Council withholds payment to contractor amid dispute over B Street project working days

The Maxwell City Council voted to withhold payment on a disputed pay application for the B Street project and instructed staff to continue reconciling working‑day counts.

Discussion centered on pay application number two for the RWay Construction B Street project. Staff and the city's construction observer (Spencer) told the council the pay app's work‑through date was Nov. 30 and that the contractor's records and the city's daily logs yield different totals. "There's a work through date on that pay app that's why I couldn't find it," a staff member said; the council noted the reported 5.5 working days through Nov. 30 but also discussed additional days through December.

Council members reviewed Spencer's daily reports and said contractor documentation can be contested within two weeks. Members asked whether days in August and September that were not counted should be added under DOT counting rules; staff agreed to recalculate counts. The engineer and staff emphasized that the city uses its observers' records for its official counts and that a contractor can contest that record.

Separately, members raised safety/traffic questions about equipment and a dirt stockpile staged on Fifth Street; staff said the material may be for sidewalk work but agreed to request the contractor move equipment or place barriers.

After discussion, the council carried a motion to withhold payment to contractor Bill Riley on the disputed pay application. Roll-call votes recorded council members in favor. Council also instructed staff to follow up on documentation and to pursue resolution if discrepancies remain.

No final determination of liquidated damages or contract remedies was recorded at the meeting; staff will recalculate working‑day counts and report back.