to the public by mid-February.
"We are not on target to open middle of February, but we are all working very quickly to get opened as soon as possible," said Judy Goucher, the town's senior administrative officer (SAO).
Speaking on Feb. 9, Goucher said no new target date had been set, but one might be set early this week.
"At this point, it's as soon as possible, so I don't even have another date to give you," she told The Hub. "The middle of February we're not going to hit, but as soon as possible is what we're all targeting."
When asked if she had any concerns about the new facility being ready for the Arctic Winter Games, which is now a little over a month away, Goucher responded, "I do not. We are assured that we will have our building in advance of the Arctic Winter Games, and we know the games people plan to basically move in or take over the facility on March 14. So we are not seeing that is going to be an issue in any way at this time."
The turnover of the facility from main contractor Clark Builders and its opening to the public are expected to happen at about the same time.
The original target date for opening had been mid-December. That was then pushed back to the end of January and then to the middle of February.
Goucher pointed to fire safety work as the main reason for the latest delay.
"I would say bottom line the work needs to be concluded so that we pass all of our life safety tests and the Office of the Fire Marshal signs off in terms of our ability to occupy the building," she said.
That will include work to address the Fire Marshal's main concern – safe exiting of the building on the central stairwell in case of fire.
The Fire Marshal's Office wanted some kind of fire-safe glass or a permanent wall on the central stairwell to increase fire safety.
To address the issue on a temporary basis, the town proposed a Fire Watch program to monitor the building, offer early detection of fire and ensure adequate notification to building occupants for safe evacuation.
"We're not going to be doing that," said Goucher of the Fire Watch program. "We're going to be enclosing the stairwell and they've given us the green light to start that construction. So that's ongoing right now."
The central stairwell will be enclosed with fire-rated drywall.
"It's not ultimately what the town expected," said Goucher. "But we're proceeding on this basis because we're looking to open the doors of our facility. In the end, there'll still be ongoing discussions about what does the final product look like. But we're going to proceed with this for now."
The work will allow the doors to open on the facility and allow the town to host the Arctic Winter Games in the building, she said. "And then we'll revisit it at a later date."
Goucher said, when the overall project is completed, all the documentation for fire safety will be gathered together and the Office of the Fire Marshal will do a final inspection.
Despite the delay in opening, Goucher pointed to a number of advances in the project.
Test ice was to be installed at the curling rink starting on Feb. 12.
"And then the final ice into the arena will begin to be installed on Feb. 17," the SAO said, adding the completion date for that ice is Feb. 24.
On Feb. 6, six town workers began training on ice-making.
Last week, town council also awarded a contract for millwork in the concession area.
"So that is to be completed by the end of February," Goucher said.
Sub on the Hub will be returning to operate the concession.
Eighty workers – from the contractor and subcontractors – are onsite.
"It's an all-out effort," said Goucher, noting work is underway seven days a week and extra tradespeople have been brought in.
She noted some rooms and areas are complete, and are just going through a cleaning process.
The delay in opening is unfortunate, said Goucher. "But we're all moving as quickly as possible and everyone is working together. Hopefully, we'll have the doors open as quickly as possible after the middle of the month."