Hamilton city councillors continue to balk at spending $1.1 million on a “worsening safety concern” at Tim Hortons Field.
Councillors voted 12 to 1, during a meeting of the General Issues Committee on Wednesday, to defer needed repairs for another two weeks to receive legal advice and to pressure Infrastructure Ontario (IO) to pay for what they argue are construction-related deficiencies.
At issue are the guard rails that surround the upper bowl stands and line the stairways of the six-year-old stadium.
The perimeter end guards, as they are referred to in a staff report, were found to be deteriorating during a safety review that was carried out after a 250-pound speaker, about the size of a bar fridge, fell from a light standard into empty stands in 2016.
Rob Gatto, Hamilton’s manager of sports and entertainment facilities, says the repair of the end panels is “a worsening safety concern” that must be addressed to avoid any potential injuries.
Gatto also urges councillors to approve the repairs now, while the stadium isn’t in use because of the COVID-19 pandemic, rather than running the risk of colliding with the 2021 Canadian Football League (CFL) season.
Ancaster Coun. Lloyd Ferguson counters that it’s easier to negotiate with IO before the work is completed, saying that if the city’s spends the $1.1 million “we’ll never see it again.”
Ward 8 Coun. John Paul Danko adds that we shouldn’t be spending $1.1 million in taxpayer funds to repair something “that was clearly an issue from day one,” whether that’s the responsibility of “the contractor, the designer or whoever.”