Engineer’s report recommends demolition due to roof issues
Vibank village council says it is “researching options” following the completion of an engineering report that recommended demolition of the community’s Centennial Community Hall.
Council held a special meeting Dec. 6 to discuss the report, which was submitted Nov. 29 by Warren Gagnon of Regina company W Gagnon Engineering.
Gagnon wrote that his company inspected the building Nov. 1 and found “significant and wide-spread damage to the north arch rib roof structure.” This damage to multiple glulaminated wooden sup-port beams throughout the building has caused “significant and concerning deflections” (sagging or flexing of the wood) throughout the roof on the north side of the hall, and is not repairable in Gagnon’s opinion.
Futher, Gagnon said “although development of a new wall and roof structure to replace the failed roof is structurally feasible, we recommend replacement of the building in full for best longevity and performance with time.”
Gagnon’s recommendation for a completed rebuild stemmed from its assessment that “found the foundations and floor structure to be underperforming” as well.
More specifically, the report said, “we expect continuing worsening foundation and floor flatness performance with time. In our opinion developing over the existing foundation is a poor investment and the community would be better served to invest in a higher performance foundation with interior beam-lines that can be adjusted over time.”
Gagnon additionally recommended against further use or occupancy of the building and that items of value be removed from the building. This work, the company said, should be completed “as soon as possible because the building has potential to fail under moderate snow cover or high winds.”
Village administrator Heath Duncan previously told The Forum that Gagnon was contacted following a community event held at the hall Oct. 31 and that the hall was closed immediately after the event.
“We called in the engineer to assess the building because a sag was noticed in the roof from the exterior,” Duncan said at the time.
In its letter to the community following the Dec. 6 meeting, council said it “is in the process of researching options to repair and preserve the building foundation which, while in a somewhat deteriorated state, is not necessarily unsalvageable.”
Council’s letter concluded with an invitation for community members to share their thoughts and feedback on the situation.
