HMCS BYTOWN
Naval Officers’ Mess
Members of HMCS Bytown Officers’ Mess,
I am writing this to inform the membership of the status of our building on Lisgar Street, and what our plan is moving forward to ensure that we have a place to hold in-person activities as we start to open the messes.
As you know from the last AGM, the building on Lisgar was recently turned over to the Crown from HMCS Bytown Incorporated. The building had been falling into disrepair for years, and there were no funds available to do necessary work, such as roof repair. The true extent and number of issues, however, were unknown. Real Property (RP) Operations quickly did urgent repair and risk mitigation upon assuming responsibility for the building. Chimneys that were structurally failing were removed and tarps were placed on the roof. The roof itself was found to be too far gone structurally to be shingled and needs, likely, full structural replacement. The building failed fire code inspection (and we thus lost our liquor licence) due to lack of fire suppression in the building. The insulation between the kitchen and the dining areas is sawdust and newspaper – a common practice in building of this vintage – but a fire hazard. The floor on the second story is soft and structurally unsound, requiring repair. The stairs are also suffering structural fatigue. HVAC is failing and will require new lines – this means opening walls that could lead to further discoveries. The steel waste water line is cracked and leaking grey water, rendering our bar and kitchen sinks no longer useable. The issues continued with rats, vermin and their waste in the building, water damage, and a yet to be received designated substance report.
This adds up to about $10 Million of needed repairs and a building we can’t currently use.
The mess is not a building but is the sum of its members. We are the Wardroom and wherever we may meet in the interim – until the issues above are sorted out – will be the place we call Bytown. In conversation with the Mess Committee and in consultation with HMCS CARLETON CO and XO, PSP Staff and the DComd, an interim solution has been found. Pending the approval of the Commander of Naval Reserves, we will use HMCS CARLETON, sharing their Wardroom and facilities, to ensure we have a central place to meet and hold events. Their Drill Deck can accommodate large groups for DWDs and the bar will be available for the members who wish to gather at lunch. Also, the events that the Entertainment Committee will organize on the fields around CARLETON, on Dows Lake, and inside the building, skating on the canal…are endless. We will work together, as an RCN family, Reserve and Regular Force, to make the best of our bad situation. This is an interim solution, to allow us to have a place to meet. Virtual events, which have grown popular, will continue.
COVID closed the Wardroom, then building structural problems ensured a more prolonged closure. I hope this interim solution will work for us all, as we move beyond the current COVID 4th wave and back into a more normal mess life. I look forward to seeing you all at the mess, virtually or, when able, in person.
Yours Aye,
Douglas
Capt(N) D.I. Campbell, PMC
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