Ellijay City Councilmembers discussed whether or not they can compensate a contractor who’s donated his time to the construction of rest rooms at Harrison Park when meeting Monday.
Councilman Al Fuller said the contractor, Denny Stover, has overseen construction of the rest room building, including lining up subcontractors. The project has been going on for more than a year.
“Without Denny, we could not have even started this project. He’s acted as a contractor. He’s never asked for a penny. We couldn’t have done it without him,” Fuller said.
“I’m not suggesting a percentage (or) an amount. We have paid (him) $2,500, but that’s nowhere near what a contractor would make. (He) makes sure that it’s done right, which any contractor would do.”
Councilwoman Katie Lancey said the problem is the project wasn’t put out for bid for a contractor’s services.
“This is a little bit of an issue. If we’re going to be paying for services, we have to get three estimates and choose one based on that. We can’t randomly pay somebody,” Lancey said.
“I think his work is fantastic, but if we don’t have anything in place prior to the services he’s providing, I don’t see how we could possibly come up with any kind of figure that would be fair.”
The rest room construction is past the $100,000 threshold for putting a job out for bid, Fuller noted.
“Right now, we’re almost finished for around $120,000. It’s going to be more, but not that much more,” he said.
Councilman Tom Crawford said the initial project was budgeted under the threshold, but has since gone over.
Fuller noted the rest rooms would’ve probably cost much more if a contractor would have been hired.
“Almost three years ago, I went to a contractor in Cobb County who does just bathrooms. They wanted a minimum of $250,000. That same contractor, now, would charge (probably) half a million dollars,” he said.
Lancey said maybe compensation can be offered if the council can figure out a legal way to do it.
“I feel the same way you do,” Fuller said. “When we started out, he was just donating his time, but it became a much bigger thing. He will finish it. He will make sure it’s finished without any pay. If it’s that complicated, we’ll just follow that suit.”
No action was taken on the suggested compensation.
Fuller said the rest rooms are almost finished, but there are several things left to do.
“The plumbing is at the point where all we have to do is put the fixtures in. The painter will be here this week to begin painting. Other than that, we need the lights installed and a floor, and we’ll be finished,” he said.
In other news …
﹣ In his report to the council, Police Chief Ed Lacey gave an update on the new four-way stop at North Main Street, North Avenue and College Street that opened earlier this month.
Flags were recently put on top of the new stop signs to draw more attention to them, he noted.
“People seem to be getting used to it. We got the flags put out there, and we parked a police car out there for a week. It looks like it’s working out well, (and) we’re in the high 90 percent (range for people stopping),” Lacey said.
﹣ Councilmembers approved 10 special event permits for alcohol vendors at the upcoming Blue Ridge Mountains Wine and Jazz Festival at White Path Creek Farms. Special event with alcohol permits were also approved for an upcoming Acoustic Blends event at Harrison Park and July Fourth festivities in the city parking lot on River Street.
﹣ Councilmembers approved creating a special committee for matters relating to Harrison Park. No members were elected or bylaws discussed.