Taxpayers spent extra $450,000 to prepare Mayor's Gala at Surrey City Hall

An ongoing legal battle around the construction of the new Surrey City Hall has lawsuits flying in every direction.

PCL Construction has filed a lawsuit against the City of Surrey claiming they have not been paid for $9 million worth of work on the 180,000 sq. ft. city hall completed in 2014.

The City Hall building was originally scheduled to be completed for $97 million in September 2013, but the City repeatedly changed plans, causing delays and inflated prices, according to the PCL lawsuit. If PCL’s claims are proven, the cost of City Hall construction could reach $150 million.

While PCL is suing Surrey, Western Pacific Enterprises (WPE) is in turn suing PCL, claiming they were not paid for $6 million worth of work. PCL includes these payments in their bill for the City of Surrey.

Both WPE and PCL point to extra costs associated with the October 2013 Mayor’s Gala in their suits.

“Surrey asked PCL to perform extra work for an event known as the Mayor’s Gala,” PCL’s lawsuit reads. “PCL performed that work … and with consequent interruptions of and delays to the project schedule. Surrey, in breach of contract, has refused to compensate PCL.”

PCL alleges they completed $361,700 in gala prep work to make the space ready for the party, costs that would not have been incurred if the Mayor’s Gala had not taken place. WPE alleges they completed $90,000 of work in anticipation of the party as well, putting the estimated construction costs for the Mayor’s Gala at $450,000.

In return, the City of Surrey has filed a counter-claim against PCL alleging that their work was negligent and did not meet ‘milestone events’ outlined in their contract. They also state that PCL owes the city $1.6 million for the construction of a “deficient and incomplete” geo-exchange facility within City Hall.