Rockwood Lodge in Sechelt has been experiencing flooding for a few months, and staff is trying to secure a grant to fix the problem.
Rockwood Lodge is a heritage building at 5511 Shorncliffe Ave. that’s under the District of Sechelt’s control and is often used by the community.
For the past few months, the basement of the building has been flooding daily, whether it’s raining or sunny, and staff have been pumping the water out in an effort to minimize the damage.
The flooding is due to “severe drainage issues,” according to arts, culture and communications coordinator Siobhan Smith.
She brought the issue to council during its Feb. 1 regular council meeting, asking for permission to apply for a $68,000 Canada 150 grant that would cover 80 per cent of the estimated cost to fix the flooding.
The remaining $17,000 would have to come from the District of Sechelt.
Coun. Noel Muller was concerned about the damage being caused by the flooding and asked if there is a “substantial amount of interior work” to do once the flooding problem is fixed.
Smith said there was some damage to the drywall that will need to be replaced and that cleanup of the cement floor in the basement would be warranted. However, she said staff hadn’t done a “detailed inspection into what damage might be behind the walls.”
“We know the drywall has taken on water, we don’t know what’s behind that yet. So we haven’t had the opportunity to do a thorough investigation of the interior, but we’re very aware of the problems on the exterior with the drainage,” Smith told council.
“Ideally, if we are successful in getting this grant we will be able to have funding to cover both jobs.”
Councillors acknowledged the need to fix the district-owned asset, with Coun. Darnelda Siegers saying the $17,000 would have to be found in the budget if the Canada 150 grant comes through.
Council then approved staff’s request to apply for grant funding and moved the possible $17,000 expenditure to budget discussions.
