Puslinch Mayor Dennis Lever says township officials are “working diligently” to resolve “technical issues” at the new Optimist Recreation Centre.
The topic came up at the township’s first “community forum” meeting at the Puslinch community centre on May 18 when a resident expressed frustration that the municipality had a brand new $2.1-million facility that no one was able to use.
The main construction of the 14,000 square foot building was completed months ago, but the township has been embroiled ever since in negotiations with officials from construction contractor Gateman-Milloy Inc. For that reason, the township has not yet assumed ownership of the facility.
“It is not our intention to take it over until those issues are resolved,” Lever said at the community forum.
He added, “I’m optimistic we’ll have a resolution in a couple of months.” However, he acknowledged he thought the same thing several months prior to the meeting.
Clerk Brenda Law said in an interview the main issue remains the cooling units for the ice surface.
“It’s the compressor … there’s noise and vibration issues,” Law said.
Earlier this year, adjacent neighbours complained of “four days of extreme noise” when the cooling units for the ice surface were first started up last winter.
Those residents acknowledged township staff and councillors were quick to respond, but they said they were still concerned about the noise.
Law noted everything else seems to be going fine at the ORC, with a few small jobs such as landscaping remaining. But until the compressor issue is settled, she said the township will not rent out the facility or allow anyone to use the gym or washrooms.
“Unfortunately it’s taking a bit of time … [the contractor is] trying to cover all their avenues as well,” Law said. “But we’ll get there.”
