CLINTON COUNTY, Ind. – Citing a loss of welders and a later than scheduled project start date, the contractor responsible for the construction of a 500,000 gallon water tank at the State Road 28 and I-65 interchange, west of Good to Go, requested a three-month extension of the substantial completion date.
The Clinton County Board of Commissioners heard from Jon Query of HWC Engineering, the firm tasked to oversee the water tank construction, at its Tuesday meeting.
“The contractor, Maguire Iron, has requested an extension to December 31st of this year,” said Query while addressing the Commissioners. “They have agreed to pay for any additional inspection costs for any construction engineering costs due to the additional time.”
Commissioners President Jordan Brewer added a second condition was made of Maguire Iron – the tank must be painted before the weather turns cold. Brewer asked Query if he felt the project was progressing at a pace where the project tasks were able to meet deadlines.
“I’m a little worried about it, to be honest with you,” answered Query. “They had a four-man welding crew and they lost two of those crew members. They’re trying to bring in more welders to get that part done so they can raise the tank. They’re going to do some of the priming on the ground. With most of the final painting done when the tank is in the air.”
Commissioner Brewer said after the meeting the project has been behind schedule since the beginning.
“The water tower at 28 and 65 has been behind from the beginning,” said Brewer.
“Just being honest about it. And so the company, I think they’re a reputable, good company. But, like many in the current environment, they cite labor issues, getting equipment issues, all the things that are going on with everybody. However, there’s deadlines for a reason, and we have a timeframe that we need to meet to have it erected.”
“And so we’ve had to apply pressure, but in any negotiation, there’s some give and take. And so we allowed for an extension of time, but with some caveats in terms of the painting being done this fall before the cold weather, as well as they will encumber any expense outside the original completion date to the current new completion date. The original [substantial completion date] was September 27th and now it’s December 31st.
“So they, they had issues at their job before they came to Clinton County. They were backed up two or three months, which essentially backed them up two or three months in their arrival here.”
Maguire Iron, Inc. is headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
