Pinedale Town Shop
Progress on the Pinedale Town Shop came to a standstill in July when the contractor walked off the job.
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Pinedale Town Shop Contractor terminated
Project now in hands of the Bonding Company
September 1, 2005
The Pinedale Town Council voted unanimously to terminate the Town Shop construction contract with KM Construction of Jackson, at a special Town meeting Wednesday night in Pinedale.
Construction of the Town Shop has been at a standstill since July when the contractor walked off the job and refused a partial payment for services because he felt he was owed more. The Town Council has now turned the matter over to ICW Surety, the bonding company which issued the bond for the project for KM Construction. Outstanding balances for the project totaling about $300,000 have now been frozen.
The unfinished condition of the new Town Shop building has plagued the Town of Pinedale for years, with a host of arguments between the engineers, contractor and Town Council. Arbitration attempts have been largely unsuccessful in satisfactorily resolving issues between the Town and the contractor to get the construction progress back on track.
The issues are complicated and controversial, with the project getting more and more expensive and frustrating for everyone as time drags on, materials rise in cost and legal fees mount.
The Town Shop building is located on Lincoln Avenue, just south of Pine Street/US Highway 191 near Pine Creek. Contractor concerns exist as to whether the structure, if completed as originally designed, would be structurally stable or not. KM Construction, the general contractor doing the construction, is not the designer of the building. Town Council concerns exist with the quality of contractor work, especially with the concrete floor that was specified to be six inches thick and they claim is only two inches in places.
Marcus Day, of ICW Surety, the bonding company, indicated that the bonding company’s investigation into the matter would begin immediately. The bonding company has several options including taking over and completing the project, or siding with the contactor and denying liability, in which case legal actions are sure to follow.
Some of the Town Council’s added frustration is the knowledge that if the bonding company opts to take over completion of the project and hire their own contractor, one of the options could be rehiring the same construction firm the Town originally hired to complete the job, due to the shortage of available contractors in Sublette County.
Bob Rule (KPIN 101.1 FM Radio) and Clint Gilchrist (Pinedale Online) contributed to this story
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