MONROE - After an hour-long closed session discussion with a lawyer contracted by the city following a dispute with the company hired to remove and replace floor tiles, Monroe Common Council authorized the attorney to negotiate project terms directly during a special meeting Thursday.
Jeff Younger of Stafford Rosenbaum LLP, a Madison law firm, was hired by the city after council members declared Milwaukee-based KPH Construction and Environmental at fault for replacement floor tiles not sticking to the cement base of City Hall.
After two attempts at negotiation with KPH contractor Dan Scharf in late December, a $163,000 change order for a new sub-flooring material called VersaShield and the costs of additional labor to fix the still unknown cause of the problem was proposed. Council members refused the offer, even after Scharf reduced it to $141,000. The city originally budgeted $150,000 for the project.
After requesting a better estimate be proposed the following week, Scharf returned with three options. The city could either install a sub-floor product called VersaShield for an additional $43,000, use an adhesive system recommended by Scharf with additional guarantees for $56,000, or include a $15,000 cement core test with either method.
All proposals were denied, and instead, officials mandated KPH verify through an independent company asbestos cleanup had been performed correctly.
Alderman Michael Boyce moved Younger be authorized to contact Liberty Mutual, the company which insured KPH for the project, and was supported by a unanimous vote of seven aldermen, including Tom Miller, Chris Beer, Jeff Newcomer, Richard Thoman, Ron Marsh and Rob Schilt. Brooke Bauman and Charles Koch were absent.
City Administrator Phil Rath noted that allowing Younger to negotiate directly with the surety in an effort to complete the project did not mean the city was no longer pursuing lawful action against KPH. He said the city is "open to alternate flooring remedies if it means completing the project," and that the reason Liberty Mutual would be contacted was due to the company's partial responsibility in funding the project.
In July, Liberty Mutual rejected a claim made by the city indicating KPH was to blame for the lack of adhesion at City Hall. The project, which began in mid-August 2016, has been ongoing indefinitely since the issue arose in December of that year. Staff members have been displaced throughout various city departments since the project began, supplies packed away in storage trucks outside.
Rath said the city can consider a number of different options than the plans originally proposed for the flooring project and that work would still need to be discussed between Younger and Liberty Mutual representatives before specific avenues can be identified. According to the firm's website, Younger has more than 30 years of experience practicing law, and focuses on cases involving construction and contract law as well as labor management and employment.
Jeff Younger of Stafford Rosenbaum LLP, a Madison law firm, was hired by the city after council members declared Milwaukee-based KPH Construction and Environmental at fault for replacement floor tiles not sticking to the cement base of City Hall.
After two attempts at negotiation with KPH contractor Dan Scharf in late December, a $163,000 change order for a new sub-flooring material called VersaShield and the costs of additional labor to fix the still unknown cause of the problem was proposed. Council members refused the offer, even after Scharf reduced it to $141,000. The city originally budgeted $150,000 for the project.
After requesting a better estimate be proposed the following week, Scharf returned with three options. The city could either install a sub-floor product called VersaShield for an additional $43,000, use an adhesive system recommended by Scharf with additional guarantees for $56,000, or include a $15,000 cement core test with either method.
All proposals were denied, and instead, officials mandated KPH verify through an independent company asbestos cleanup had been performed correctly.
Alderman Michael Boyce moved Younger be authorized to contact Liberty Mutual, the company which insured KPH for the project, and was supported by a unanimous vote of seven aldermen, including Tom Miller, Chris Beer, Jeff Newcomer, Richard Thoman, Ron Marsh and Rob Schilt. Brooke Bauman and Charles Koch were absent.
City Administrator Phil Rath noted that allowing Younger to negotiate directly with the surety in an effort to complete the project did not mean the city was no longer pursuing lawful action against KPH. He said the city is "open to alternate flooring remedies if it means completing the project," and that the reason Liberty Mutual would be contacted was due to the company's partial responsibility in funding the project.
In July, Liberty Mutual rejected a claim made by the city indicating KPH was to blame for the lack of adhesion at City Hall. The project, which began in mid-August 2016, has been ongoing indefinitely since the issue arose in December of that year. Staff members have been displaced throughout various city departments since the project began, supplies packed away in storage trucks outside.
Rath said the city can consider a number of different options than the plans originally proposed for the flooring project and that work would still need to be discussed between Younger and Liberty Mutual representatives before specific avenues can be identified. According to the firm's website, Younger has more than 30 years of experience practicing law, and focuses on cases involving construction and contract law as well as labor management and employment.