I live in a Condo Complex in Ottawa, ON. The buildings within…

Adami: Condo owners raise alarm

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Sun Sep 5, 2:27 PM

By Hugh Adami

Many residents at a Gloucester condominium complex are furious that a new fire alarm system is resulting in some unsightly work in their apartments.

You can’t blame them. The work is awful.

Sharlene Crawford, one of the harshest critics of the work, wonders how the project was approved without more consultation with the condo owners. Two floors have so far been completed.

Crawford and other residents of the Sutton Place condominiums, twin high-rises at 2000 and 2020 Jasmine Cres., say they have been virtually stonewalled by the condo’s board of directors since the work started a few weeks ago. They have many questions.

For example: Did the condominium board know the project called for thousands of feet of unsightly conduit metal pipe — for electrical wiring —and junction boxes, to be fastened to ceilings and walls of about 500 privately-owned units. The conduit and other hardware is also being installed on ceilings in the halls of the high-rises.

A diagram in a condominium newsletter, distributed in July, only shows where alarms and a heat detector would be positioned in a three-bedroom apartment.

Board president Jason Belgrave told The Public Citizen that the board was well aware of the project’s specifications. And though he appreciates that some residents find the piping “intrusive,” especially in the three-bedroom units where more conduit is needed, he says the work doesn’t bother him.

The old alarm system did not meet the requirements of the Ontario Building Code or the audibility requirements of the Ontario Fire Marshal. The board was told in late 2009 by Ottawa fire to upgrade the system. The old alarms in the corridors of every floor are being replaced with alarms and heat detectors in every unit.

Even Ottawa fire spokesman Mike Daigle is aware of how awful the retrofit looks.

But, says Daigle, all his department did was order the upgrade and had nothing to do with the type of installation the board approved.

Residents are also wondering if the board studied plans prepared by the engineering firm, Genivar Consulting Group Ltd., before it went to tender on a project that was originally estimated to cost $1.5 million. Did it award the contract to Anew Electrical Co. Ltd. only because its bid of $497,400, taxes included, was the lowest of the five tenders submitted?

No, says Belgrave. Both the engineering proposal and bids were reviewed thoroughly and Anew was offering the same work, based on the same specs, as the other bidders were, but for the best price. Picking the lowest tender also meant savings for the condo owners. Originally, the new system was supposed to cost each owner an average $1,200. But now, the system will cost owners of two-bedroom apartments about $770, those with three bedrooms, $885, and the handful who have four-bedroom units, about $1,000.

Belgrave says he knew what to expect all along, and he wishes residents had familiarized themselves with the project, too. He says there were meetings held, but they were sparsely attended. Crawford, a former board president, says her request for a special meeting was turned down by Belgrave late last spring because the board had already awarded the project to Anew.

For those who don’t like the piping the way it is, Belgrave says “we’ll try to fix it.”

But Belgrave warns that any changes made to improve the look of the work will only end up costing owners more. Several residents say that is fine as long as the work is done right this time.

Lalla Haidara was mortified with the finished product and says her three-bedroom unit now looks “like a warehouse.” Like other Sutton Place owners, Haidara says she’s fearful that the work will result in a drop of property values.

Haidara invited other owners to look at what was done in her unit. The visitors were outraged. A petition was circulated by Crawford, forcing the board to call a meeting later this month so that residents can air their concerns.

As well, the board decided a few days ago to suspend all apartment work while it considers ways to cover the exposed conduit, or putting more of it behind walls, if that’s possible. Work will continue in the halls of the buildings. Belgrave wouldn’t discuss what options the board might be looking at, but says some modifications were made to the plan when work moved from the 15th to the 14th floor of 2000 Jasmine.

But resident Ali Baksh is not impressed. Instead of running down the middle of the ceiling as it does in Haidara’s unit one floor above, the conduit in his mother’s apartment is off to the side, where the wall meets the ceiling. Aesthetically, that’s hardly an improvement, he says.

Residents have heard that remedies may include placing mouldings over the piping or simply painting the conduit white so it will blend in with the white ceiling.

Property manager Tammy Wiedow says owners of the two-bedroom units, which make up about 70 per cent of the apartments, have little or no problem with the look of the work because little conduit is exposed.

Wiedow should speak to Regina Nelson. She doesn’t think much about the two exposed conduits in her two-bedroom. Resident Janet Burke says until there is a better plan, she won’t let the electricians into her two-bedroom.

“We should have been consulted,” says Haidara, who asked the electricians to stop the work when she saw what they were doing. But she had to allow them to finish the job.

Under Ontario’s Condominium Act, which Crawford says “doesn’t give owners any rights,” access to units must be allowed for any work deemed necessary by the board.

If access is refused, then the condo’s property manager has the right to unlock the door of the unit to let workmen in. If extra costs occur because of delays, they are the responsibility of the condo owner. And a lien could be placed against the unit for non-payment.

I did click the Accept button. I won't do it again in fear that you will receive two payments. Although you were very helpful with your suggestions, you didn't actually answer my question which was: How do I dissent and what the approximate cost would be.