The Fayetteville City Council approved $1.9 million in leftover voter-approved parks and recreation bond money to pay a new contractor to complete unfinished courts as part of the Mazarick Park Tennis Center project.
The tennis center was one of three public space projects worth millions of dollars that the city’s previous contractor, Apex Contracting Group, walked away from unfinished last year. The city sued the company in November, alleging it defaulted on two contracts: the Mazarick Park Tennis Center and the Mable C. Smith Community Center. Attempts to reach Apex Contracting Group for comment on this story were unsuccessful.
The city has also pursued legal action against the surety bond companies on the projects. Surety bond companies guarantee that the company performing the service will fulfill obligations of a contract and make up for any losses if the contract is breached. According to City Attorney Lachelle Pulliam, the companies on the projects have refused to pay for the city’s financial losses.
“So the city is still carrying the price tag on this one for now,” Pulliam said at the city council meeting last week.
According to the court documents, the city filed an entry of default against the Apex Contracting Group and the bond companies on Feb. 12. The document is a request for the court to formally recognize that the defendants have not responded to the lawsuit against them and allow the city to seek a default judgement from the court in the case.
The council voted to approve the additional funding for the tennis center at the Feb. 10 city council meeting with a 6-3 vote. Council Members Lynne Greene, Deno Hondros and Mario Benavente voted in opposition. The city awarded the contract for the tennis courts to M&E Contracting, a local company that is already working on a building being constructed as part of the tennis center.
Greene had initially asked to table the contract’s approval, as she said she had unanswered questions about the contract’s scope and cost, and needed time to go over them. She urged caution after the city’s previous failures to bring capital projects to fruition.
“I want to have transparency,” Greene said. “I hear from the public and the taxpayers that they want transparency. And for me, this is an effort in that.”
Benavente said the council should carefully consider new contracts after having “blundered very publicly” the initial ones.
Greene’s motion to delay approving the contract failed. Mayor Pro Tem Kathy Jensen, like others on the council who voted to approve the new contract, rejected further delaying the tennis center’s completion. She emphasized that the city would have to pay for the project regardless and any delay would not change that.
“I don’t see how a week will make a difference,” Jensen said. “If we don’t give the money, it’s not going to happen.”
Assistant City Manager Adam Lindsay said M&E Contracting is “excited and able” to complete the project and expects to finish it before the fall, likely in August.
Contact Evey Weisblat at eweisblat@cityviewnc.com or 216-527-3608. This story was made possible by donations from readers like you to CityView News Fund, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to an informed democracy in Fayetteville and Cumberland County.
How about quit wasting tax dollars on these places that we don’t need to begin with!! While we’re on the subject of unfinished projects how about the much needed fire station on Bragg Blvd?