Fort McMurray flood victims encouraged to hire local for remediation

Property owners in Fort McMurray looking to repair flood-damaged buildings are being encouraged to hire locally.

"We want to promote and encourage residents to use local businesses because they've beenhardest hit by three things: the economic downturn, COVID-19 slowdown and also the flood," said Kevin Weidlich, CEO and president of the Wood Buffalo Economic Development Corporation.

The organization has created a websitelistinglocal contractorsand aweb pagewhere businesses can findinformation on recoveryfrom the flood and the pandemic.

During the April flooding, about 13,000 people were forced to evacuateand 1,200 buildings including businesses and homes were damaged.

The website, paid for bythe Fort McMurray Construction Association, makes it easy for residents to find local contractors and gives businesses a platform to promote their work,Weidlichsaid.

There needs to be a balance betweenlocal companies and contractors coming from other locations, he said.

"After the disaster, there's always going to be a need for a surge of contractors from outside the region to come and deal with specialized services," Weidlich said.

Whether local or not, it's still important for residents to get multiple quotes and checkreferences, Weidlich said.

"If they're local, great, but make sure they also have a proven track record."

The flooding was Fort McMurray's second disaster in four years. In 2016, the Horse River wildfire destroyed 2,400 homes.

Companies came to help with reconstruction, but not all left on good terms.

• Construction company faces 260 charges after failed Fort McMurray rebuilds
• Fort McMurray residents who lost it all in wildfire face delays, liens and lawsuits in fight with builder

The Hillview, a 214-unit condo complex, stands out as one of the largest unfinished projects after the fire.

Condo owners recently took out a $17-million loan on the project. Some have gone bankrupt while trying to pay for the mortgage, condo fees, special assessments and rent.

The original builder, Vancouver-based Viceroy Construction, was removed from the project in 2017. Now the developer and building management are in a multi-million-dollar lawsuit. Viceroyclaims wrongful termination and breach of its $63.9-million contract.

Building management is counter-suing for $9.3 million, alleging Viceroywas negligent in ensuring work was free from defects, was complete on time and that subcontractors were paid on deadline.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

Eric Rosina owns one of the units and he's warning flood-victims to be careful about who they hire.Homeowners need to research companies carefully, even if they are local, he said.

"I would hire the best person for the job," Rosina said. "Period."

Rosina knows first-hand what can happen if the work isn't done right. "Basically the property's just a noose around my neck."

If he could go back, Rosina would have liked to use a reputable, local contractor for the build. At the time, all condo owners were able to vote on the contractor they wanted to hire for the project, but they were only presented with Viceroy Construction.

Rosinawishes he had done research about the company.

'Causing more damage'

Billy Martin, co-owner of Paragon Property Maintenance, said he doesn't mind outside companies coming in to do remediation work, saying Fort McMurray doesn't have enough companies for the job.

However, he said he does take issue when companies come into the community, promise quick work and leave residents with a mess.

Martin said because so many people are dealing with water damageand the resulting mould, it's important to make sure the homes are cleaned properly so there's no further damage later.

"If the company wants to come up and take a bunch of work and do it properly and get people back to their houses, I personally have no issue with that,"Martin said.

"It's the people who are coming up with the impression that they're helping and causing more damage than they are here to fix, that's the real issue."