Some materials arrived at the Barton/Tiffany tiny shelters site this morning.
Are they part of the delayed and fiasco-plagued Made-in-China shelters that the City hired a newly incorporated, inexperienced company to order on its behalf?
As previously reported on TPR, the City hired Microshelters Inc. in a non-competitive sole-source contract without conducting necessary due diligence.
In the process, the City disqualified experienced companies with successful records of delivering tiny shelter communities at lower cost and more quickly. Many disqualified companies provide all services: manufacturing, shipping, and installation.
Microshelters Inc. only provided ordering support. The City is paying them $1.4 million for the purchase of the shelters, with a 50 percent deposit paid upfront.
The City of Hamilton is separately responsible for the cost of shipping, duties, and taxes.
Microshelters website copied the materials of Foldom corporation – a successful US provider of tiny shelters. The misappropriated website materials have been removed after Foldom took legal action.
The City originally expected to receive the shelters in early December, with the tiny shelters’ opening date announced as December 20.
This deadline was missed.
The City then announced the shelters would arrive in Canada on December 26, and arrive at the Barton/Tiffany site no later than January 6.
The shelters arrived in the United States on December 26. They did not make it to Hamilton for the second deadline.
The City now says it expects the shelters to arrive today (January 13).
Last week, the State of Wyoming administratively dissolved Global Axxis LLC after the company failed to file its annual reports and pay the state’s $60.00 (USD) annual license tax.
Global Axxis LLC was one of the middleman companies shipping the tiny shelters. [The City of Hamilton claims the company is a manufacturer, but has not produced any documentation to support this.]
The City of Hamilton has not made any announcements yet today.
Production Details
v. 1.0.0
Published: January 13, 2025
Last updated: January 13, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman
Update Record
v. 1.0.0 original version
I really hate to ask but, do we know who the city is paying to set these things up? I am afraid there is a non-zero chance that they sit there for a week or more.
Rankin Construction is responsible for installation. I was at the site at 12:45 p.m. and work is underway.
Joey
This whole fiasco speaks of breathtaking incompetence on the part of the City of Hamilton. Who, specifically, recommended this outfit with no track record?