BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
While Starke’s wastewater treatment plant is online and operational, the project has yet to reach completion, so the city is pursuing liquidated damages from the contractor.
The plant is performing well, according to City Manager Drew Mullins, who commented on the clarity of the effluent following treatment. The city has been under and environmental consent order to improve the quality of the water released from the plant.
Mullins said there are still punch list items remaining many months following the contractual deadline. Lead times for parts and equipment made substantial completion by the original October 2024 deadline impossible, but they missed the final completion deadline in December as well. Coming up on a year past the original substation completion date, the contractor, Weiss Construction, has still not wrapped things up.
“There’s no fault of our own,” Mullins said. “We’ve been very diligent in keeping up with their orders and keeping track of the construction. It’s at the point where the contractor is obviously not following the contract.”
Attorney Danielle Adams said delayed delivery of an electrical switchboard and motor control center is responsible for much of the wait, but during that time the contractor was supposed to demobilize and not continue “running the clock.”
In addition to the equipment delays, Mullins described a pattern of excuse making over a year about correcting problems with the work performed. As delays continued, no change orders for extensions were requested.
Adams worked with the project engineer, Brian Martin with Woodward and Curran, to determine the city’s options. The option Mullins recommended was to retroactively grant a 165-day extension from the December deadline and then assess liquidated damages on the remainder of the interval plus any additional time until final completion. Damages would be in the amount of $2,000 a day.
Adams said the city could also pursue damages for the entire delay, but that would likely lead to litigation.
“I think that probably puts you in litigation for longer than I would like to think about being in litigation,” she said, although she expressed confidence the city would prevail.
Commissioner Janice Mortimer wanted to know why the board was being briefed on this missed deadline 290 days after the fact. Even if a change order was never requested, the board should have known about the delays. Commissioner Scott Roberts said every progress report they’ve heard has been positive. Mullins said a report at the beginning of the year informed commissioners about the deadline breach, but the contractor kept moving the substantial completion date.
“This is where we hold their feet to the fire,” he said.
Adams compared the offer to Weiss Construction to a mediation in which the city gives a little to get a little, with the alternative being litigation. Even in that case, Weiss would be obligated to complete the project.
The commission voted unanimously to extend the offer, but not before Roberts said that the commission needs to fully informed.
“We’re sitting up here, and when somebody comes in and says, ‘Well, you know, they’re doing pretty good, they’re a little behind, they’re getting it done,’ and the next thing we know, we’re talking litigation and fines,” he said. “This is pretty serious stuff.”
In other business:
—Mullins teased an upcoming development that will change the face of Starke. There have been meetings with the developers, but the project is still under wraps until paperwork has been submitted to the building department.
—Mullins and employee David Sparks discussed electric infrastructure upgrades that have improved system reliance and reduced power outages, even during the summer’s extreme heat and the increased demand for power.
