High Street West Dispute Officially Over
UNGAR CONSTRUCTION PAID OUT $1.32 MILLION FOR WORK DONE ON PHASE TWO (2017) OF THE CAST IRON WATER MAIN REPLACEMENT PROGRAM
By Robert Thomas
A long standing dispute between the City and a contractor involved in replacing cast iron water mains is officially over.
And by the looks of it Ungar Construction Ltd from Theodore Saskatchewan received most, if not all, of what they asked for.
The City has paid Ungar $1.32 million for work completed on Phase Two of the cast iron water main replacement program (2017) plus an additional $235,000 for completed private service work in 2022.
Asked about how much was spent on Phase Two the City replied Ungar had received in total an amount close to the amount budgeted.
“Our total amount paid to Ungar under the contract, including the settlement, is: $4.15 Million. The Phase 2 water main replacement contract to Ungar in 2017 was for $4.25 Million, pre-tax,” an email stated.
The amount paid to Cypress Paving - who the City hired as the main contractor to finish the work - is not directly mentioned or referenced in the City’s response.
As part of the agreement Ungar is once again allowed to bid on City of Moose Jaw projects.
“The City of Moose Jaw is pleased that all outstanding issues have been resolved,” Maryse Carmichael, City Manager said in a statement.
“Ungar Construction Ltd. is considered to be in good standing, and they are free to resume bidding on future projects put to tender by the City of Moose Jaw,” the statement read.
In an answer to emailed questions from MJ Independent enquiring if Ungar had received their apology the City stated “the settlement was reached professionally and amicably.”
In a May 23, 2018 MJ Independent story Scott Ungar from Ungar Construction said his company was reputable and his major concern was clearing his company’s name.
“We have been embarrassed by this. We have been portrayed in the media as if we are not a reputable company and it is my goal to prove that is not true,” Ungar told MJ Independent at the time.
Ungar had been removed as the contractor on the High Street West project - after a 6 - 1 vote of Council (with then Councillor Brian Swanson opposed) - and publicly dumped at a news conference in front of the media by then Mayor Fraser Tolmie.
The public firing of Ungar by the City came in the wake of High Street West being named as the worst street in the province by the Saskatchewan Canadian Automobile Association (CAA).
The lengthy delays and rough road saw businesses on High Street take massive losses as motorists avoided the road thereby denying businesses the crucial drive by traffic.
The blame was seemingly ascribed to Ungar Construction Limited by the City at the time and seemingly accepted by media from Moose Jaw and Regina.
MJ Independent was the lone media source that contacted the Theodore based Ungar to get their side of the story.
HIGH STREET IN MAY 2018 - MJ INDEPENDENT FILE PHOTO
Following the City taking over the project the work was completed by Cypress Paving.
The work included digging out previously compacted work, as the compaction was claimed to be insufficient, hauling in new fill and re-compacting the area.
Reached for comment to hear their side of the agreement story Ungar Construction Ltd failed to respond.