Armory roof still not finished

• Armory

Armory

Talk about it

A Dickinson city project which began in the spring and led to water damage in the National Guard Armory is not completed and at a standstill, city officials say.

The city may take legal action “sooner rather than later” against a contractor who started but neglected to finish the project, said Matt Kolling, city attorney.

“We’re considering what remedies we may have and we’ll intend to pursue those,” Kolling said. “There wasn’t a written contract entered into at the time, but there were quotes or invoices that the contractor provided to the city for the work that was going to be done.”

Two Rivers Construction, owned by Brian Kjerstad, was awarded the project. City officials haven’t been able to contact Kjerstad since July, said Dennis Smith, assistant public works manager.

“His number has been disconnected,” Smith said.

The city plans to bill Kjerstad $1,500 for the replacement of floor and ceiling tiles inside the armory which were water damaged, he added.

Employees at the armory were dripped on for three months, he added.

The National Guard replaced carpeting after the leak and painted as well, said Col. Steve Tabor. The office has returned to normal, he added.

A mold test was conducted in the building Tuesday and the city is awaiting results, Smith said.

No work has been done on the building since August, he added.

“We need an engineer to sign off on the project to say that it is structurally sound,” said Shawn Kessel, city administrator. “Then we just have to do a little bit of closing work and then it will be a done deal.”

Materials for the project were ordered in March, Smith said. In April, city officials expected the project to be completed in weeks, not months.

Inclement weather stalled the project and when Kjerstad needed an engineer to sign off on the design, the project halted as the city waited, Smith said.

“After his number had been disconnected, we just decided we better take it into our own hands to get it completed,” Smith said.

Kessel expects to have the go-ahead from an engineer within a few days and have the rest of the work finished shortly after.

“It should be very, very quick, assuming we can get a contractor to complete whatever work is left,” Kessel said.

Part of the roof on the northeast side of the building is still open, Smith said.

“We haven’t had any leaks on that part of the building, so I’m assuming that we’re OK there, but we need to get it closed up for winter,” Smith said. “That needs to be sheeted, shingled and there’s still some section of gutter that needs to be put up and some siding that also needs to be put up.”

If an engineer determines other steps need to be taken, that must be finished as well, he added.

The project was expected to cost nearly $90,000, officials said earlier this year.

Kjerstad was paid about $75,000 for the work Two Rivers Construction completed, Kessel said. Kjerstad was not paid for work that wasn’t completed, he added.

A federal grant provided about $40,000 for the project and Kessel said the city is looking into using more grant money to help cover the project.

The National Guard contributed $20,000 to the project and the city will pay the rest. If other grant money can be allocated to the project, Kessel expects the city will pay less than $10,000.

Attempts to reach Kjerstad were unsuccessful.

Tags: news, national, guard, armory, roof, money, funding, contractor, unfinished, fccnetwork