12141978 Special Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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137 sp~cial meeting, december 14, 1978 page two Colonel Stovall said the Airport Commission would meet on January 7th and would have a report for the City Council on January 15th. Mr. Cavazos introduced for consideration progress of the Community Development Central Business District Improvements Project. Director of Public Works Ray Kotowski, gave the City Council a chronological report on the progress of the project and problems which had been encountered by the City Staff. Mr. Kotowski reminded the Council that there was a I great deal of time between the bid opening and the contract signing because the bids had been much higher than anticipated and funds were not available to construct the entire project as bid. August 14 was the official starting date of the contract and the contract was to run for 100 consecutive calendar days terminative on November 21st. Mr. Kotowski reported that the contractors had requested a total of 37 days extension on the contract due to bad weather and that 12 days had been allowed by the Staff based on meterological reports and two days granted because of a City caused delay. Mr. Kotowski also informed the Council that the City Staff had recommended the superintendent on the project be replaced due to his apparent inability to cooperate with the sub- contractor, the City Inspector, the State Highway Department and the public. Mr. Kotowski then outlined three alternatives to secure completion of the project: the first is to take no action and allow the contractor to continue work with an expected completion date of ten more working days; the second is to terminate the contract due to the failure of the contractor to complete the work within the time allotted and finish the job with another contractor; the third is to stop work on the project, clean the area as to allow shoppers more convenience in getting to the stores and allow the contractor to complete the work beginning on December 26th. ~1r. Kotowski I said that he recommended the third option be authorized by the City Council. Mr. Tony Martin, a principle in the firm of Division II Constructors, came before the Council to say that while he did not agree with the comments made by the Director regarding problems on the job, he did agree with the recommenda- tion that work be suspended until after Christmas so as to make the area more convenient for Christmas shoppers. Mr. Sam Martin, also a principle in the Division II firm, told the Council that he intended to pursue his company's claim that it should be entitled to 35 days extension on the contract due to bad weather plus the two days delay caused by the City. Mr. Martin also told the Council that he did not intend to remove the super- intendent from the construction project; that the superintendent, Mr. N. D. Mitchell, was competent and experienced, and that he felt that any problems on the job had been created by the City Inspector, Wayne Henderson, and the City Engineer, Leon Barba. Mr. N. D. Mitchell, superintendent for the Division II Construction project under discussion, also told the Council that he did not feel he was responsible for the problems described by Hr. Kotowski. Mr. Breihan recommended that the construction project be stopped . immediately and work suspended until January 3rd, 1979, that the area be cleared and made as safe as possible, and that during the suspension the City Manager and the general manager of Division II arrive at a conclusion to the differences of opinion on the I justifiable length of the job. Mr. Sam Marton agreed to the proposal as outlined by Mr. Breihan. Mr. Tony Martin recommended that the job be suspended only until December 26th. Mr. Martin also informed the City that it must assume responsibility for protecting the public from any hazards on the uncompleted construction site. Mr. Hyatt moved that the work on the project be suspended until December 26th and it be shut down as soon as possible. Mr. Sutton seconded the motion which passed unanimously. A verbat~m transcript of an excerpt of the meeting pertaining to the Community Development Project has been prepared and is on file in the office of the City Secretary.