City of Athens, Velvin & Weeks reach settlement over Wood Street dispute

By Michael V. Hannigan/HCN

The City of Athens finalized a settlement agreement last month with the engineering firm Velvin & Weeks regarding a dispute over construction on Wood Street.

The City contracted with Velvin & Weeks in 2012 to engineer and oversee the installation of a 2,600-linear-foot sewer line under Wood Street. The project cost taxpayers a little over $377,000.

After the project was completed, the street experienced settling in several places, forcing the City to patch the surface numerous times.

Because the settlement includes a non-disclosure clause, City officials would only say, “The roadway experienced settling. The two parties discussed remedies and have reached an amicable resolution.”

Henderson County Now, however, received a copy of the settlement through the Texas Public Information Act.

The settlement terms include, in part:

• All parties are released from “claims for negligence, gross negligence, breach of contract and breach of express and/or implied contracts in any way having to do with the Project ….”
• “(T)he parties specifically agree that they will not disparage or make critical remarks or statements for the purposes of damaging the reputation of either the administrators and the administration of the City of Athens, or the professional qualifications and quality of work of Velvin & Weeks and its staff, employees and engineers.”
• All parties “expressly understand that neither party has made any admission of fault or liability.”
• Velvin & Weeks agreed to pay the City $90,000.

Last month’s settlement came after months of negotiation between the two parties, including several closed door meetings by the City Council and more than $6,700 in attorney’s fees for the City.

Expectations are the City will hire a new engineering firm in the future to repair Wood Street, officials said.