A mediated settlement with the contractor that renovated the local sewer treatment plant will subtract $325,000 from the price tag.
The settlement reached with Gridor Construction Inc. was unanimously accepted Feb. 19 by the North Koochiching Area Sanitary District, said Joe Boyle, attorney for the district, and Tim “Chopper” McBride, executive director of the district.
Boyle said the mediator recommended the settlement which provides two-thirds of the liquidated damages the district sought. The damages were sought because completion of the project was 227 days late, said Boyle. The project was planned for completion by Nov. 30, 2013.
“It was a great result that we were able to get most of the liquidated damages because the facts in the law were with the district and its users,” said Boyle of the settlement.
“There were a lot of naysayers, but it turned out very well,” said McBride. “It took a lot of work and a lot of energy, but good people put their heads together being confident and being patient to overcome an obstacle that some people saw, and brought to the district and its users $326,000 in a mediated settlement.”
Greg Theisen, owner of Gridor Construction Inc., did not return a call for comment in time for this publication. Gridor is based in Buffalo, Minn.
Boyle said the settlement calls for about a one-third reduction of the nearly $500,000 sought, but the agreement resolves the dispute.
“You don’t get this type of mediated settlement without the director and the staff doing a very good job during the course of this whole project on their end to get it done,” said Boyle.
He also credited the mediation committee, which he said did a good job of explaining the district’s position. The committee was chaired by Brian McBride, who Boyle said provided a lot of leadership, and included district board members Doug Dault and Tom Worth, who he said articulated the district’s positions well. Board member David Farmer also served on the mediation committee. Boyle said Farmer was able to provide information that showed the justification provided by Gridor was not correct for why completion of the project was late.
The district’s board also deserves credit for approving the settlement unanimously, he said. “We had a team effort and it worked out for the betterment of the users,” he said.
Boyle outlined three concepts used to sway the mediator: the district is entitled to the liquidated damages because it was written in the contract; the engineer provided a reasonable projection of the liquidated damages; the district gave Gridor a 27-day written extension on its change order No. 18 and it hadn’t asked for any extension for the previous 17 change orders.
“Also, the board had prepared a resolution prior to the second construction season, which basically gave two outdoor seasons to get the project done, which we believe was more than reasonable,” said Boyle.
He said the resolution was approved in June 2013 when it appeared the project would not get done and the board wanted Gridor to know it would assess liquidated damages.
“We basically warned them and yet somehow the project didn’t get completed,” said Boyle.
Executive Director McBride said the mediator deemed Gridor’s reasons for delaying completion of the project as inadequate.
“The mediator took our reasoning why we insisted on liquidated damages and felt our reasons were justified,” said McBride. “Through mediation and skill, he brokered a mediated settlement that was beneficial to the district.”
Boyle said the money will be used to keep the cost of the project down. “We have a plant that is completed and functioning, but we do have a punch list of items which will get straightened out and when they do, we will be paying them,” said Boyle.
In addition to the $325,000 damages that will be subtracted from the payment to Gridor, McBride said the district has also held back $75,000 to ensure completion of the “punch list” of items, that include door knobs and grass seed among other things.
The damages mean the district won’t need to take money from a state loan, which will allow the district to use the loan in other ways, said McBride. In addition, he said the damages may alleviate the need to borrow money for future capital improvements, capital replacements and other improvements the treatment plant will need in the future when other funding sources won’t be available.
Future preschool classmates make each other’s acquaintance Monday at Falls Elementary School.
Area parents looked ahead to the 2015-2016 school year Monday, and turned out to Falls Elementary School for preschool registration.
Future classmates played to pass the time as parents signed three- and four-year-olds up for preschool.
Margarete Kostiuk, left, and Wayne Sampson are recognized by the Koochiching County Board Tuesday.
The Koochiching County Board Tuesday approved a motion to replace the county Law Enforcement Center’s backup generator.
County Complex Supervisor Terry Glowack said the LEC’s current backup generator has become obselete, and has too many mechanical issues to be repaired. He said the county’s management committee has reviewed the issue, and decided purchasing a replacement generator is the most feasible option.
The new generator will be located outside the LEC, as opposed to the current backup generator, which is located indoors, Glowack said. The indoor location of the current generator has created exhaust issues which will be alleviated by the new generator, he said.
Both the old and new generator run on natural gas, Glowack said, and some of the existing power lines and transfer switches can be repurposed to work with the new generator. The board authorized Glowack to spend up to $55,000 replacing the old generator, using funds from the county’s sinking building account and 2015 budget contingency fund.
Glowack said the new generator will be built as soon as the county orders it, so there’s no issues with purchasing a slightly older machine, as it will be brand-new.
“They don’t even have them on hand anymore, they build upon demand,” Glowack said. “So this will be built brand new.”
In other business, the board approved purchasing a new tablet computer for the county’s emergency management coordinator, Willie Kostiuk.
According to the sheriff’s office, the EMC’s current laptop is not under warranty and a replacement was recommended by the county’s information systems manager. Kostiuk said after looking at different options, it was decided a tablet would give him the most functionality for his position.
“This PC works out great because it’s going to be very portable, it’s going to be a tablet when I want it to be,” Kostiuk said.
The tablet, a Microsoft Surface Pro 3, will be able to be used as a tablet, and have a workstation that functions more like a laptop when necessary, Kostiuk said. In attending different meetings and training for his position, he said many of the professionals use similar devices.
“A lot of meetings out of town, I don’t even need to take a laptop,” Kostiuk said. “A lot of the people I’ve seen at conferences have had tablets, and were taking notes and doing things with that.”
The $1,700 expense from the emergency management budget will cover the device and all the peripheral accessories.
Following the board’s official business, it recognized Margarete Kostiuk and Wayne Sampson for their contributions to the community as well as work with local veterans.
Chairman Wade Pavleck said the board likes to recognize exemplary community members, and Sampson and Kostiuk fit that description.
Board members Rob Ecklund and Brian McBride were absent from Tuesday’s meeting.
Harley
Droba
More information is being sought about a letter that “demands and requests” the International Falls City Council return $10,000 it received from the local sanitary sewer district.
The council last week voted unanimously to invite the board of the North Koochiching Area Sanitary District to the March 2 council meeting to provide more information about a letter it sent to the council Feb. 9.
The letter “requests and demands” repayment of $10,000 paid to the city earlier by the district. The money involves the city’s construction in a partnership with other groups of an animal holding facility operated by the Borderland Humane Society.
Mayor Bob Anderson recommended the council invite the district board to provide more information about the letter.
Councilor Peter Kalar agreed that an explanation of why the letter was sent and for clarification of the phrase “requests and demands repayment” is needed before the council considers action.
Councilor Brian Briggs made the motion to invite the board for further explanation of the letter and why it is written using the phrase and emphasizing certain board members and the way they voted.
Anderson said the letter underlines the names of the board members who voted to send the letter asking for the money back and in bold writing identifies the names of the members who voted against the motion.
“I’m not sure what that means,” he said.
Councilor Harley Droba said he’d like more information about the time line of the payment of the money and the demand for it to be given back.
Kalar said he believed discussion about the $10,000 from the district toward the project occurred before his term began two years ago.
In other business, the council on a 4-1 vote approved Anderson’s appointment of Heather Cook as the city’s health officer. The city will pay $300 a month to Rainy Lake Medical Center, where Cook serves as the general surgeon, for the services outlined and required in the city’s charter.
Jaksa voted against the motion and wondered if the position was needed. She also wondered whether the Koochiching County Public Health Office could provide the needed services.
She asked the city’s Charter Commission to examine the appointment to see if it is “money well spent.”
