Should the City of Northfield fine the construction contractor for the 5th St infrastructure and the Water St. promenade for not being done by DJJD? I took these photos this morning.
See the Nfld News article from last Friday:
Interim City Administrator Joel Walinski said Friday that though some concrete will be poured next week on the promenade, he isn’t confident it’ll be open in time for the festival… Construction on Fifth Street has been delayed, Walinski said, because workers unexpectedly hit bedrock and ran into utility lines they weren’t anticipating. But he hasn’t gotten an explanation as to why the Riverwalk isn’t complete.
Close only counts in the game of Horseshoes, and the tossing of hand grenades… so, I would have to say yes.
There were many days and afternoons where it appeared that there was no activity going on down there.
In business, dates are critical, regardless of the excuses involved. I know there are many reasons why the project was not completed on time, but a contract is a contract, and the penalty must be paid.
The problem is, if the contractor(s) are fined, whats to stop them from re-couping that fine expense deep in the inevitable change orders or overruns?
It is a double-edged sword.
I will say, that our downtown looks no where near as presentable as it usually does. It looks better, but the dirt, obstacles, and all the orange is a big turnoff to tourists.
As a townie, I know my way around. If I was here visiting, I would be going crazy trying to get around town.
We drove through the old parking lot last week and it felt really, really, weird and I guess it was because of the missing trees.
I talked to a downtown business owner this morning who thought the contractor wouldn’t be fined because Fifth was open from Hwy 3 to Division and the city had only asked for access to downtown from the west by the start of DJJD.