Latest Updates
Find the latest updates from the Mayor and City Hall.
Pier delayed to 2013 unless new solution found
Next update: April 20, Community Services Com., 6:30pm, City Hall
You could have heard a pin drop in council chambers when senior staff revealed in March that the retender package for the pier likely won't go to market till mid-July, with tenders not expected back till Sept. 26. That means this process will cost the city a year. Remember the previous council voted to retender last September!
I didn't vote to retender the pier because of these kinds of delays. I'm also concerned about continuing our legal battle, which may end up being a Pyrrhic victory: we could win, but at what cost to delays, transparency and legal fees?
My take: I'm glad council and the public will now get regularly scheduled updates on the pier. I still hold out hope that the parties to this dispute will come back to the negotiating table before the tender goes out, and offer a reasonable solution to finish the pier, either with the current contractor or a consortium of other contractors. I've always preferred a negotiated settlement to a litigated one - so long as it protects taxpayers and delivers a quality, cost-effective project.
Council votes to re-tender pier project
My take: The re-tender process and the litigation pose significant risks in cost and time delays to taxpayers, so I could not support it. I also believe a deal could have been reached with the contractor. Your feedback also influenced my decision. Since I wrote about this in January, dozens of you, including residents with significant experience in construction, engineering and law, have told me your prefer a negotiated settlement and abandonment of the legal action.
Pier a costly quagmire
Burlington councillors had our first briefing on the pier in December with legal counsel - and unfortunately without the public allowed. That must change.
But there really wasn't much we learned that was new. The options before us remain the same: tear out the pier, complete it with the current contractor, or re-tender the project. As to costs, regardless of the option we choose, it will be more than any of us will want to pay for this nice-to-have project.
Video: Burlington's Unfinished Pier
The pier is over-budget and more than two years behind schedule. We need solutions not inaction or lawsuits.
Video: Burlington's pier - $9.4M and no end in sight
The pier in Burlington's downtown waterfront has been plagued by delays and cost overruns. The City says the contractor is at fault - but do we know the whole story?