Coos County hires new contractor.Byline: Winston Winston is a name deriving from Old English wynnstān, meaning "pleasant stone". Places Winston is the name of several places in England:
British physician. He won a 1902 Nobel Prize for proving that malaria is transmitted to humans by the bite of the mosquito. The Register-Guard COQUILLE co·quille n. A scallop-shaped dish or a scallop shell in which various seafood dishes are browned and served. [French, from Latin conch - Coos County Coos County is the name of two counties in the United States:
 s), city (1990 pop. 15,076), Coos co., SW Oreg., a port of entry on Coos Bay; founded 1854 as Marshfield, inc. 1874, renamed 1944. , commissioners said Monday.
The announcement came three days after a failed attempt to resolve differences with the original contractor, Miami-based MasTec Inc. The county is at odds with the Florida company over the taxpayer-funded project's rising cost, as well as a half-dozen lawsuits and regulatory actions looming looming: see mirage. . Now, it appears that their differences will be settled in court. Meanwhile, the county has fielded proposals from three West Coast companies to finish the work: Rockford Corp. of North Plains; Snelson Companies of Sedro-Woolley, Wash.; and Henkels & McCoy of San Dimas, Calif. The latter company is building the pipe's distribution center in Coos Bay under contract with Northwest Natural Gas. All three employ a union-affiliated work force unlike MasTec, and all three agreed they could finish the task for about $9 million, said Commissioner Nikki Whitty. The county decided to enter into negotiations with Rockford, the only contractor in the group from Oregon Oregon, city, United States Oregon, city (1990 pop. 18,334), Lucas co., NW Ohio, a suburb adjacent to Toledo, on Lake Erie; inc. 1958. It is a port with railroad-owned and -operated docks. The city has industries producing oil, chemicals, and metal products. . Rockford officials didn't return telephone calls for comment, but county officials said the company has worked extensively for Northwest Natural in Oregon. "We are pleased to put the MasTec mess behind us," Whitty said. "We welcome Rockford's competence, sensitivity to community concerns and their determination to complete the pipeline this fall." Whitty said the commissioners rejected an offer by MasTec to finish the job if the county immediately covered $4.5 million in unpaid invoices. The company then proposed to resume work on the line and complete it for an estimated cost between $4.2 and $4.5 million. The remaining disputed figures would be settled in a binding arbitration arbitration Process of resolving a dispute or a grievance outside a court system by presenting it for decision to an impartial third party. Both sides in the dispute usually must agree in advance to the choice of arbitrator and certify that they will abide by the session held after lawsuits and regulatory actions against the project are complete, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. MasTec's offer. "That's too many things put off the side to be decided later," Whitty said. MasTec Chief Executive Officer Austin Shanfelter had flown to Oregon from Miami last Friday to see if the two sides could agree on a new cost figure and allow the company to finish up. Thus far, the county has paid MasTec about $17 million on a $23 million contract to build the pipeline. Expecting millions in fines from state and federal regulators for water quality violations, county officials are hoping to prevail in court and force the company to pay damages from lawsuits and fines. MasTec attorney Michael Nearing said it's "unbelievable" that the county is prepared to hire another company at double what MasTec has offered to finish the project. He predicted that the court case would take five to seven years to wind through the system, with legal fees "definitely seven figures for each side." MasTec and the county officially parted ways last month, when the county terminated the contract after the company sued the county for $10 million in unpaid invoices and change orders. The county responded with an $8 million countersuit coun·ter·sue tr.v. coun·ter·sued, coun·ter·su·ing, coun·ter·sues Law To bring proceedings against (a plaintiff) in direct opposition to a suit brought against onself. earlier this month. The commission then voted to declare the project a state of emergency to bypass Oregon's bidding laws, allowing it to negotiate directly with new companies instead of accepting the lowest responsible bidder. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion