What started out to be a regular work week for District of Barriere staff soon took a crooked turn near the end of last week when the road lines were painted within the community core.
As can be seen from the adjacent photograph, what started out as a straight forward job seems to have gone sadly amiss.
The white and yellow lines of paint on the pavement were a long way from being called straight, and area residents were quick to react with calls to the municipality with questions about “what was going to be done about it?”.
This reporter spoke with Mayor Virginia Smith on Monday to ask who was responsible?
“That is a tough call,” said Smith, “I say inexperience is at fault. Our staff went out and did the markings and measurements, and we received a number of quotes to do the job. There were delays in getting the project going.”
She noted the district’s allotted budget for the job was $9,500, and the quotes came in from $8,500 upwards to $18,000.
“We went with the low quote, the next lowest bid was $13,000,” said the Mayor.
“From what I understand the first day the crew were supposed to do crosswalks and not do the line painting,” said the Mayor, “Apparently, in an effort to impress their boss they decided to do the lines as well. Which was a disaster.”
How is the District addressing the problem?
“I have met with the company and the man that owns the company is already out there fixing it,” said Smith, “I have been assured it will be corrected.”
She noted that the contractor will be applying a tar substance over the incorrect lines which will then fade to the same colour as the pavement over time.
“They say you won’t even notice it once faded,” said Smith, “I think it is already looking better, but we are not paying them until it’s corrected.
“You are really between a rock and a hard place when you only have so much to work with in your budget,” said the Mayor, “You look at the budget, the quotes, the references, and you trust....
“It makes everybody look incompetent and that’s embarrassing.”