After a wait of several months, residents at the Wishing Well once again have a working elevator.
Since October last year the elevator has been out of commission while the province waited on parts for the repair. Brazeau Foundation CAO Denise Chesterman says some of the parts were coming from the United States, which only added to the wait time.
However, once they reported to the Province that the elevator wasn’t working, they were given approval right away to start the process. Chesterman says she was grateful for how well the Province worked with them to ensure it was taken care of as quickly as possible.
Though the elevators weren’t working, the staff at the Wishing Well and the Shangri-La Lodge were doing what they could to accommodate or help those who would typically need the elevators. They even went so far as to install a washer and dryer on the second floor to help residents easily access laundry services.
Once the parts came in and the elevator was repaired, the Alberta Elevating Devices and Amusement Rides Safety Association inspected the repair to ensure it was safe for use.
Chesterman says the Wishing Well’s elevator isn’t the first thing the Brazeau Foundation has had issues with. She says about ten years ago, one of the elevators in the Shangri-La Lodge had to be repaired, and while it wasn’t down for as long, it was not a quick fix, either.
Sylvia Angus-McConnell, the housing manager for the Wishing Well, says she’s been receiving a lot of comments from the residents, and they are all happy they can use it again.
Every building run by the Brazeau Foundation is owned by the Province, and the care and maintenance of the elevators has always fallen under provincial responsibility. However, Chesterman and Jeannette Vatter, a board member for the Brazeau Foundation, say the province has always been great about ensuring the elevators are inspected, kept in good condition, and repaired as quickly as possible if there is an issue.
