Carencro council hears detailed accounting of stalled sewer-plant work; staff to press contractor bond

City of Carencro officials said the contractor for the city’s new sewer-treatment plant has accrued significant delays and expenses and that the city will seek payment from the contractor’s performance bond if the company does not respond.

City Engineer Andy Sellers said at the council meeting that Cody Construction has 199 days of liquidated damages and that, as of the meeting, “he owes the city $205,000.” Sellers added that the city itself has incurred about $196,500 in costs to keep the project operating while the contractor completed work, including payments for temporary pumps.

Sellers outlined the money already paid to a pump vendor and how retainage and payments affect the final accounting. He said the project’s retainage, if the work finished that day, would be about $78,000 the city would owe the contractor. Sellers said the city paid about $111,000 to Better Pumps for temporary pumping equipment; taking that and other figures into account, he said a settlement figure “owes about $133,000” was the contractor’s net position to the city and vendor in one scenario discussed.

Mayor (unnamed) and council members pressed staff on next steps for recovering costs and ensuring project completion. City staff said they have sent the contractor written notice and will contact the bonding company. City Attorney Chris (listed in the meeting exchanges) explained that a common next step is to make a formal demand on the bond; if the bond is called, the bonding company can hire the contractor or another firm to finish the job and is financially responsible under the bond terms.

Public works staff and the council discussed whether to let the current contractor finish the remaining work (staff estimated “about 10 items” or roughly a week of work, if the contractor plans and shows up) or to force the bond and risk losing warranty coverage tied to the original contractor’s work. Staff said some pump warranties are handled by the pump supplier and would remain in force, but that construction work done by a replacement contractor could complicate warranty claims on site work.

Council members and staff also described specific construction defects and incomplete items: poured concrete that was rain-affected (staff said the slab will need sealing), anchor bolts and other parts that delayed work, and a sequence of scheduled start-ups that were repeatedly postponed. Buster, the city's public-works speaker, and other staff confirmed a startup event was scheduled and that the city expects the contractor to be able to finish if it commits resources.

Council directed staff to notify the bonding company and continue the process of pursuing bond recovery if the contractor and bonding company do not respond. City staff said they had already sent letters earlier putting the contractor and the bonding company on notice and that the next step would be formally acting on the bond and, if necessary, filing suit (City of Carencro v. Cody Construction and the bonding company) to require performance or payment.

Why it matters: the sewer-plant project is one of the city’s largest capital works and has required temporary measures and vendor payments to maintain service during construction. The council emphasized both finishing the project quickly and protecting city funds and residents from the financial consequences of contractor delay.

Staff said they will pursue the bonding company while allowing the contractor a short window to complete outstanding items; council members emphasized they expected stronger progress and clearer scheduling before the next meeting.