Just weeks away from the year anniversary of a project along Belleville Avenue, the City of Brewton is looking at a change in contractors to finish the project.
Brewton Mayor Ted Jennings said the contractor who began the work has left the job.
“We have come to a point where Martin Construction is no longer in a position to finish the work,” Jennings said Tuesday. “The route we’ll take now will be a much quicker way to finish the work.”
Martin Construction of Atmore began the work on sewer repairs/replacement last August and had originally given a Dec. 15, 2010 deadline for the completion. With delay after delay, city officials had instituted a $500 per day fee for every day past a second deadline agreed upon by the construction company and city engineers.
Daniel Wells, city engineer, told Brewton City councilmen Tuesday that a window of time to allow contact with Martin Construction has begun.
“We have a seven day window to hear from them (Martin Construction,” Wells told the council. “From there, we are expecting about a month to complete the project.”
Jennings said the work left to complete includes some remedial work on the sewer as well as paving.
“When we get that remedial work done and get things smoothed out we can move forward,” Jennings said. “We are going to contact some of the contractors that have worked with the city before and who are aware of the project. We hope to see things completed in about five weeks.”
Jennings said although the work is months behind schedule, the completed work will be a benefit to the city and residents.
“This is going to be a great thing when it is finished,” Jennings said. “It will be a wonderful asset when the work is finally done.”
The route along Belleville Avenue is still partially closed to through traffic from Underwood Street to Smith Lane. Residents who live along the route have been allowed to have access to their homes via Belleville Avenue for the last two weeks.
In other business during Tuesday’s meeting of the Brewton City Council, Brooks Owens approached the council to request approval for renovation work on two downtown business sites.
Owens has purchased buildings at 103 and 109 St. Joseph Ave., formerly known as the Elmore’s building.
“We are going to hire an engineer to come in and remove the debris from those buildings,” Owens said. “We will get that moved out in about two months and be ready to go in and renovate the buildings. We hope to put in some new office space there.”
Owens assured the council that only a portion of the parking lot along the Boardwalk in downtown Brewton would be blocked for about three weeks.
Councilman Dennis Dunaway questioned if the historical aspects of the building would be maintained throughout demolition and renovations.
“We have talked to Lawton Shipp and Steve Yuhasz about that and we will not be modifying the front of the building,” Owens said. “We will certainly maintain the historical aspects of the property unless it is not structurally sound. If that is the case, we will come back and see what steps to take.”
The council approved Owens’ request for the demolition and renovation project.