Pryor Creek council pauses action after contractor misses Northeast First Street deadline

Pryor Creek officials on the council discussed whether to terminate the contract for the Northeast First Street rehabilitation project after the selected contractor did not begin the work in the timeline set by the city.

City staff told the council that the contract specified a Feb. 1 start and an April 3 completion. The city sent a written notice referencing the contract’s “special conditions paragraph 41 — right of owner to terminate” after no substantial work had been completed and after repeated missed starts, the mayor said. Glover and Associates (formerly H & D Construction) later emailed a commitment to complete saw cutting, full-depth patching, cold milling, base and overlay paving, and striping under Oklahoma Department of Transportation construction standards, but council members said that email arrived too late to restore confidence.

Council members and staff spent extended time on the project’s chronology, because machinery had been staged at a soccer complex and the contractor made limited on-site activity the day of the meeting (spray-painting and a few small cuts) but did not sustain work. City staff noted a prior history of slow performance by the contractor on other local projects.

Several council members said they were reluctant to immediately move to the next bidder while the contractor had at least nominally “started” work. The city’s engineer told the council that infrastructure monitoring will be performed by Infrastructure Solutions at no additional cost if the council allows the contractor to proceed.

After discussion of potential legal exposure, schedule verification and whether other bidders would still honor their bids, the council voted to take no action tonight and directed staff to follow up with legal review and to report back at the next meeting. Councilmembers said they expect a clearer status update and, if the contractor does not produce a reliable, verifiable schedule and evidence of sustained crews, the council will consider rebidding or moving to the next responsible bidder at a later meeting.

The council also noted that delays increase risk and cost: local officials said asphalt prices have risen and that a partially cut road left before a storm could damage the road base.

Going forward, the city asked Glover and Associates to provide a firm schedule and to coordinate with the city’s engineering staff and Infrastructure Solutions, which will sample asphalt mix and monitor compaction if the contractor continues work.

The council did not adopt any termination at this meeting and tabled final direction until staff completes legal and contractual checks and provides an update at the next regular meeting.