The long-awaited South-end fire station, which was planned to be done by Nov. 3 and promised to be a “lean project,” has faced funding shortfalls, delays and problems with the roof. The earliest possible completion date has been pushed back to March 1.

Earlier this fall, there were issues with the installation of the roof’s cap sheet, a building material that consists of several layers to create a water-tight surface that extends the life of the roof.

Debris had fallen onto the roof membrane after a wind storm, but the membrane was attached to the cap sheet anyway, which may have punctured the roof and caused a leak. The city later hired outside experts to inspect the roof, who observed water pooling on the floor.

These issues and others have delayed the project and will take more money to fix. The city may hold the contractor responsible. To date, the city has held back $52,000 in payments, said city communications manager Ross Freeman.

The city is also setting aside $181,553 of its capital reserve fund for the project, which could ordinarily be used to address other deficits in the 2015-16 budget.

But the contractor has to pay for damages and delays.

“Any additional costs incurred on this project, which aren’t [city] approved change orders, will be funded by damages due from the general contractor for not completing the project on time,” said city finance director Chip Corder.

To pay for the station and a new rescue truck, Island voters approved a levy lid lift in 2012 to collect $662,000 per year for nine years. But initial construction bids came in about $400,000 higher than anticipated, so the city had to dip into other funds.

Now, the question is whether or not to tear off the roof and replace it. The old South-end fire station had to be replaced because of a similar issue: some of its structures had been installed incorrectly, rendering the building “seismically unsound.”

Even before the roof issue, there were complaints about the contractor and slow pace of work.

The city is legally required to take the lowest project bid, which was $3,500,000 from Corp. Inc., a construction company based out of Salem, Ore.

Reference checks for Corp Inc. indicated that the firm “does good work, is fair in dealing with owners and is proactive in solving problems,” and the firm recently was awarded the contract to build May Valley Road Fire Station 78 for Eastside Fire and Rescue.

The project team believes the contractor may have grown too fast and taken on too many jobs at once, according to City Council meeting minutes.

While the delays are troubling, Deputy Mayor Dan Grausz said he believes the workmanship is sound.

“While the construction is painfully slow, the quality of the work has generally not suffered,” Grausz said. “The roof remains the one open question; we are performing tests and will take other measures to address that by either requiring that the roof be replaced or, if replacement is not called for, that financial assurances be received.”

The Council held executive sessions in October to discuss the problems with the project and the city’s next steps, and received reports from the roof consultant in November and December. Those reports indicate that the roof can be fixed with patches, but should be inspected later using infrared technology.

When done, the South-end station will also receive a beam from the World Trade Center to be displayed as public art. The art will be put in place once all other potentially conflicting activities are wrapped up, Freeman said.