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Grove Street subcontractors still waiting for payment |
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Tuesday, 08 December 2009 |
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By Mike Bodine
Register Staff
12-1-2009 Local contractors are still not getting paid for the now long-ago completed Grove Street Improvement Project in Bishop.
In October, subcontractors for the project began filing stop notices because they were not getting paid by contractor Beebe Construction. The job has been done for more than a month and the city has paid Beebe $1.1 million of the $1.2 million cost, according to Bishop Public Works.
Public Works Director Dave Grah said he does not know of any of the subcontractors, predominately local, that have seen a dime from this project. But, he said he has not talked to each and every subcontractor.
Because of the stop notices, a bonding company is now the sole payer for the project.
Owner Loren Beebe said Monday he has sent out letters to all the subcontractors, one apologizing for the delays, and two explaining the procedures of dealing with a bonding company to these subs. He added that many of the local subcontractors have never had to deal with a bonding company and so part of the delay in cutting checks has to do with paperwork problems.
Local contractors Bishop Nursery, Western Nevada Supply and 7-11 Materials are all reporting they have not been paid. Bishop Nursery said that it has filed for payments through the bonding company at the advice of Beebe.
Bob Saia of 7-11 said Monday the company is waiting for its $90,000 in payments. The other businesses said they did not feel obligated to publicly announce how much they are owed.
“Beebe got paid, and now he’s holding back – it’s a bad situation,” Saia said.
7-11 filed the stop notices against Beebe when it wasn’t getting paid, after Saia had asked owner Loren Beebe to cut 7-11 a check. Beebe said that once the stop notices are filed, the contractor’s hands are tied and payments must be made through a bonding company.
Grah said this was the first time he or the city has had to deal with a bonding company for stop notices. It is procedural for a contractor to post a surety bond for the entire cost of a job. In a stop notice situation, the bonding company then investigates the complaint, if any are founded, and then it pays the subs.
Saia said that the bonding company has sent a letter to the city, stating that payments will soon be sent out. Saia said Monday he was going to talk to Grah to verify the letter has been sent.
“We have to pay our bills, too,” Saia said. “This is very tough for everyone.”
Grah has said repeatedly to this paper and at public meetings that the job has met all state-mandated specifications – basically, the city is happy with the job performed by the subcontractors.
Grah has also been quoted as saying that up until this incident, Beebe has been a great contractor for the city.
Beebe said he was just angry about the whole situation. He added that if he had the reserves, he would have paid the subs out of his own pocket and dealt with 7-11 separately.
The whole problem stems from the dispute between 7-11 and Beebe. Beebe claims that the material delivered by 7-11 was not up to specifications in the contract and so delayed the asphalt from setting from three to 7-14 days. According to Beebe, this cost him additional time and money. 7-11. meanwhile, claims the materials met all specifications and does not understand Beebe’s problem.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 21 December 2009 )
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