A total of nine power interruptions that plagued a South Surrey manufactured-home community since early December have spurred some residents to action.
Chuck Connors – a member of an ad-hoc ‘executive committee’ of Breakaway Bays residents – delivered some 43 claims for damages to the office of manager Sandy Kowalski earlier this month, following on almost a dozen already submitted independently by unit owners.
The new claims total more than $19,600 and seek redress for loss of food that residents say was spoiled when refrigeration units lost power over extended periods, plus various related damages, as well as return of some of the pad rental fees and the cost of hotel accommodation and meals during the lengthiest interruptions.
Some units in the more-than-40-year-old park were initially without electricity for three chilly days after power suddenly failed on the morning of Saturday, Dec. 3.
Connors, fellow committee member Sally Patrick and other residents who’ve spoken to Peace Arch News since December contend that the power interruptions – which stem from failures of an aging in-ground distribution system and turning off power during attempts to fix it – have been compounded by a slow initial response to the problem and lack of communication.
A BC Hydro crew investigated the Dec. 3 outage and reported that the Crown corporation can’t fix the problem because it has to do with a failure within the park’s own system.
Connors delivered the latest batch of claims to the park office March 9, but was unable to speak to Kowalski.
Kowalski did not respond to subsequent requests for comment from PAN by press time Wednesday. Efforts to contact parent company CWS Communities head office representative Joe Sherwood have also been unsuccessful.
In a Dec. 7 newsletter delivered to residents, the ‘Breakaway Bays Management Team’ states the power failure was due to “a fault in an underground cable.”
“It also led to the discovery of a high-voltage ‘switch’ problem that has to be addressed,” the letter states, adding that work with a contractor to install new cable to the main feeder box was a “major undertaking” that would require scheduled power outages while work is being done.
“We truly regret the impact the electrical problem is having on our residents. We understand how difficult it has been and we are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible.”
But Patrick and Connors said there was little or no communication from management in the three days prior to the letter – leading to anger and concerns about resident safety, particularly for seniors and others on fixed incomes who were isolated, disoriented and without heat.
Connors said that although some parts of the park had power restored within hours of the initial interruption, about 100 units were without it for days.
“We suffered electrical failure all during that time,” Patrick said. “No one came from CWS to talk to us.”
Connors said another concern is the length of time it took management to deploy emergency generators in the park.
“Once the power outage started on the Saturday, they knew immediately that the problem was not with Hydro,” he said. “Hydro was here at 10:30 a.m. and told them at 10:31 that it was an underground line in the park. They should have brought in generators the same day, because they knew the only way to look for the outages was to turn off power. They didn’t bring (generators) in for three days.”
According to residents, Sherwood met with them in January and eventually agreed they could submit claims to the company – but only individually.
“His position (at first) was that nobody was going to get anything, that power outages are common,” Patrick said.
“I said, this wasn’t a storm, and… it’s been proven it’s the infrastructure that’s failing – it’s your responsibility.”
Patrick said she believes 11 residents have already submitted claims and that some have already been compensated, though the committee has no details – those who have accepted compensation are bound by a non-disclosure agreement at CWS’ request.
Connors and Patrick said they know they are going against the company’s wishes in collecting and delivering claims on behalf of residents. Earlier this month, committee members received a warning letter from a lawyer for CWS asking them to stop, but they said they are standing firm.
“Out of 300 people affected, you may get 10 or 15 who do something,” Connors explained. “Most don’t know how to, or they’re intimidated.”
Connors, a former soft drink company manager, said he will have no hesitation in going to small-claims court to pursue his claim, which includes $200 in meals and $500 in what he described as “punitive damages.”
“They offered me $100 and a non-disclosure agreement,” Connors said. “The lawyer said the small-claims court has no jurisdiction to address (these) claims, but I’ve been to the small-claims court some 16 times. The person making the claim always has the option to take it to court.
“It will be an interesting trial if it ever gets to court.”