It’s getting closer, and closer to completion by the day.
However, there’s still a lot of fine-tuning left to do at the MURF (multi-use recreation facility) in Barclay.
Deputy Mayor Gord Wauchope took the Innisfil Journal on a walking tour of the complex last Friday afternoon.
While the arenas are complete, considerable work remains in the gymnasium and swimming pool areas, as well as other portions of the building.
“We’re up to 25 months (since the groundbreaking ceremony),” Wauchope says. “We’ve had numerous meetings with the head of Atlas Construction. Lately, things have gone quicker.”
There have been three project managers working at the site since construction began, Wauchope said. Work at the MURF has been done in fits and starts since July 2006.
At last week’s council meeting, Gary Stanhope of MHPM Project Management gave a Power Point presentation including dozens of exterior and interior photographs of the multi-million dollar complex. The MURF project has been fraught with both natural and man-made delays since the groundbreaking ceremony.
It was hoped the building would be open to the public by July 31, 2008.
“We missed that occupancy date,” Stanhope said.
In February of 2008, “we predicted public use in September,” he said.
Now, the best-case scenario is early to mid-October, Stanhope says.
“Everyone is quite anxious to open the facility to the public. We’re looking for September for the YMCA to train staff and be ready to offer programming. Mid-October is our plan now.”
“We hope the ‘Y’ will be here in by mid-September,” Wauchope says. “It takes them about three to four weeks to train their staff. We were very impressed when we went to Goderich and saw how the Y ran things. It will be a great partnership. The Town and the Y will share the front reception desk.
“Once the soccer fields and ball diamonds are in, everything outside will be run by the Town. We’ll be hosting tournaments and special events. We know there’s a group who want to start a basketball league. We hope to start a swim team here, too.”
Both arenas, referred to as “the cool side” of the complex, are ready for the upcoming season and the ice is being removed next week to check the flooring.
“Ongoing progress is happening on the ‘warm side’ that contains the swimming pools, the gymnasium, track and children’s area,” Stanhope says. “All furniture and equipment has been purchased.”
He also wanted to clear up what he said was a public misconception the project was running over budget.
“Thirty per cent of our contingency (fund) remains,” he said. “Our consultants are on site weekly and have made recommendations to the contractor immediately. Deficiencies have been tracked aggressively. We have identified to the contractor we did not agree with their schedule.”
The contractor must now meet the schedule or face financial penalties under a new off-set cost clause that kicked in July 31.
“This has motivated our contractor. We have seen more trades on site and we’ve encouraged weekend work.”
The Town hopes to have Lt-Gov. David Onley help celebrate the grand opening, Wauchope says.
Today's Weather 
Light snow and -8°C
Light snow and -8°C
