Discernible progress has been made this past week on the much delayed, and much talked about street project happening right now on 3rd street and Main Ave. Weather delays have stalled the project, but other delays and complaints about the project have been made and have also been openly criticized by many citizens and business owners. At the city council meeting on Monday night, the city council issued this statement to the Garretson Gazette.
“The City is and has been aware of the issues and concerns relating to the ongoing street improvement projects that were started last year. In the spring of this year, the City made certain requests of Haarsma Construction regarding the project in attempts to address the concerns. The requests were made after consulting with both the City’s engineer, Sayre & Associates, and the City’s attorney. The City’s requests were made in writing and included a request that Haarsma sign an amendment to the existing contract. The City has made sure to preserve all of the rights and remedies it has available to it under the existing contract.
“Haarsma Construction signed the amendment and the project continued. Since the amendment was signed, and even before that, the City’s engineer has been on site on almost a daily basis monitoring the project and its progress.
“Because of ongoing concerns with the project, the matter was officially turned over to the City Attorney last week for further action and she has already taken steps to pursue the various legal options and remedies the City has available to it. At this point, because we have a contract with Haarsma Construction, there are certain steps we must follow in order to secure the best results for the City. Because this is now a legal matter, we can’t give you all of the specifics at this time, but we anticipate being able to provide more details in the coming weeks. We understand the frustrations you’ve had, share those frustrations, and appreciate your patience.”
