It could be at least another “week and a half” until the elevators are repaired at Bonik Tower in New Sudbury.
That’s if the parts needed have arrived.
Until then, the seniors and tenants stuck on any of the 16 floors in the building are isolated, without necessities, and still trapped in their own homes. At the time of our first story, published May 10, the tenants had been without a working elevator for at least 11 days.
In fact, we’ve since learned from tenants that one of the elevators has been down close to two years.
Greater Sudbury Fire Services Deputy Chief Jesse Oshell confirmed to Sudbury.com that they had shut down the other elevator due to safety concerns and that they continually check on the status of the elevator, as well as to confirm that the stairwells are free from obstacles in case of emergency.
“We just continue to work with the building owner and property manager to ensure that it's getting rectified,” he said. “And those residents, I'm sure, are struggling.”
He said fire services would also assist Greater Sudbury Paramedics if there were any medical reasons.
On May 16, we spoke with Ward 11 Coun. Bill Leduc, whose ward encompasses Bonik Tower. Though he said he had not read the initial story published by Sudbury.com, he said he had been contacted by tenants in the building regarding the elevator.
“There’s not much I can do as a councillor, other than give residents advice to who to contact moving forward, and I have been in touch personally with staff at the city to see what we can do to help,” said Leduc. “At this point in time, I don't think there's a whole lot that we can do. Bonik Towers has an obligation to the residents; whether it's having somebody at the bottom of the stairs, for example, helping a resident bring up their groceries, that sort of stuff.”
When asked if he would be organizing anything at a community level, he said the building’s secure entrance made that difficult.
“Because you just can't go into a private building without the permission of the landlord, it's a controlled entrance No. 1,” he told Sudbury.com. “So again, it's difficult. But I'm not saying that it can't be done either. I'm sure it could be but again, I think the responsibility comes down to the landlord to organize that themselves.”
He said if there were an organization “that I'm unaware of” that could do something, he would fully support that.
“But again, like I say, I'm sure there's potential issues of being able to enter a private building so you would need express permission from the landlord, and I would hope that they would co-operate.”
When will the elevators be fixed?
The building, located at 1016 Arthur St., is owned by Bon-Star Inc., which lists Bozidar Nikolic as its director. The company that manages the building is Bocan Enterprises, which lists as directors Bozidar Nikolic and Boban Nikolic.
Bocan Enterprises also manages the Starbury Tower at 400 Telstar Avenue, Rideau Place at 634 Lasalle Boulevard and Donwood Park at 1252 Grenadier Avenue.
Both Boban and Bozidar are also listed as either officer or director of several other companies including: Bokrica Inc., Serbcan Inc., Bowgray Investments (inactive) and at least two numbered companies, 1277897 Ontario Inc. and 1499481 Ontario Inc.
There is also a Bon-Star International Inc. registered to B. Nikolic in Florida.
Several tenants of the building, in addition to the four we originally spoke with, have reached out to Sudbury.com since we published our story to share that they received an update letter from Boban Nikolic.
“Attached to this notice on the other side of the page is a copy of our latest correspondence with our elevator contractor in regards to the elevators,” it begins. “This letter is self-explanatory.”
The letter from Nikolic states that both elevators are currently not running, but that they have taken steps to get both cars operational as soon as possible and that the elevator contractor has been “engaged through the process” and is currently trying to get both elevators running.
“My understanding is that some parts are on order,” the letter from Nikolic reads. “We have done our utmost to remedy this situation.”
The letter states that Nikolic and the staff “understand and share your frustration with this situation and this matter is being taken very seriously by management and everyone is working as fast and as hard as they can to get this rectified.”
He also notes that “By law, anyone other than an elevator contractor cannot touch, repair or make operational any elevator or installation,” and reminds tenants that in case of fire or other emergency, “please use the stairwells to exit the property on the first or second floor where exits are located.”
Tenants are asked to call the rental office for any questions. If tenants need any assistance in the building, they are told to call the building superintendent. “Staff are more than willing to assist in whatever way we can as we all understand this situation is a large inconvenience for everyone.”
The company that handles the maintenance and repair for Bonik Tower is Pace Elevator and a letter from Bonik’s account manager, James Field, written on May 9, was provided to Sudbury.com was provided by several tenants.
Both elevator controllers require new contactor sets, Field said. These are primary control components that are vital to the safe operation and reliability of the elevators, he explained.
"We should have the new contactors in stock in the next week and a half then we will be installing them in both controllers at the same time," Field said.
The boards that have been rebuilt will be installed at the same time as the new contactors, said the elevator-contractor’s letter.
“We’re expecting two days on site to replace these components along with other control circuit relays,” said the Field letter. “We should have all the components in a week and a half and we anticipate installation shortly after. Our team is aware of the urgency regarding this and the impact it has on your tenants.”
Sudbury.com contacted Field. He did not wish to speak on his clients account, in order to protect confidentiality, and did not feel he should speak to the issues within the industry.
Challenges from an industry level
To get a better understanding of the challenges for repairs in the industry, Sudbury.com spoke with Gary Medeiros, president of Solucore, a company that independently informs building owners about their rights and responsibilities when it comes to elevators, as well as helping them negotiate maintenance contracts. Previously to his consulting work, Medeiros was president and CEO of TK Elevator Canada (formerly ThyssenKrupp), the largest elevator company in Canada.
He spoke in general about elevator repair, not specific to Bonik Tower. He said there isn’t a “smoking gun” when it comes to problems with elevator downtime.
“It's a combination of so many things, from equipment complexity to mechanical skill to supply chain issues,” he said. “But also, companies operating within labor budgets and profit expectations, of course, which slows down all these factors further.”
And though there are elevator mechanics available, some don’t have the skill to fix the older equipment.
“I know people will talk about shortages of labor, but there's mechanics available out there. The challenge is there's a shortage of people who are capable of working on a variety of equipment and skilled enough to work on both the new technology versus the old technology,” said Medeiros. As well, there are a variety of elevator types. “And it's not just it's not just traction versus hydraulics. It's the brands.”
Elevator companies are also businesses that work on budgets, said Medeiros. They don't have “mechanics on the bench” just waiting around, nor will they have a stockpile of parts, moving to a more modern just-in-time inventory system, meaning parts are received as close as possible to when they are needed, avoiding storage and inventory costs.
Peaks of need can sometimes cause backlogs, said Medeiros, because of multiple issues, and that's what leads to extended down times. “That's the company control part of it. But I think what also introduces some complexity is the supply chain,” he said.
Part of that is sourcing, and part is sourcing old parts. It’s similar to trying to repair an old car that needs age-appropriate parts, rather than a new car, where parts are on store shelves.
Medeiros said obsolescence is also an issue.
“Vendors are not supporting products for as long as they used to. So we're seeing some obsolescence, which means then you're having to exchange for other types of products, upgrading equipment,” he said.
However, he did emphasize the importance of proactive modernization, typically done every 25-30 years, to avoid catastrophic breakdowns. However, that’s not often the case for residential buildings, he said.
Sudbury.com will continue to monitor the situation at Bonik Tower as tenants wait for a time when they can once again come and go from their homes freely. If you have an issue with the elevator at your building, please contact [email protected].
Jenny Lamothe covers vulnerable and marginalized populations, as well as housing issues and the justice system for Sudbury.com.