Grand Marais city councilors concluded 2009 by approving the final payment of the $2.2 million street and utility reconstruction project that occurred in 2008 and involved work in Creechville and a number of streets and avenues in the northwestern section of the city.
By unanimous vote of council Dec. 30, payment of $115,596.53 will be made to Redstone Construction of Mora, bringing the total cost of the project to $2,261,023.41. City Engineer Jamie Mehle said in a memo that the project is now complete and may be closed, less the one-year warranty period. Mayor Sue Hakes credited Mehle with doing a good job and watching out for the city’s interests.
City Finance Director Kim Dunsmoor said the largest increase from the original estimate was for additional rock and trench excavation, which accounted for $271,715. Mehle said in his memo that Redstone requested an adjustment last winter for the rock removal that was done on First and Second avenues. That request was for an additional $57, 083. “I had them provide supporting documentation as to why this adjustment was needed and justified….After reviewing the information they provided, and our records of the work they completed during that time, I informed them that I did not see any validity in their claim and that they would need more justification,” reported Mehle. “They then dropped this claim.”
Mehle said there were also some quantity discrepancies, and he approved $45,280 of those requests, but did not approve $32,698 more sought by the landscaper or $2,694 that was asked for by Edwin E. Thoreson Inc. for quantity differences. In summary, the city engineer said, $137,757 worth of additional claims was denied.
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