Remediation of Victoria’s courthouse lawn – the site formerly known as tent city – has been delayed because of a rat infestation.
The clean-up began after the final tent city campers moved into shelters several weeks ago.
But workers discovered a number of rats at the site and remediation was put on hold until pest control can deal with the rodents.
“Pest control activities were estimated to take approximately two weeks, however, these efforts will continue until the pests are completely eradicated,” the Ministry of Technology, Innovation and Citizens’ Services said in a statement.
Total costs for pest management are about $6,500 so far. The exact number of rats hiding out in tent city is unknown.
The ministry, which is managing the clean-up of the site, said it will help determine the design and future use of the courthouse lawn and then get to soil testing and removal.
So far, an adjacent parking lot has been cleaned and parking stall lines at the courthouse have been repainted.
A fence erected in the final days of tent city will remain up as work continues.
The province has spent about $1.3-million on managing the site between December 2015 and August 2016 on a variety of services including security, garbage collection, portable toilets, water hookup, and demolition.
