Millions more needed to fix mouldy homes

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Millions more needed to fix mouldy homes

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News Leader Pictorial

May 02 2007

Cowichan Valley News Leader - Duncan,British Columbia,Canada

http://www.cowichannewsleader.com/portals-code/list.cgi?

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It will cost millions more than expected to repair mouldy homes on

the Cowichan Tribes reserve, according to Tribes' housing manager.

As officials prepare to enter the project's final phase,

Swanson said construction delays in its second phase racked-up a

slew of unexpected additional costs.

Initially, Swanson said, the amount needed to repair infected homes

was pegged at $52 million. But it's looking like that number will be

closer to $54.5 million, since it took a year longer than expected

to complete phase two.

" In that time, construction prices in this Valley took several hits

in inflation, " Swanson said. " It ended up costing us more than we

wanted it to. I don't want to get into calling any kettle black here

but we kind of dropped the ball on how we executed it. "

Officials didn't always have access to tools needed to perform

repairs on homes, he said, and weren't as effective as they could

have been getting contractors to work quickly.

" (We) spread it out over too much time, " he said. " It should have

been done faster. More dedication toward labour was required and,

unfortunately at the actual execution levels, we didn't really

realize that. "

According to the Sustainable Housing Department, 93 homes were

included in the phase-one project. About 150 others were included in

the second phase.

Although some methods tried during phase two were unsuccessful,

Swanson said, there were some elements that worked well. During

phase three, he said, they'll incorporate usefull techniques from

the first two phases.

" We're revamping that system to try and make it better for

everybody; more cost-effective, " he said " For phase three, I'm

really confident we have the method. It's going to be carried it

quite a bit more effectively with the time execution, scheduling,

that sort of thing. "

Completing the first two phases, as well as the pilot phase, cost

about $38.5 million. Concluding the project by finishing the third,

and final, phase will cost an estimated $16 million. About 115 homes

still need to be repaired and Swanson said Tribes is currently

working on identifying funding for the third phase.

According to a Quw'utsun' newsletter released last fall, Indian and

Northern Affairs will cover $6 million of phase-three repairs. Of

course, that leaves $7.4 million for Tribes.

" Cowichan Tribe's has paid for the lion's share of this through bank

loans, " Swanson said. " The ultimate problem is, the bank loans get

too high, and you have to service those bank loans or pay for them. "

To avoid reoccurring mould, Swanson said Tribes' has been working

hard to educate people on how to keep their homes mould-free.

" It takes time to teach these sorts of things, " he said. " We've gone

150 per cent forward. The change over what's gone on over the last

four years, (with the) educational level is just huge. "

Not everybody is happy with the repairs.

ny, whose mouldy home was treated by Cowichan Tribes, is

concerned mould still lives in the building.

" I started getting sick again, " he said. " I was getting pneumonia,

bronchitis. I started to get bad headaches. "

He contacted Cowichan Tribes officials, he said, who sent someone to

the home to take samples. Tests indicated there was no mould in the

home but ny isn't convinced.

" There's a lot of people out there so frustrated, " he

said. " Complaining and complaining. Nothing happens. "

In a March newsletter, Swanson said Tribes would likely be unable to

revisit homes worked on during the first two phases, since they

don't have enough funding.