The tennis and basketball court at Kirkland Park, which has been under renovation since June, was supposed to be freshly paved by now, with a new fence and lights installed.
Instead, the court will need to be re-done because the contractor didn’t do the work properly. The court now won’t be ready for play before late September.
“The surface didn’t meet our requirements,” said Kirkland mayor Michel Gibson. “We’ve got strict requirements, and when we examined the work, we asked them to redo it.”
Many local residents are disappointed they won’t be able to use the facilities before the leaves start changing.
“You’re a professional contractor, I would think you could not screw up your job like that,” said Adam Civatarese, who works nearby and enjoys playing basketball there during his lunch breaks.
Day-camp counselor Jamie Dollimore had wanted to bring kids over to the courts to play.
“The kids are already in school in September, so they’re really not going to get any use out of them, I think,” Dollimore said while supervising a group of toddlers at the nearby playground.
“The message I have is to be patient,” Gibson said. “It’s just the delay of time of doing it, and the inconvenience to our residents.”
Excavation Patrice Couture Inc. got the renovation job — a $1.5 million contract — because they were the lowest bidder. Company officials told Global News a machinery problem was behind the the issues at Kirkland Park.
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The contract also calls for the company to redo the courts at nearby Ecclestone Park. Some residents are already worried after hearing of the delays at Kirkland Park.
“I’m afraid they’re going to screw it up here, and I don’t want that,” said Sarah Barbu, taking a pause from a tennis match at Ecclestone Park.
The mayor, however, isn’t concerned.
“They did agree to redo it. They did make an error and I won’t judge the contractor,” he said.
Gibson said he expects the courts will be of excellent quality when they’re completed.
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