The City Engineers Department has been given one month to complete work at the Albouystown Health Centre which has been under renovations for almost a year.
Mayor Patricia Chase-Green imposed the deadline yesterday, after questions were raised at the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) Statutory Meeting regarding the status of the work.
When she asked City Engineer Ron Eastman about this, he explained that they have to install windows, complete the casting of the floor and plastering of the sidewalls and are waiting on additional materials to be procured.
“We would have said that works on this clinic should have been given priority and expected works to be completed by now,” the mayor said in response.
She added, “I am taking this very seriously, if by the end of March the Albouystown clinic is not completed somebody would be disciplined.”
The engineer stated that workers are working to have the building competed and that he was confident that once the materials were procured they would be able to complete it.
City Treasurer Ron Mc Calmon said arrangements have been put in place to procure the materials. He stated that the last set of materials, obtained through the credit arrangement, was cement which was used for casting of the floor.
APNU Councillor Heston Bostwick said councillors have been taken for granted by the administration as he can recall the council had given a deadline for the end of February.
Bostwick, who is the proportional representation councillor for the Albouystown/Charlestown Constituency, said that during a visit yesterday he noticed that much more remedial work needed to be completed. He said he noticed that a large section of flooring was “sand filled” and waiting to be casted.
Rehabilitation of the building located at James and Bel Air streets started in March 2016, but it was halted on numerous occasions owing to unavailability of money. The work was pegged at $3 million and had been expected to be completed in May 2016.
In January, during a statutory meeting, constituency representative Malcolm Ferreira of Team Legacy had stated that the building was being used for unintended purposes and called on the M&CC to quickly complete the repairs.
