Details have come to light in Ellijay’s lawsuit against Richard Stonecipher and his company CBS Contracting.Filed on April eleventh, Ellijay’s suit against Stonecipher and CBS is for breach of contract and fraud. The city and CBS entered into a contract on February 6, 2012. The contract was for the completion of the Harrison Park Project, a combination of trail maintenance and paving of a parking lot.

According to the lawsuit filed by the city, Ellijay sent a Notice to Proceed to CBS on January 5 2012. The notice specified that CBS had 160 days to complete the work outlined in the contract. The suit also stated that the contract sum was $72,011, which was subject to addition and subtractions. Ellijay asserts that Stonecipher on behalf of CBS Contracting failed to complete the work as required by the contract. Along the way, though—the suit says—Ellijay sent several letters to Stonecipher regarding the situation. On or around November 12, 2012, the city contacted Stonecipher regarding the expiration date of the contract, in addition to project items that needed to be completed. The Defendant failed to respond, the suit says. Later that month on the 26th, the city issued a punch list to the Defendant, a list of items to be completed and/or corrected on the project, of which Ellijay said the Defendant also did not respond. Then a letter was sent on December 11, 2012, detailing the Defendant’s failure to meet the terms of the contract. On January 24, 2013, Ellijay sent a final letter officially terminating the contract.

The suit states the City of Ellijay terminated the contract for the following reasons: 1) The Defendant did not provide payment bond. Here the city cited that Stonecipher presented a fraudulent bond. 2) The Defendant repeatedly failed and refused to remedy the defective work.

The city also noted that the failure of the Defendant to complete the work cost Ellijay to forfeit 25 percent of matching reimbursement from a Department of Natural Resources (DNR) grant equal to $25,000. According to City Clerk Sharon Spivey, the DNR grant is $142,000. Eighty percent of the grant is reimbursable, while the city is responsible for the remaining 20 percent, approximately $30,000.

Additionally, the suit goes on to say that the failure of the Defendant caused the city to hire another contractor to complete the project, costing $15,000, in addition to $5,000 worth of materials. As such the suit states that the city has been damaged $35,000.

But, how does the suit affect The Harrison Park Project? At last month’s meeting, city council approved a new contract with DSR Contracting LLC to complete the remaining work on the project, which includes addressing the eroding edges of the trail, importing topsoil for shoulder construction and replenishing low areas adjacent to the trail. The contract also states that the City of Ellijay will furnish gravel, grass seed and hay needed for the work.

As of January sixteenth, the city has already spent over $70,000 on the project. When all is said and done, the state will pay $113,760 for the project. The city, however, is required to pay the cost of the work upfront and will then be reimbursed later, Spivey said.

FYN has requested the following information from the City of Ellijay regarding the Harrison Park Project: 1) did Ellijay pay CBS Contracting for any of the work at the point of termination? If so, how much? 2) Has the Defendant responded to the litigation since the suit was filed? 3) Has the work on the park been completed?

In a discussion with FYN following last month’s meeting, Mayor Al Hoyle said he expects the year-long project to be complete in approximately 30 days. He also called it on-going, citing further work to be done, specifically the installation of a parking lot.