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Cash for stalled Hamilton seniors centre at risk
(Hamilton Spectator, Matthew Van Dongen, Nov 29 2013)

The city is scrambling to hold on to $500,000 in government cash for a stalled seniors centre expansion after the contractor was fired mid-project.

The city broke ground in June on a $1.75-million, 3,600-square-foot expansion of the Ancaster Senior Achievement Centre.

Nearly a third of the budget will come from the federal government — so long as the Alberton Road project is finished by March 31.

But work stopped abruptly almost a month ago after the city fired contractor Jagen Construction for “breach of contract issues,” said city project manager Marnie Cluckie.

Cluckie declined to say exactly what went wrong, but members of the centre advisory board publicly expressed concern about the glacial pace of construction in September.

“We could see the deadline looming in front of us, so we were worried,” said Al Gordon, board chair for the 1,000-strong senior centre’s membership, which is responsible for $500,000 in project funding. “No one wants to see that (federal) contribution in danger.”

A Jagen representative declined to comment by cellphone Thursday. Messages left at the office were not returned.

Cluckie said the city is still “aiming” for March 31 completion, but added missing the deadline would only kill a proportion of the federal grant. A separate $250,000 provincial grant must be used by end of next year.

She also said the new contractor, STM Construction, may need to hire extra people and work extra hours to make up the lost time — which in turn could inflate the project cost.

Work on the expansion, which will include kitchen upgrades, new meeting and office space, a courtyard and health room, is about 40 per cent completed, said Cluckie.