Rainfall causes significant damage to Civic Centre; ups urgency to renovate aging building

A massive rainfall on the weekend combined with a faulty roof drain caused extensive water damage to the Civic Center in Chatham, displacing numerous employees.

“The damage is quite extensive,” said Edward Soldo, Chatham-Kent’s general manager of infrastructure and engineering.

A weekend rainfall warning from Environment Canada forecasted precipitation of between 50 millimeters to 100 millimeters.

Damage was caused to the first, second and third floors on the west side of the Civic Centre.

“We’re still working through what is damaged,” Soldo said of estimated the cost of the damage.

He said it is not just cosmetic damage, such as carpet and ceiling tiles, but desks, computers and the electrical system.

“We don’t have a definitive cost yet, but we’re working through that,” Soldo said.

He added hopefully by next week, there will be a better understanding of the extent of the cost of repairs.

The damage is a body blow to the aging building, constructed in 1977.

“The Civic Center is on its last legs,” Soldo said. “It’s a very old building and needs extensive renovations.”

He said a decision needs to be made on whether the municipality will renovate the building.

In January 2020, council voted down a staff recommendation to do $18.1 million in renovations, which included moving the council chambers to the first floor. The report also called for replacing the HVAC system along with doing major structural, electrical, lighting, window, flooring and plumbing repairs.

“We’ve been pushing the renovations off for years,” said Mayor Darrin Canniff.

The building may look fine, but with it being an older structure, it has a lot of issues, he said.

“We need to do something,” Canniff said. “Doing nothing is not an option.”

The mayor added: “This is an aging building and this recent event is yet another example of the need to find a long-term, sustainable solution that benefits both the community and municipal staff.”

Meanwhile, the large number of staff whose work spaces have been impacted by the water damage are working from home or other locations.

Air quality tests are taking place due to the amount of water in carpets and ceiling tiles, Soldo said.

“We don’t want anyone in there until we determine the air quality is appropriate.”

Customer service, building services and Chatham Fire Station No. 1 were not damaged.

Due the impact of the damage and because the restoration process is ongoing, residents are encouraged to conduct their business by phone or online if possible, stated a municipal media release.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic proved to be an unexpected benefit for city hall to cope with this situation.

“I would say the municipality is well prepared in terms of a hybrid model and having everyone ready to work from other locations,” Soldo said.