Press Release - Settlement with Northern Alaska Contractors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 28, 2016, Unalaska, Alaska:  The City of Unalaska (City) and Northern Alaska Contractors (NAC) have reached a settlement of a court case filed by NAC.

City will pay NAC $232,000 of the $676,049.49 claim submitted by NAC following the City's termination of the initial contract for a landfill expansion project.  NAC will dismiss its court appeal and assign the City contract rights against one of NAC's suppliers for the project. 

City manager David Martinson called the settlement “a fair resolution” for both the City and NAC.  “We felt all along the City made the correct financial decision to terminate the original contract.  Now that this deal closes the books on the project, that initial decision clearly saved citizens thousands of dollars.”  NAC had originally requested an additional $2.2 million dollars to complete the project after encountering some debris from explosives in a stockpile of rock on the project site.  “We shared NAC's concerns over the safety implications but just did not feel agreeing to pay a request of that magnitude made good financial sense” said Martinson.  “We felt we had a strong case but also recognized there is always a risk of a bad outcome from a lawsuit” said public works director Tom Cohenour.  Martinson indicated “this additional payment is not a win for either NAC or the City, just a reasonable compromise of a good faith dispute.  Overall we are happy with the quality of NAC's work on the project and believe the project's total cost will provide residents a good bang for their buck.”

* * * * * * * * * *