Shortly before noon, the fire alarm went off in Building 248. New Westminster Fire Department were onsite within five minutes and the building was evacuated.
Initial reports indicate an issue with a system in the underground parking. Council VP is attending with the firefighters.
As of this writing, residents are back in the building. I’ll provide further details as I get them.
To emphasize–there was no fire and the other two buildings were not affected.
Tonight, Council President Jeff and I tackled the forest of weeds that had grown in the planter adjacent to Building 248.
On June 23rd, it looked like this:
In the three weeks since, they had grown even denser and lush.
We started at the east end and worked our way west, leaving a pile of ex-weeds in the middle. These will be picked up by the landscaping company Terra Firma.
This is what it looked like when we finished, just shortly after sunset:
You may be wondering how the weeds grew so much in the first place and the answer is: bad timing.
When Phase 1 of the membrane project ended, the previous council made the decision to have sod placed in the planters. It was further agreed to by all parties to wait until the weather was better before placing the sod, to give it a better chance to take root and grow. Unfortunately this came so close to the summer water restrictions that it would not have been possible to properly water the sod, and it likely would have died.
Mother Nature took over and weeds began sprouting up, growing rapidly.
The sod will get placed after water restrictions are lifted (or shortly before) and in the meantime, we’ll make sure the weed forest doesn’t regrow.
Why didn’t Terra Firma do the weeding? They had been told not to do work in the courtyard area due to the membrane project and besides, sometimes it’s fun to roll up your sleeves and do something to improve your home.
Weather: 23°C, cloudy, late intermittent sprinkles
Workers onsite: None observed
No work onsite today.
The official notice from Robinson Roof Solutions is below.
The work will take place across all three buildings in the complex.
Weather: 29°C, sunny
Workers onsite: None observed
No work onsite today.
Weather: 28°C, sunny
Workers onsite: None observed
Perfect sunny day, no work done.
One person wearing a Prostar vest was seen mid-morning moving rolls of aeration mat, sealant and wooden pallets from the central courtyard to the emergency repair area. What this accomplishes in practical terms is an exercise left for the reader.
