[ back ]
Longtime contractor dropped after road foul-up
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - July 21, 2011)
Longtime contractor dropped after road foul-up
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
The city of Chardon is in the market for a new inspector.
City Council voted 5-1 last week to end its relationship with Quality Control Inspection Inc., of Bedford, after members said they were unhappy with work by the company.
The most recent incident cited by council was a chip-and-seal project done three weeks ago that was scheduled for a section of road in the city but was allowed to go forward by inspectors in neighboring Munson Township.
"This isn't the first time QCI has disappointed us, but perhaps it's the most obvious," Councilman Robert Cromwell said. "It's one thing to be on the wrong street; it's another to be in the wrong town."
The company has been employed by the city for more than a decade, inspecting commercial projects, as well as city road and utility projects.
Mr. Cromwell asked council to consider ending the relationship immediately but would revise his motion to allow the company to finish its work on a storm and sanitary sewer project at Downing Drive, which began this year.
Councilman John Mallen voted against the measure, saying he fears that the company may not follow through on its obligations on Downing Drive if its officials feel slighted by council's action.
Mr. Cromwell cited two other projects that he felt the inspection company had disappointed the city by its work.
A project three years ago to bring electric power down the Cherry Street extension allowed workers to install a line of power poles down the road. However, city ordinances required the power to be put under ground, The above-ground poles were installed while a QCI inspector worked at a commercial site on the street.
Mr. Cromwell also cited a paving project at the Meadowlands Shopping Center were asphalt was laid in wet conditions, which eventually caused the pavement to fail.
City Engineer Douglas Courtney, however, said the paving project at the shopping center was not necessarily the inspectors fault.
He said he and the inspector raised objections to the paving project, but could do nothing if the contractor was determined to go forward.
"QCI doesn't have the authority to stop a contractor if they are inclined to pave in poor weather," Mr. Courtney said.
However, he said, he could offer no excuses for the chip-and-seal work done three weeks ago nearly a mile away from the planned work area and in Munson Township.
"This issue with the chip-and-seal program is inexcusable," Mr. Courtney said.
He said the city should allow QCI to continue its work on the Downing Drive project. He said he visits the site two times each day, and he believes the inspector with QCI is "topnotch."
Councilwoman Deborah Reiter said she has been "uncomfortable" with QCI's work for quite a while and believes that when the city last renewed its contract with the company, it was being done with the caveat that the company's performance would be reviewed at the end.
She asked whether there were any concerns that ending the relationship may give the company cause to come back at the city legally.
City Manager Randal Sharpe said that he is not a lawyer, but his reading of the contract shows simply what services the company will perform, the time frame of the contract and at what rates the company may bill the city.
Mr. Sharpe said the contract, by his reading, does not give the company exclusive rights to all inspection jobs.
Mayor Philip King said the city's requirements mandate that inspectors are used for certain projects, many in which the cost is borne by the builders.
He said the city will have to seek a replacement inspection firm to handle those requirements.
Mr. King said city Law Director James Gillette should also review QCI's contract to address Mrs. Reiter's concerns.
Mr. Sharpe said QCI was informed by the city that it could not charge the city for the inspector's time for the mix-up in Munson Township.
[ back ]
