Seminole County commissioners will be asked Tuesday to approve a $3.65 million settlement that would close out the legal fight over a sewer and water main replacement in the Country Club Heights subdivision, a project the county took away from its contractor two years ago.
The agreement, listed on the consent agenda for the Board of County Commissioners' 9:30 a.m. meeting on Nov. 10, was reached at mediation on Oct. 12 among the county, Benchmark Construction Co. of Bartlett, Ill., and the contractor's bonding company, Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., according to the agenda item from County Attorney Kate Latorre.
Terms
Under the proposed deal:
- Liberty Mutual would pay $3,650,000 to the county.
- All three parties would drop their lawsuits and release any claims under the contract.
- The county would change its 2024 termination of Benchmark from one "for cause" to one "for convenience."
- Benchmark would not bid on or propose any county work for 10 years from the date the settlement takes effect.
Claims that Benchmark and Liberty Mutual brought against CHA, the county's design engineer, are not part of the settlement and remain pending, the agenda item says.
How the project unraveled
Commissioners awarded Benchmark the job for $3,873,725 in April 2022 after the county extended the bid deadline three times and still drew only one bid, according to earlier county agenda records. The contract allowed 540 days to reach substantial completion, later pushed to March 29, 2024, through change orders.
By June 2024, county staff reported the project was about 30% finished, that the work did not meet specifications, and that construction had caused emergencies in the neighborhood, among them sewage escaping uncontrolled and water pressure dropping, prompting a stop-work order on March 6, 2023.
