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Local builder tells city commission delayed waterline work ‘destroyed’ project timeline, says he was treated like a criminal
Summary
At the Feb. 12 Ottawa City Commission meeting, resident and builder Sean Markley testified that promised waterline work was not completed on schedule, disputing city staff accounts and saying a document he was asked to sign made him feel criminalized. He submitted a written record for commissioners to review.
Sean Markley, a local builder who identified himself as being associated with HomeStar Builders and living at 746 South Funston, told the Ottawa City Commission on Feb. 12 that delays and conflicting communications about a waterline and site work “absolutely killed me financially.”
Markley said he was originally given a 90-day timeline for work tied to his project but that it took 11 months to break ground. He told commissioners that two separate meetings had left him with an expectation that the city would complete the waterline on the Funston side and that his responsibility would be the loop; when work began, he said, city staff denied that understanding. “I was lied to directly. I was lied to in 2 separate meetings,” Markley said, adding that five people had heard the statement and that because meetings were not recorded “it was basically my word against city officials.”
Markley said he arranged a Zoom meeting to resolve the dispute, but the conversation left him feeling “gaslighted.” He said the city later offered materials for the work, which he accepted, but that the document he was asked to sign at delivery contained a waiver that, in his words, stated that by signing “you are waiving all your rights to sue the city.” He said that clause “made me feel like a criminal.”
He told the commission he plans to submit a written record with a fuller timeline and supporting emails and asked commissioners to review it. “I wish you would read it,” he said. The mayor responded that the submission would be reviewed and that staff would follow up.
Markley also told the commission that police were called to his job site during the dispute; he said officers restrained him while he tried to leave and that the episode was humiliating and damaging to his reputation. He said he had not filed suit and that his goal was to complete home construction efficiently for the benefit of Ottawa.
The mayor invited Markley to provide his written documentation in the commission packet; commissioners and staff said they would review it and follow up.
