Koch Construction bill unpaid

by Cat Urbigkit

Sublette County Commissioners once again discussed payment to Koch Construction for excavation of a cell at the county landfill near Marbleton.

Payment to Koch has been withheld.

Although the excavation project is complete, Sublette County Waste Superintendent Mike McGinnis told the commission that Koch was 67 days into the penalty phase of the contract, which means a fine of $350 per day, for a total of $23,450.

The commission has briefly discussed this topic at two other meetings, but either McGinnis or Koch wasn't present each time, so no action was taken. That was the case again Tuesday, with McGinnis present, but Koch representatives were absent.

McGinnis had told the commission that although a big penalty had accrued, he had intended to negotiate with Koch the cost of ripping work done in association with the project. McGinnis said Koch submitted a bill for $37,450 for the ripping, which McGinnis felt was too much.

Commissioner Betty Fear questioned the need to negotiate the ripping work when the job specs called for " unclassified excavation."

McGinnis said that previously, the county has negotiated the ripping work.

The problem is how many hours of ripping Koch is charging for, McGinnis said. While Koch charged the county for 214 hours, McGinnis said he felt "150 hours is more than enough."

Koch's total bill for the job was $234,875, but McGinnis recommended the commission pay $212,241.

Cramer suggested the commission deny Koch's claim "and see what he wants to do."

When the board talked about the county charging a penalty of $350 per day on such contracts, McGinnis said: "And that wasn't enough. The next time we do it, it ought to be $1,000 per day."

Commissioner Bill Cramer noted that the county doesn't currently have a signed voucher with the amount of Koch's claim, so no official action could be taken. He suggested that the commission should be willing to pay Koch the amount suggested by McGinnis.

If Koch wants a different amount, Cramer said Koch should put it on a voucher "and come in and defend it."