Contractor Demands $49K as City Faces Deadline and Interest Threat
- Mar 3
- 2 min read
by Trinity Gruenberg
The Verndale City Council held a special meeting on February 24 to discuss the payment to Ideal Construction, the contractor Moore Engineering used for the city’s Safe Routes to School sidewalk project.
The meeting was to address a dispute over unpaid work and conflicting guidance from Moore Engineering. The discussion centered on whether the city should pay Ideal the full amount requested for additional work that exceeded original estimates, and how that decision would affect the city’s ongoing negotiations with Moore.
Jeff Kobliska of Ideal is requesting a total of $49,102.19. Of that, approximately $22,000 is for extra common excavation and Class 5 gravel placed beyond the initial projections, while about $27,000 is what the city generally agrees is owed.
Council members, including Raye Ludovissie, questioned why Moore Engineering was advising the city not to pay the full amount, even though the project work had been signed off in the field. The council also struggled to reconcile how far the project had gone over budget—even after a $30,000 credit from Moore—the city remains significantly over its anticipated cost.
Kobliska explained that from the first days of excavation, the amount of dirt coming out was nearly double what Moore Engineering’s estimates had indicated. He said this was communicated to Moore early on and repeatedly, and that the firm adjusted topsoil quantities but never fully revised the common excavation numbers.
According to Kobliska, the higher volumes were caused by field conditions, including extensive root systems and the need to remove unsuitable material. He maintains that it brought the sidewalk bed back to original grade and that additional Class 5 gravel was only used where grades needed to be raised slightly to prevent drainage problems, such as potential water pooling on sidewalks...
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