St. Cloud’s City Council voted 3-2 to accept a mediated settlement agreement with Cathcart Construction over the quality of the Downtown Phase 2 renovation project. The vote clears the path for work to begin quickly to repair the project.
Under terms of the agreement, the City will withhold $200,000 of the $526,899.76 it had not paid Cathcart for the project, which included replacement of underground utilities, brick paver streets, new sidewalks, and decorative landscaping and lighting. The mediated settlement also requires Cathcart to remove from its website and marketing materials all references or pictures of Phase 1 or Phase 2 of the Downtown Revitalization project.
The City will use the $200,000 it is withholding from Cathcart, plus project contingency funds, to pay for removing the bricks on 10th Street and replacing them with asphalt, at an estimated cost of $241,800. Originally, the City paid $265,980 to install the bricks on 10th Street.
“The City’s focus is on getting repairs done quickly, and minimizing construction impacts to businesses,” said City Manager Veronica Miller. “We plan to hire a new contractor quickly to get started on removing the bricks on 10th Street and replacing them with asphalt.”
The brick pavers will remain in the intersections. The City plans to phase the 10th Street work so that only small segments of the road are under construction at a time. Public Works Director Kevin Felblinger said he expects the replacement work to take less than three months.
“The City is committed to doing whatever it takes to ensure the finished product is one we all can be proud of, and to getting the repairs done before the busy shopping season begins this Fall,” Miller said.
Next week, City crews are scheduled to begin making repairs to New York Avenue’s bricks. City crews also will be proactively maintaining the bricks on Pennsylvania Avenue.
