Seven Hills council adopts emergency ordinance authorizing settlement with contractors

The Seven Hills City Council on Monday adopted Ordinance 25-20-26 as an emergency measure, authorizing and directing the mayor to sign an agreed settlement agreement and mutual release of all claims with Richard L. Bowen and Associates, Specialized Construction, Quality Control Inspection and Roniak Paving, on behalf of the city.

Councilman at Large and Council Pro Tem Costanza moved to suspend the rules and read the ordinance by title only, then moved to approve the ordinance’s emergency clause and to pass Ordinance 25-20-26 as an emergency. Councilman Elliott seconded the motions; the council voted verbally in favor and no opposition was recorded during the meeting.

The ordinance’s title, as read aloud at the meeting, describes the measure as authorizing the mayor to agree to a settlement and mutual release of claims involving the listed firms and the city; the transcript contains no dollar amounts or other settlement terms. The record does not state the monetary value, release conditions, or implementation timeline.

Because the meeting record does not include a roll-call tally for the ordinance vote, the council’s passage is reported here as recorded at the meeting: motions were seconded and the council voted in favor, with “no opposed” announced on the floor.

Next steps: the ordinance takes effect under the council’s declared emergency clause and directs the mayor to sign the settlement documents as authorized by the text of the ordinance read at the meeting.