BY KEITH LACEY

Cam and Jennifer McLardie are very proud of their front lawn and the look of their property. But they haven’t been able to enjoy their front lawn after city crews tore it up to replace an emergency water valve in May.

They understand the water valve had to be replaced, but are concerned that after three months their yard is an eyesore. The front lawn, curb outside their driveway and a large section of road outside their home remained unrepaired until last week.

“It just shouldn’t have taken this long to have these problems fixed,” said Jennifer. “It was one excuse after the other from the city and contractors and we’re basically fed up.”

The couple was “thrilled” to find out shortly after they complained to Northern Life that the city was scheduled to finish the job last week.

The McLardies live on Walter St. in Coniston, in a beautiful subdivision “where everyone is proud of their homes and everyone really takes care of their lawns and property,” McLardie said.

By the middle of July, nothing had been done, so she phoned the city again, said McLardie.

“I said ‘come on, what’s going on here’,” she said. “I was told ‘dear’ it takes time for the ground to settle and there’s nothing we can do until it settles.

“I didn’t like being called ‘dear’ and I was very, very upset.”

She was also informed the city’s contractor was responsible for the road repairs and had other jobs to do before he could complete the work outside her home, she said.

McLardie became so upset, she called the mayor’s office, but didn’t get any response.

On Aug. 10, she called the city public works department and was told the contractor was to blame for the delays, and there wasn’t much the city could do about it.

“That’s when I had enough...I told them you should hold your contractors responsible or get someone else who can do the job,” she said.

She didn’t hear from anyone at the city until recently when repair work started that was to be completed last Tuesday, said McLardie.

“It’s been three months of frustration,” she said. “We have a beautiful property in the back and the front is just as nice, but we haven’t been able to enjoy this summer. I just don’t see why this couldn’t have been taken care of sooner.

“In my opinion, there’s just no excuse for a job like this to have taken so long to get done.”

George Shewchuk, supervisor of sewer and water projects for the City of Greater Sudbury, said he understands the McLardies’ frustration, but said the city’s contractors try to complete jobs of this nature as quickly as possible.

“Our contractors do jobs based on a list from the furthest back to the latest...some people in similar situations are still waiting for jobs to be finished from last fall,” he said.

“The fact is we have anywhere from 300 to 400 trenches to deal with in the Greater City and our contractors do the jobs based on who has waited the longest.

“We can’t schedule work based on complaints...that just wouldn’t work.”