County Officials, Contractors Discussing MidAmerica Airport
MASCOUTAH, IL (May 9, 2000) -- MidAmerica Airport's $8 million passenger terminal has been open and virtually unused for two years, but the construction company that built it and St. Clair County are still fighting over costs.
The main contractor on the project, Atlanta's Aviation Constructors Inc., claims it is still owed about $1.5 million for delays it attributes to the county. County officials, however, contend the company is to blame for delays, and, according to the contract, owes the county about $500,000 for finishing the project late.
Bernard Ysursa, a Belleville lawyer who represents the county, said the construction firm agreed to complete the terminal in the summer of 1997 when it was awarded an $8.67 million contract to build it.
The county contends the firm was about 300 days late on completing the terminal. An official opening was held April 1, 1998.
Since then, there has not been much use for the terminal. The airport, built for a cost of about $220 million of mostly federal money, has no regular commercial service. Still, the county argues that a contract is a contract, and the project should've been finished on time.
"Somebody is going to have to go through and determine whether to lay the delays at the door of the contractor," Ysursa said. Several subcontractors are also seeking money.
After first trying to straighten the matter out through the courts, all sides agreed to solve the dispute through mediation or arbitration. The case in U.S. District Court in East St. Louis is likely to be dropped this month.
The county has held back $477,356 from the original contract. Aviation Constructors claims it is owed that money plus about $1 million for extra work it performed. Lawyers for Aviation Construction could not be reached.
The first step will be to try solving the dispute through mediation, a non-binding process where both sides try to work out their differences. If that fails, the process of arbitration, where an independent body makes a binding decision, will be used.
If that's the case, the dispute will be resolved by the American Arbitration Association, a New York City-based non-profit that handles legal disputes for a fee. A hearing is scheduled for the fall.
Information provided by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Michael Shaw Article
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