(Sept. 15, 2016) Cannery Village continues to be a source of headaches for residents in Berlin.
Most recently, Councilman Elroy Brittingham brought up the Flower Street development during a mayor and council meeting Monday evening.
“I keep harping on this one. I don’t want us to forget about it, because there is a problem there – that’s Cannery Village,” Brittingham said.
Cannery Village broke ground last May, but a number of delays caused construction to last well over a year, with some work still being done.
Recently, the town spent $90,000 to help mend fences – literally and figuratively – with residents on Flower Street who said the development and its residents were encroaching on their properties.
Now, Brittingham said the entrance to Cannery is playing havoc with roads in the area, including a portion of Flower Street that the town has had to patch several times because of potholes.
“They know it’s an issue. We’ve pressed with them several times. This is one of several issues we have with them,” Town Administrator Laura Allen said, adding that the development had not yet passed its final inspection.
Mayor Gee Williams said the town could use bond money that was set aside before construction started to make repairs. That includes a $1.575 million public works performance bond and a $255,576 stormwater performance bond.
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to [that],” he said.
Others on the council urged immediate action.
“We need to make those repairs, because this has been going on for, really, a long time,” Councilman Dean Burrell said. “It is still a terrible spot and it remains a terrible spot.
“The fact still remains, when folks run over that spot, it is damaging their vehicle and it’s not a good thing for our citizens to have to endure day after day after day,” he continued. “We need to get it fixed as soon as possible, because there comes a time when something has been going on long enough – and this has been going on long enough.”
Brittingham said he was trying to give the developer, Osprey Property Company, the benefit of the doubt.
“They’ve had the benefit of the doubt,” Burrell said. “Fall and winter is getting ready to come – it’s only going to get worse.”
Town Attorney David Gaskill said the town would likely “have to put the insurance company on notice” before spending bond money.
“We can’t go spend our money, fix it, and say send us a check,” he said. “That’s not the procedure.”
Councilwoman Lisa Hall proposed a motion to have Allen talk to the developer as soon as possible to get a timeline on the road repairs.
“No – that’s not what the motion should be,” Burrell said, moving that the town “proceed with all haste in having that spot repaired by whatever means necessary,” at the developer’s expense.
That passed unanimously.
During a phone interview on Tuesday, Allen said the town had repeatedly asked Osprey to repair part of Flower Street near the entrance to Cannery.
“We have patched that several times in the year this project has been going on,” Allen said. “We have asked them to patch, they have not. We have asked them to put a metal plate down, they have not.”
As part of the eventual closeout of the project, Allen said the developer would be required to do a “final paving” of areas it affected during construction. If town standards are not met, a portion of the bond money could be used to make any necessary repairs, she said.
“As part of that, I’m telling them they need to do a good, clean cutout and repair of that location on Flower Street,” she said. “We have had this conversation with them off and on during the project. They are aware of the problem.
“It’s my opinion that Cannery Village contributed to the damage of that roadway, and they’re obligated to repair it before they finalize their project and get their performance bond back,” she added.
If that doesn’t happen soon, Allen said the town would repair the road – again.
“If this drags on much longer, I would go out and patch again because I just don’t think it’s worth the heartache that people are feeling around the project,” she said. “Patching it occasionally is not that expensive, and in the interest of community service and keeping people comfortable when they drive down the road, I’m willing to do it – if we have to – again.
“I don’t think it’s going to come to that,” she added.
Allen said she planned to call Andrew Hanson, vice president of Osprey, on Tuesday. She also noted that Gaskill was reviewing the performance bonds.
“My expectation is that [Hanson] will move quickly to get the roadway repaired,” she said.
Most recently, Councilman Elroy Brittingham brought up the Flower Street development during a mayor and council meeting Monday evening.
“I keep harping on this one. I don’t want us to forget about it, because there is a problem there – that’s Cannery Village,” Brittingham said.
Cannery Village broke ground last May, but a number of delays caused construction to last well over a year, with some work still being done.
Recently, the town spent $90,000 to help mend fences – literally and figuratively – with residents on Flower Street who said the development and its residents were encroaching on their properties.
Now, Brittingham said the entrance to Cannery is playing havoc with roads in the area, including a portion of Flower Street that the town has had to patch several times because of potholes.
“They know it’s an issue. We’ve pressed with them several times. This is one of several issues we have with them,” Town Administrator Laura Allen said, adding that the development had not yet passed its final inspection.
Mayor Gee Williams said the town could use bond money that was set aside before construction started to make repairs. That includes a $1.575 million public works performance bond and a $255,576 stormwater performance bond.
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to [that],” he said.
Others on the council urged immediate action.
“We need to make those repairs, because this has been going on for, really, a long time,” Councilman Dean Burrell said. “It is still a terrible spot and it remains a terrible spot.
“The fact still remains, when folks run over that spot, it is damaging their vehicle and it’s not a good thing for our citizens to have to endure day after day after day,” he continued. “We need to get it fixed as soon as possible, because there comes a time when something has been going on long enough – and this has been going on long enough.”
Brittingham said he was trying to give the developer, Osprey Property Company, the benefit of the doubt.
“They’ve had the benefit of the doubt,” Burrell said. “Fall and winter is getting ready to come – it’s only going to get worse.”
Town Attorney David Gaskill said the town would likely “have to put the insurance company on notice” before spending bond money.
“We can’t go spend our money, fix it, and say send us a check,” he said. “That’s not the procedure.”
Councilwoman Lisa Hall proposed a motion to have Allen talk to the developer as soon as possible to get a timeline on the road repairs.
“No – that’s not what the motion should be,” Burrell said, moving that the town “proceed with all haste in having that spot repaired by whatever means necessary,” at the developer’s expense.
That passed unanimously.
During a phone interview on Tuesday, Allen said the town had repeatedly asked Osprey to repair part of Flower Street near the entrance to Cannery.
“We have patched that several times in the year this project has been going on,” Allen said. “We have asked them to patch, they have not. We have asked them to put a metal plate down, they have not.”
As part of the eventual closeout of the project, Allen said the developer would be required to do a “final paving” of areas it affected during construction. If town standards are not met, a portion of the bond money could be used to make any necessary repairs, she said.
“As part of that, I’m telling them they need to do a good, clean cutout and repair of that location on Flower Street,” she said. “We have had this conversation with them off and on during the project. They are aware of the problem.
“It’s my opinion that Cannery Village contributed to the damage of that roadway, and they’re obligated to repair it before they finalize their project and get their performance bond back,” she added.
If that doesn’t happen soon, Allen said the town would repair the road – again.
“If this drags on much longer, I would go out and patch again because I just don’t think it’s worth the heartache that people are feeling around the project,” she said. “Patching it occasionally is not that expensive, and in the interest of community service and keeping people comfortable when they drive down the road, I’m willing to do it – if we have to – again.
“I don’t think it’s going to come to that,” she added.
Allen said she planned to call Andrew Hanson, vice president of Osprey, on Tuesday. She also noted that Gaskill was reviewing the performance bonds.
“My expectation is that [Hanson] will move quickly to get the roadway repaired,” she said.