Kossuth County accepts completion of DD 60 Sub 4 project, withholds $15,699.70 from contractor retainage for additional damages

The Kossuth County Board of Supervisors formally accepted completion of the Drainage District 60 Sub 4 main town improvement project and voted to release the remaining contractor retainage 30 days after the hearing while withholding a portion to cover additional landowner damages.

At a continued completion hearing, Tyler, an engineer representing Bolton & Menk, presented the engineer’s completion packet, described remaining finish work and the statutory process for accepting the contract, and explained that acceptance would (a) release the last retainage payment 30 days after acceptance and (b) begin a one-year maintenance period during which the contractor remains liable for workmanship defects. Landowners testified about field damages, unpaid cleanup work and equipment costs, and submitted itemized claims.

Landowners reported a mix of claims, including field-leveling work, skid-loader time, damaged tires and cleanup of metal bands and rock. Representative submitted amounts included a $700 tabulation for leveling (chisel plow, field cultivator, skid loader), a $593.70 invoice for a tire, a $2,250 claim for field repairs and cleanup, and several additional claims for rock and rut cleanup. The engineer’s packet and landowner submissions were used to tabulate construction-related damages and “future damages” for acres that could not be planted.

Trustees voted to pay drowned-out corn and drowned-out soybeans at the same per-acre rates as planted crops: $1,100 per acre for drowned-out corn and $700 per acre for drowned-out soybeans (motion by Supervisor Stecker). The motion carried on roll call.

The board then voted to accept the additional damages submitted and discussed at the hearing — totaling $15,699.70 — and to withhold that amount from the contractor’s retainage. The motion specified that the county would accept Bolton & Menk’s engineer’s report as modified by the board’s earlier vote on per-acre rates and that amounts attributable to contractor failure would be charged against the contractor’s retainage. The motion was seconded and carried by roll call.

After acceptance of the project the board voted to formally accept the work as complete and to release the remainder of the retainage 30 days after the hearing, while maintaining the one-year maintenance period. The engineer and trustees advised landowners to continue to report problems, noting the maintenance period provides a year of coverage for workmanship failures and that the county maintains GPS logs of tile connections and locations.

Landowners voiced frustration over the quality of cleanup and the time required to relevel fields and remove debris. Officials said claims submitted at the hearing would be compared against the engineer’s tabulations; amounts determined to be contractor responsibility would be withheld from the contractor’s retainage and may be subject to dispute or civil action by the contractor if they choose to contest the board’s determination.

The board’s acceptance of the project initiates the statutory maintenance period and establishes the withholding of $15,699.70 from the contractor’s retainage to cover identified additional damages.