New fire hall for Paradise '99%' complete, but still not open

A brand new fire hall for Paradise was supposed to open June 1, but the deputy mayor of St. John's said that while the building is pretty much done, it can't open yet.

That's because some sub-contractors are worried about not getting paid by Baraco, the company building the fire hall.

• Paradise picks St. John's for fire services

Deputy Mayor Ron Ellsworth, who sits on the regional fire services board, said lawyers have gotten involved to resolve the issue.

"We don't see any major issues at this point, but obviously we'll want to move as quickly as possible to secure the building," said Ellsworth.

He added a bonding company is involved and the city - as the property owner - is protected from liens on work.

There is no date for an expected opening of the fire hall.

"The building is about 99 per cent complete, there's still a few odds and ends that need to be clued up, so with regards to the building itself we're not concerned in the sense of the building being completed," said Ellsworth.

"It's just a matter of working through whatever legal processes and procedures we need to work through to allow ourselves to gain access to the building and to allow us to be able to start providing services."

A spokesperson for Baraco said there aren't any financial troubles with the building.

In an email to CBC News the company said "it's working with the St. John's Regional Fire Department and project contractors to resolve outstanding contract items to finalize the delivery."

The statement said the June 1  date was an initial target and never a hard delivery date for opening.

Baraco said it's hoping to hand over the fire hall to the city within the next 30 days.