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Little Falls City Council to consider settlement offer City may withdraw its lawsuit involving library remodeling project Staff Writer The city of Little Falls may withdraw its lawsuit against several contractors involved in remodeling the Carnegie Library in 2002.
The Little Falls City Council will vote at its Feb. 28 meeting at city hall whether to withdraw the lawsuit and settle out of court.
The city filed a lawsuit against several contractors in Morrison County District Court in August 2002, stating their work on the library resulted in damages.
Little Falls City Administrator Richard Carlson said the city added 10,000 square feet to the library. The existing library and the addition, which is handicapped accessible, also received a new roof.
"Basically, the roof leaked," said Carlson. "Then the shingles began falling off. We tried to work with the contractors for two years to get it fixed. ... We grew impatient."
Taxpayers voted to build an addition to the library by approving a $905,000 building referendum in August 1997. The Minnesota Historical Society also approved the work, said Carlson.
The settlement the city council will vote on would have Hy-Tec Construction in Brainerd, the general contractor, pay Little Falls $10,000 for the damages.
Carlson said if the settlement is approved and the city council signs the agreement, the city will seek bids to repair the damages. Hy-Tec already has signed the settlement agreement.
Other contractors involved in the library addition and listed in the settlement agreement were Miller Dunwiddie Associates of Minneapolis, CertainTeed Corp. of Eden Prairie and William Pierro of Atlas Roofing Corp. and Adroit Marketing Inc., both of Minneapolis. These firms have not yet signed the agreement.
The settlement states that Miller Dunwiddie Associates would provide architectural services for improvements to the library at no cost. The architect firm also would continue to provide services to remediate alleged problems and damage occurring to the building.
CertainTeed Corp. should provide 140 squares of Landmark 30 shingles to the city for the roof. The settlement agreement states that Pierro and Adroit Marketing are at fault for their part of the project, and the marketing firm should pay the city $2,000 and Pierro should pay $3,500.
Carlson said Pierro and Adroit Marketing were involved in the roof portion of the project. He said the specifications for the project called for installing a plastic vapor barrier between the shingles and the panels. He said Adroit Marketing recommended Hy-Tec use a felt barrier. Pierro supplied the felt barriers.
JENNIFER STOCKINGER can be reached at jennifer.stockinger@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5851.
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