‘For the sake of what’s reasonable, let people in to stretch their legs’
AS THE DAYS GET BRIGHTER, THE WAIT FOR PUBLIC ACCESS TO GOREY TOWN PARK CONTINUES, WITH A MID-MAY OPENING NOW LIKELY, WRITES
COUNCILLORS vented their frustrations over continued delays at Gorey Town Park during last week’s meeting of Gorey-Kilmuckridge Municipal District.
Sean Meyler from Special Projects gave an update on the town park and said that when work shut down due to level five restrictions, the contractor was two months away from substantial completion.
He said that he didn’t know what impact the current lockdown was going to have on the efficiencies of the construction sector, but that when the contractor started back on site in May of last year, it took them a couple of weeks to find their feet again because of issues of supply and subcontractor availability. He also said that he suspects they will return to the site on Monday, March 8, but that unfortunately the bulb planting season has now been missed.
He described landscaping as an issue, with March being a key month, but that it would be next season before planting can take place.
He said that he visited the site the week before Christmas and, having visited many times previously and questioned whether we would ever get there, he has confidence that the end is near.
Mr Meyler said that the council shares the councillors’ displeasure at the delays, but that it is confident that the external works would be completed and that the park itself would be open to the public in the near future.
The project was originally meant to be finished in January 2020 and, with approximately three months still to go, this would mean a 15-month over run. Covid had caused a lot of disruption, from lockdown to staff contracting Covid or being close contacts.
Mr Meyler said that workers were also lost to essential services or had found other work during lockdown, meaning that these factors had both direct and ongoing indirect impacts.
‘We are displeased by the performance up there and the contractor is well aware of that. We have been applying all pressure that we can to implore him to finish up in a timely fashion and restore the redeveloped park of Gorey to the people that badly need to use it, particularly in the current circumstances,’ he said.
Councillors heard that other facilities, such as the play, adult gym and changing equipment, will happen once this contractor has completed and that is expected to be early summer.
Councillor Diarmuid Devereux said that councillors have been raising this issue for the past 12 months but now had a frank understanding of the issues on the ground. He said he accepted the position that the Municipal District finds itself in, but described it as a ‘great shame’ given the need for the facility.
He said he was being optimistic that it would be open in the summer, but knew it was impossible to give that commitment, saying the matter was out of any councillor’s hands.
‘I would have grievous concerns about the performance on the site and the execution of the project. We handed out these contracts in good faith and it’s almost soul destroying at this stage to think that we could be looking at a two-year delay,’ he said.
Cllr Pip Breen said that to say he was disappointed would be an understatement.
‘I’m worried about the whole situation and I’m seriously worried about whether this will be done this time next year,’ he said, highlighting costs such as materials and labour that are limited.
He asked if there would be an over-run for the council as well as resources if the project continues to run over.
Both Cllr Fionntán O Suilleabháin and Cllr Donal Kenny said they were disappointed, with Cllr O Suilleabhain saying that people should have had the chance to have this during lockdown.
‘Planting bulbs is hardly a dangerous pursuit and that should have been going ahead really. Hopefully the council won’t be picking up the tab,’ said Cllr Suilleabhain.
Cllr Kenny said that the fact the planting season was missed, it could go on for months.
Cllr Mary Farrell agreed, saying this was not the first time the council have had issues like this.
‘Excuses are no good to us at this stage. We need to take a tough line with them now and say enough is enough with contractors who are disappointing us over and over again,’ said Cllr Farrell. ‘It’s not just us – it’s the people of Gorey who are waiting on this park and we’re tired of listening to it. If contractors are coming in for major work, we have to ensure that the penalty clause is in place and we adhere to it’.
Cllr Anthony Donohoe was the first to ask about penalty clauses, and said that in the private sector if you have subcontractors in place, they don’t leapfrog and take on other jobs.
He agreed with Cllr Joe Sullivan when he described this project and others, such as the Avenue and Courtown, as ‘unmitigated disasters’.
He said that such projects had ‘fallen flat on their face’ and accused the council of having no governance on projects that are never delivered on time.
‘It’s rate payers who will have to foot the bill and we’re giving them a very poor service with this type of Paddy-wackery around contracts and I don’t think it’s good enough from a local authority. There’s huge dissatisfaction among the elected representatives’.
Amanda Byrne, acting Director of Services, rejected the comments about poor contract management and said that whatever can be done in this season at Gorey Town Park will be done, and that it will be complete as much as possible.
‘Certainly there have been contracts that overran in the past but we tend to talk about those and not the ones that were successfully delivered,’ said Ms Byrne. ‘I want to reassure you that we will work our hardest to bring this in. On the issue of planting during Covid, we’re meant to be an exemplar in the context of Covid and we can’t be seen to allow our contractors on site to do things that the private sector won’t allow.’
Cllr Andrew Bolger asked about whether the walking path could be opened before completion in the final months.
Replying to all concerns, Mr Meyler said that subcontractors have no contractual obligations to the council and the council have no control over what they do.
Replying to Cllr Bolger, he said that the opening of the walking track was looked at but it was found that it was a cul de sac and so the public would have to turn around and go back and this was not desirable under the current circumstances.
He said that public works contracts do not provide for penalty clauses, and only cover liquidated damages caused by late delivery of a contract.
Mr Meyler said that this needed to be justifiable, and provable without doubt that the delay is down to the contractor and not other factors.
‘In the private sector you may have loss of revenue which is measurable, but it tends to be harder to demonstrate an ongoing commercial loss in the public sector. It also needs to be presented in the tender process and flagged up front,’ he said.
Cllr Donohoe suggested that there would be a 15-month loss from revenue at the café at the Town Park, but was told that there was no provision for loss of earnings in relation to this in the contract.
Cllr Devereux said that Covid could not be used as an excuse for the fact that the contractor simply hasn’t delivered.
‘I pass that site on a daily basis and there’s no reason why the public can’t get in there to exercise. We won’t look at the flowerbed, but for the sake of what’s reasonable let the citizens in to stretch their legs.
‘The contractor has been paid tax payers money to be there and he has not delivered. We are going out of this meeting in the same position as we were before and we have to admit as elected representatives that our best is not good enough,’ he said.
Cllr Sullivan said that the bottom line was that the contractor was letting everyone down.
‘All we’re saying is that the contractor delivers on what they said they’d do as it’s the contractor that’s letting the whole show down here,’ he said.
Cllr Donohoe asked if things would be different with future contracts, and was told that this could be risky.
Mr Meyler said that covering yourself too much might frighten off the market if they perceive that there’s too much associated with your contract, and that this has been an issue in Wexford in the past.
He said that in future, café staff would be the key holder for baby changing facilities on site.
EXCUSES ARE NO GOOD TO US AT THIS STAGE. WE NEED TO TAKE A TOUGH LINE WITH THEM NOW AND SAY ‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH’ – CLLR MARY FARRELL