Spillway repair to continue as planned

The Fort Scott City Commission met Tuesday in a special meeting to meet with Steve Bright of Bright & Company Construction regarding the continuation of the repairs to the spillway at Fort Scott Lake.

The meeting came as a result of several Fort Scott Lake property owners attending the May 4 city commission meeting expressing concern for the project's consequences. Residents were concerned that the water level, which was lowered 18 inches for the safety of the construction crew and equipment, would not rise in time for the Fort Scott All-School Reunion this summer. They also feared the lake would be unusable this summer.

According to Fort Scott City Manager Joe Turner, the commission decided to let the project proceed as planned rather than postpone it until later in the year. Turner said the decision was based on the amount of money it would cost to shut down the project and restart it.

Bright informed the commission that if the city were to increase the water level above 2 to 4 feet below the spillway level -- agreed upon in the original contract -- the city would be responsible for any damage to the contractor's work caused by water over the spillway.

The other option was to shut down the project and begin again after August 30. The total cost to postpone the project would be $33,550, plus an additional $150 per day the contractor is not on the job. Bright also provided a cost of $41,884 if the city wanted to relieve him of the contract and bid the project out at another time.

Bright also offered an additional charge of $26,938 to have the project completed in 80 working days rather than the previously agreed 90 working days.

Turner said the commission felt the cost was not worth the benefit, so the project will continue on as originally planned.