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For more than five hours, counsel for the City of Regina and WestGate Properties Ltd., the firm responsible for drilling Pointe de la Pointe, explored the minutiae – and millimeters – of soil displacement [19659002]. The first day of Capital Pointe's appeal to the Saskatchewan Construction and Accessibility Standards Appeal Board.
But Neil Abbott of Gowling WLG, a WestGate lawyer, said, "We are not here to talk about investors.
Instead, they called Kai-Sing Hui, a geotechnical engineer from the firm EXP, to testify on their behalf. Hui, who knows Regina well, is one of the reference engineers for the Regina bypbad project, and now the Capital Pointe project.
"It's in a safe state," Hui began. "The necessary tests have been done."
Demonstrations of soil tests, diagrams, modeled resistance tests and the same question followed: Is the development of Albert Street in 1971 safe?
"
" Our professional opinion is that the site is stable and that the shoring will expire on December 8, "Hui said. this goes against that of Isherwood Geostructural Engineers, the former file engineer who sent a letter to the city saying that the site was unsafe, and advised to put it out of service immediately .
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Isherwood reported that the site had suffered "large unexpected lateral movements", noting that shoring at the northeastern corner of the site and on the South wall had oscillated between 36-40 mm, or less than 2 inches, between the summer of 2017 and June 2018.
Abbott argued that even if the city finds that shoring is dangerous, it must look for "alternatives" rather than filling the hole. According to Hui, studies conducted by Altus Geomatics on June 5th and June 29th of this year showed that shoring had not experienced any additional movement, which proves that the site was stable
. Corrective actions were taken in December 2017 to improve shoring in the northeast corner. In February 2018, Isherwood informed the city that they had used the ground of the construction center to extend the berms, adding more stability to the sections that suffered the most movement.
"In any plan of shoring, by nature, there is always some movement," Hui explained. Regina is particularly sensitive to this movement, says Hui, claiming that her unique clay soil – sampled during the Regina Bypbad project – contracts or expands with moisture levels.
But the displacement of the site was well above Isherwood's threshold of 20 mm
He replied by saying that "once he moves, he is moved", adding that EXP was melting his recommendations on the current state site, and whether propping up shifted or not.
added that the letter sent by Isherwood to the city, stating that the site was unsafe, might not be entirely accurate.
During a spring 2018 period, Isherwood is believed to have no access at the site to make field visits. Hui suggested that Ishherwood would have sent the letter as a precaution to free himself from any legal liability if the site became unsafe.
"If Isherwood thought the site was dangerous, they would not have done any repairs," Hui said. . "But they did it;"
The badessment of the security of the site by Isherwood is a particular bone of contention for the city because it is in direct contradiction with what EXP – the current file engineer and Hui's employer – says:
EXP has not carried out a full and detailed investigation of the shoring. Based on a high-level review of the site, and previous statements by Isherwood that the site is safe.
If construction is to continue on the site, or if WestGate Properties is trying to request a new site, building permit – they currently have none for excavation on the site – a detailed design review would be required.
Christine Clifford, Legal Counsel for the City of Regina, has asked Hui if he was scheduled to perform a detailed examination within six months before expiring the current scaffold, to which Hui replied no. When asked if EXP would issue the same letter of unsafe conditions in December if no changes were made, he acknowledged that they would do it.
Hui argued that frequent monitoring of the site would be sufficient to ensure his safety, and that, as it is, shoring is well enough designed to withstand an extreme weather event – something that he said "would not happen in those six months.It is highly, highly improbable."
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The Capital Capital Appeal mired in technical details and delays
That's not much, but it may be a glimmer of hope for investors who have poured thousands into the project – people who can lose everything if the hole is filled. It is difficult to determine, at least in the short term, what investors should expect, "said Robert MacKay, a partner at the law firm MacKay & McLean
although investors may have the legal capacity to sue. , the chances that they are actually paid are low. Mackay says that investments negotiated through a real estate agent would likely be easier to recover.
"The reason is that if they did it through a real estate agent, their money is presumably held in trust through the intermediary of a real estate agent. a brokerage account. This money is pretty safe. If they went directly through the developer, there will be a question about what happened with their money and where is it today, "noted MacKay.
The city will continue its counter- interrogation on Wednesday before presenting his expert witness.The hearing is scheduled to conclude on Thursday
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