Hundreds of workers returned to Strathcona County County Hall on Monday morning. That area of the complex was reopened to staff and will welcome the public back on Wednesday after two explosions earlier this month.
READ MORE: Man, 21, dead after blast led police to car packed with explosives in Sherwood Park
The mayor said he wanted to get about 200 employees settled in before allowing public access. Another 300 staff members continue to work in temporary locations around the county.
“This morning marks a very important milestone for Strathcona County,” Rod Frank said. “We’re starting to come back home.”
“This building is back to normal,” Diehl Townsley, head of Strathcona County Facility Services, said of the county hall.
The county hall had “an extensive cleanup” before opening again. A number of inspections have been done and most of the repair work is cosmetic rather than structural but a deep clean was needed to remove soot and smoke.
READ MORE: RCMP provide update on Sherwood Park explosions, motive remains unknown
However, other facilities in the complex, including a community centre parkade, community centre, library, art gallery and restaurant will remain closed. Environmental testing is still being done. Some concrete in the parkade will be repaired and drywall will be replaced.
“At this point in time, the community centre remains closed as we’re waiting for some environmental results to come back,” Townsley said. “We’re doing a very thorough investigation of what contaminants may be in the building before we actually define the true scope of work that needs to be done.
“The greatest area of contamination we found was at the inter-connect to the parkade.”
Townsley said it could take months before the community centre would be reopened.
“We still haven’t got a confirmed timeline of all the areas. At this point, because of the level of cleaning that’s required, we’re anticipating it will take several months.”
Watch below: The RCMP released new details Saturday about what happened when two explosions went off at a Strathcona County parkade. Meanwhile, the mayor said a security review is underway. Julia Wong filed this report on Nov. 10, 2018.
On Nov. 6, emergency crews were called to the complex after an explosion rocked the complex’s parkade. Another blast occurred in the parkade later in the evening. Earlier this month, police said a 21-year-old man was behind the first explosion but they still don’t have a motive.
“We can now confirm that Kane Kosolowsky purposely caused an explosion underneath a half-tonne truck on the lower level parkade using a substance that is yet to be determined,” Supt. Dave Kalist of the Strathcona County RCMP said at a news conference on Nov.10.
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Kosolowsky was found injured after the first explosion and was taken to hospital where he later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police said they believe the first explosion caused damage to several vehicles in the parkade and that the gas tank of one of those vehicles caught fire, triggering the second blast.
Aside from Kosolowsky, nobody else was injured in the incident but the complex was evacuated immediately following the event.
Earlier this month, the RCMP said “no additional threats were located” after police spent days searching the area.
Last week, Strathcona County officials provided an update on their assessments of the complex and released vehicles that had been trapped in the parkade in the wake of the explosions.
Watch below: On Nov. 13, 2018, Albert Delitala filed this report after a Strathcona County official said a plan is in place for staff re-entry but it’s still not clear when the Sherwood Park complex that was rocked by two explosions last week will reopen to the public.
The county said an initial structural assessment of the parkade where the explosions occurred had been completed and determined the county hall and community centre are structurally sound. However, officials said the environmental assessment of the community centre and the parkade was not yet complete and that cleaning efforts would only begin once that is done.
“Vehicle owners have all been contacted,” the release said.
“Until the parkade is reopened, alternative parking arrangements have been made for staff and the public; please see signs posted on site and online. Updates will be provided once available.”
The county said Friday that “safety systems within the building worked as designed,” noting that smoke detectors and the complex’s alarm system alerted everyone inside at the time of the initial explosion and “initiated emergency response within seconds.”
County officials said anyone that left personal belongings in the complex during the Nov. 6 evacuation should call Enforcement Services at 780-449-0100.
Officials said until all services are fully restored, Strathcona County continues to accept payments at its Public Services Yard which is located on the second floor at 370 Streambank Ave. in Sherwood Park.
“Payments being accepted include accounts receivable, utility bills, assessment and taxation, and planning and development services inspection fees. Please continue to make dog licence payments at the RCMP building at 911 Bison Way (in) Sherwood Park.”
“Once the environmental assessment of the building is complete, the items will be collected by Enforcement Services and made available at the RCMP station for the public to come and collect.”
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Sherwood Park is a large community located east of Edmonton.
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