YMCA approves settlement agreement with Lambert Construction
Beverly Bryant - September 28, 2018 9:40 am
The Board of Directors of the Ponca City YMCA voted in a special session Friday to approve a settlement agreement with Lambert Construction Co. over construction issues on the Ponca City Aquatic and Family Center — YMCA.
The vote came after an executive session which allowed the board to consult with its attorney, Guy Clark.
Details about the agreement will not be made public until it is reviewed by the Ponca City Board of Commissioners in an upcoming meeting.
Lambert Construction was hired in October 2008 to act as the Construction Manager at Risk for the Ponca City Aquatic and Family Center — YMCA. In order to move forward on the project, Ponca City voters decided in December 2008 to approve a half-cent sales tax extension for the center. The election in which the tax was approved was held Dec. 9, 2008, and the measure passed with 1,820 yes votes (54.4 percent) to 1,524 no votes, a difference of 296 ballots.
Groundbreaking for the center was held Jan. 12, 2009, and construction was completed in November 2010.
The ribbon cutting for the Ponca City Aquatic & Family Center — YMCA was held on Dec. 4, 2010, and the center opened at 5:30 a.m. Dec. 6, 2010.
On April 23, 2007, Ponca City entered into an agreement with the YMCA for the development, management and operation of the Ponca City YMCA. Subsequently, the city entered a construction-management at-risk contract with Lambert in November 2008 for construction of the new center at Waverly and Grand.
After completion, the YMCA took possession and has managed and operated the facility under the terms of the operating agreement.
In March of 2016, the Ponca City Board of Commissioners approved an assignment agreement with the Ponca City YMCA, assigning any claims the city may have against Lambert Construction Co. for damages caused by deficiencies in Lambert’s and its subcontractors’ work on the YMCA.
Ponca City and the YMCA have suffered, and continue to suffer, damages caused by deficiencies in the contractor’s and subcontractors’ work on the project, the assignment agreement between the Board of Commissioners and the YMCA Board states.
The YMCA’s board of directors has authorized filing a suit to recover those damages. In this agreement, Ponca City assigns all of its rights to the performance of Lambert and its subcontractors under the original construction manager contract. All claims that Ponca City would have against Lambert are assigned to the YMCA.
City Attorney Michael R. Vanderburg said in March 2016 that several issues had been resolved with problems related to construction errors, but two issues remain unsettled at the time.
In addition to the settlement agreement, the YMCA Board voted to open an additional bank account to hold earmarked funds. Accountant Sherri Kremeier had recommended the additional account be opened for keeping earmarked funds separately. One example is funds received for the “Everyone in the Pool” program. A separate account makes it easier to show donors that funds are used for the intended purpose.
