Some Elgin Street residents were visibly upset Monday evening on hearing that foundation work on the Tatagwa View facility could cause structural damage to their homes.

Lloyd Searcy, vice-president of corporate and financial services for the Sun Country Health Region, had met with the residents outside the lake at Coulter Field, where the Tatagwa View facility will be located and which Elgin Street neighbours.

He said the deadline for tendering out the construction had been extended to Tuesday, June 3, but they expected construction work to begin around the middle to third week of June.

The first step will be driving or drilling piles to build up the foundation for the building, which will take about a month.

The concern for residents of Elgin Street, he said, is the small possibility of structural damage because of the sheer concussive force of the work.

One factor is whether the contractor will drill or drive the pilings; Searcy said that with drilling there is much less risk of damage and less noise.

Their preference, then, would be for a contractor to drill the pilings, but Searcy said they are obligated to take the lowest bid no matter what.

As a precaution, Searcy said the contractor will be obligated to go around to the residents on Elgin Street and ask to videotape the house for insurance purposes. If there is damage, the contractor's insurance company will be required to fix it.

Residents may choose not to have their house videotaped, but it will help settle a claim later. They would also be invited to an open meeting with the contractor when the tender was awarded.

Searcy cautioned that any damage is an issue between the contractor and the residents; Sun Country has hired the services of a consulting firm to act as a go-between them and the general contractor.

On hearing this, one woman said she felt the Health Region was washing their hands of the issue and not taking responsibility, and asked if there were any repercussions the residents should pursue if their homes are damaged and not repaired.

Searcy stated the damage was all just a small possibility, and Sun Country was trying to be a good corporate citizen in informing them about the work beforehand.

"We do want you to be happy. We don't want our neighbours to be angry at us," he said.

Another resident, following the meeting, wondered if the age of the homes on Elgin Street might be a problem, as structural damage may not be readily obvious.

Searcy said noise will probably be a problem during the first month, and said the contractor will not be allowed to work before or after certain times in the day.

Searcy also answered questions regarding the pond, which he estimated to cost roughly $192,000. That was less, he said, than it would have cost to truck in dirt for the facility.

He said they will continue to monitor the alkali levels, algae and water level in the pond. If necessary, the water can be treated to control alkali or algae and the Health Region has an agreement with the city to take water from the river to bump up the pond level.

Several people expressed concerns around children going near the small lake. Searcy said it was possible to put up a chain link fence around it, but that would deny direct access from the rest of the grounds.

However, although the pond does go to a fair depth, the lake declines very gradually and the edges of the pond are extremely muddy, so a person would have to be extremely determined and strong to reach a very deep spot, said Searcy.

Searcy said they will be asking people not to fish in the pond without permission, and to prevent partying around the shore, they hope to put up lighting around the lake to illuminate the area.

In the building, he said they will try to keep glare at a minimum and use ornamental lighting as much around the building as possible.

Also, they planned to leave alone the rail bed in behind Elgin Street, as the city determined its height to be sufficient to serve as a dike.

Searcy said construction on the Tatagwa View facility, which will house some 135 long-term care residents, is estimated to take about 15 months.