HOPE — From consultants to council members, many in Hope admit they are losing patience with progress on the Hope Town Square renovation.
But as town attorney Scott Andrews and consultant Steve Robertson said, there’s really not much anyone can do about it.
Originally, the Hope Town Council was told that their contractor, the Poole Group of Dillsboro, would begin work on the $437,500 renovations on or about June 14.
Improvements include replacing 43 existing streetlights with black posts and globes that utilize LED lights. Within the town square, concrete pathways that conform to the Americans with Disabilities Act will be installed. Other new amenities include new park benches and receptacles both in the square and in the surrounding business area.
After the June 14 date came and went, regular phone calls were made to find out when construction would get underway, but council vice-president Clyde Compton said nobody could get a response from the Dillsboro firm.
However, the town council was helpless to take legal action because their contract with the Poole Group only mentions a Sept. 11 completion date — not a start date, Robertson said.
Finally, a Poole representative meet with representatives of both Strand and the town council. A start date of July 20 was set at that time.
But after three weeks of work, the improvements were only 11% complete, Compton told the council Tuesday. If the crews continue working at that same pace, it will take them over eight months more to finish the job, the council vice president said.
“(The contractor) also has not turned in progress reports as required,” Compton said. “Now, the town people are wondering why it is taking so long.”
Following the meeting when the July 20 start date was established, project manager Tony Akles of Strand Associates said he believed the contractor could still complete the project by the deadline by working a few extra hours each day.
But then, a formal letter from the Poole Group was received that requested a four-week extension beyond the deadline.
Citing a number of factors, Robertson said he was only prepared to recommend that the council only consider a three-week extension.
In response, council member Ohmer Miller accused the Poole Group of “dragging their heels” throughout the project.
“I wouldn’t give them an extra 10 minutes, let alone three weeks,” Miller said. “Their feet needs to be held to the fire.”
However, legally, complications arising from the COVID-19 pandemic are valid reasons for delays by the contractor, Andrews and Robertson said.
With Miller and Compton casting the only no votes, the council approved the three-week extension. However, Robertson said he believes the Poole Group needs to start providing progress reports, as well as written evidence that the virus is causing the delays.
“We need documentation from them regarding when they ordered materials and when the supplier said it was going to be delivered,” the consultant said.
One reasons the council wants the work completed sooner or later is the potential liability the town is facing. With the exception of the playground, the town square is closed to the public from Monday morning through late Friday afternoon.
But both children and adults have been seen using closed sections of the park, Compton said. He asked that signs designating when the park is open and closed be posted, as well as having entrances to the bandstand and shelterhouse taped up from Monday morning through late Friday afternoon.
Although a consensus was expressed among town officials that signs need to be posted, the council took no formal vote on the matter before adjournment.
