A Kozlov Centre tenant says he’s being forced out of the north-end Barrie mall after a squabble over frequent flooding and water damage in his collectibles store.
Wayne Frazer, who owns Doug Laurie Sports at the mall on Bayfield Street, has been hoping for months for roof repairs to be completed, but the clock has run out for his business.
Frazer said he’s being evicted and has to be out at the end of the month.
In a YouTube video posted Feb. 16, Frazer described his battle with never-ending flooding and damage inside his store, which he claims has been a daily burden for the past two months.
Frazer declined to be interviewed by InnisfilToday affiliate BarrieToday at the time, but did direct a reporter to his online video for more information about his situation.
In the video, he says he’s getting little help from mall management, adding the issue is “not even remotely” being dealt with by the mall.
BarrieToday had reached out to mall management for comment on the matter on Feb. 20.
When asked about the overall condition of the Kozlov Centre and management’s efforts to deal with flooding issues, a representative replied, “I cannot. I’m not allowed to comment.”
In the weeks since that time, the heavy snow that has piled up has been continuously melting and further seeping into the building.
“The water leak actually got worse for me, but it paradoxically made it better because it forced the leaking into mainly one spot, so I bought a 50-gallon drum and a submersible pump, and I can run the water out the back door when I come in and before I leave,” Frazer told BarrieToday through a locked security screen at the front of his store on Monday, as he was closed that particular day.
His business will remain open until sometime during the week of March 24, as he continues trying to keep the water at bay and save his inventory, such as sports cards and other memoribilia.
“The barrel over-tops in 16 to 18 hours, though, so I’m still forced to drive in every day at least once,” Frazer said.
“I also still have no help from my insurance company, mainly because the mall ownership refuses to allow an inspector on the roof to verify the issue is not mine,” he added.
Frazer also said he’s frustrated that he has not been contacted by anyone with the City of Barrie, aside from his Ward 4 councillor, Amy Courser, who stopped by the store to speak with him recently.
“A file is open with City of Barrie staff and they are investigating,” Courser told BarrieToday in an email.
“I dropped by Mr. Frazer’s store … and introduced myself after having a resident reach out to me with a link to Mr. Frazer’s video on social media,” she added.
After watching the video, Courser said Frazer must have felt “mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted,” so she wanted to check in to see if he was OK.
“Running a small niche business is hard enough without this type of significant challenge,” she said.
Courser said Frazer walked her through a portion of the mall, pointing out water damage to the walls and ceiling, including damage to an skylight.
Another business in the mall declined to speak about the flooding issue on the record, but they did say water leakage in the mall is also affecting their business.
They declined to speak openly about it as they believe they need to retain a positive working relationship with mall management for their business to survive.
Meanwhile, an elderly shopper leaving the Kozlov Centre was more than happy to talk about the mall’s current state.
Eva Rhines, a longtime customer of the mall’s shops and grocery store, described the situation as “just really awful.”
“Well, it’s kind of upsetting that in a public building they don’t have washrooms available, and that’s a big thing,” she said.
The hallway where the washrooms are located is blocked off with rope. Buckets farther down the hallway catch water falling from the ceiling.
“It’s just very, very messy,” Rhines said. “It doesn’t look like it did in its earlier days. It was quite a beautiful mall.”
