Workers at the City of Calgary will be returning to work at the municipal building on Monday morning for the first time since flooding in June.
Thanks to the efforts of city facility staff and their contractors, it’s ahead of schedule.
“Since the flood, our commitment has been to returning our displaced colleagues to safe and fully functioning buildings as quickly as possible,” explains Jason Halfyard, manager of Asset and Accommodation Planning for Corporate Properties & Buildings. “We’re pleased to be able to welcome back staff to the Municipal Building earlier than expected.”
More than 1,900 workers were displaced from the office building on June 21.
They’ve been working in alternate workspaces and telecommuting ever since.
Some have been able to return in the weeks leading up to this, but the remainder will be able to return in phases now.
The move back to normal operations is about two weeks earlier than anticipated.
The municipal complex has been running on generator power since the flooding, but the ENMAX power grid has now been restored, so that generator is no longer needed.
All of the building's systems, including electrical, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, have been tested and verified as being in good working order.
The city says that it will be taking a bit longer to finish repairs on the Administration Building and Old City Hall.
Both facilities were heavily damaged in June's flooding.
In addition, there is still a great amount of work needed on the basement levels of the buildings.
Council meetings for September 9 and 16 will be able to return to the Council Chamber, but all committee meetings will continue to be held at Deerfoot Junction.
The city says they are looking at ways to mitigate future risk to buildings.
