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Council delays full payment to contractor, requests revised invoice and retainage adjustments for Hunter Street lift station work
Summary
Penny, the city’s water/sewer lead, told the committee the contractor’s pay request from September overstated work completed; she recommended bringing revised, itemized figures and raising retainage to the required 10% while holding back payment until pumps are installed and electrical startup/testing is complete.
Lebanon’s committee on Dec. 15 discussed a disputed pay request on work at a Hunter Street lift station, with the city’s water/sewer lead urging partial payment and a corrected invoice rather than full payment.
Penny said the contractor’s change request included items that have not been completed: pumps have not been installed, electrical startup and inspection have not occurred, and certain retainage figures in the submitted invoice were lower than the 10% required by contract. She proposed adjusting payment percentages for fabricated items and electrical work (suggested ranges: 80–90% for certain electrical line items and no more than 90% for the fiberglass lift station) and restoring retainage to 10% so the city holds funds until remaining work and startup are completed.
Why it matters: Council members said they want to rely on Penny’s on-site expertise and asked staff to obtain an itemized, corrected invoice from the engineer or contractor so the committee can act at the next meeting. Several members expressed frustration that some required work — raising a manhole, repairing a road and pump installation — remain undone.
Penny said the city met with contractor TWWM and asked for a price to pull and reset the station at a deeper depth; that price had not been provided. Committee members agreed staff should seek a revised invoice and bring recommended percentages and retainage language back for a motion at next week’s meeting.
"We do owe them money," Penny said, "but we do not owe them as much as what they're requesting at this time because they have not installed the pumps [and] the electrical has not been checked out."
