Asphalt argument and fee increases at city council meeting

At the tail-end of the Malta City Council meeting last Tuesday, local contractor Rocky Mummey approached the council about a rumor he’d heard about not being paid the entire fee for asphalt he’d recently laid.

Earlier in the meeting, Malta Mayor Shyla Jones informed Council that on May 15, she was approached by two engineers from TD&H, the firm charged with the oversight of the current water project being conducted by Helena Sand and Gravel. The engineers informed her that Mummey had laid over 4,000 square feet of gravel after they had asked him not to because it had rained, against the rules of the spec book agreed upon prior to the project starting last year. Because the work was allegedly done during a time when it was raining and outside of the job specifications, Mayor Jones reported that Helena Sand and Gravel – who hired Mummey as a sub-contractor – would receive a deduction of $2.50 per square foot of the $3.50 per square foot they charge on the work even though the work did meet compaction.

“We are deducting it from the contractor,” Mayor Jones said, “what they do with Rocky is up to them."

Mummey disagreed that it had been raining hard enough to stop work and said he would stands by his work, offering a 100-percent guarantee.

"The asphalt was not laid when it was raining," he said. "When I dumped the asphalt, (the asphalt) was 290 degrees, there was no water on the grade and it passed (compactions tests) easily."

Mayor Jones explained that she was acting on the information she’d received from the engineers and the City of Malta, per the contract with Helena Sand and Gravel, and it was not to have direct contact with their subcontractors.

“You will have to talk with Helena Sand and Gravel,” she said.

Mummey had previously come to a Malta City Council Meeting to ask for assistance with Helena Sand and Gravel because he wasn’t being paid for the work he’d done in 2016. The Council agreed that Helena Sand and Gravel should be paying him in a more timely fashion, but told him that the firm hadn’t billed the City for the project and, in turn, the City couldn’t release funds (government grants and loans) until they received bills. Mummey, last Tuesday at the most recent meeting, informed the City Council that it would be in their best interest not to hit him with a deduction on the latest paving work.

“I tell you, if I get screwed anymore I am done laying asphalt in this town,” Mummey said. “There is nothing wrong with the street and there is a good job on it. It is one of the better streets that has been paved. I don’t get this. I mean, I am trying to get this (expletive) done and get away from these fools. I got a lot of other work I need to do.”

“We would like to get away from them too, but unfortunately we are in a contract with them,” Mayor Jones said. “And we have spec books and we have to follow it because when we didn’t last year we ran into a mess.”

In other council news, the City of Malta is considering raising rates on work done by Public Works Employees for citizens, including mowing yards around town when those living there refuse to. Mayor Jones said that the fee increase was brought to her attention during construction conversations.

“Our fees are extremely outdated and low and the last time they were looked at was March 14, 2006,” she said.

Of the nearly two-dozen types of work and equipment the City of Malta offers, lawn care, according to Mayor Jones, are being grossly undercharged.

“Right now we charge $60 an hour if we have to go in and clean or mow a lawn,” Mayor Jones said. “Other towns around the state, like Conrad, charge $250 per for the first hour and $75 an hour after that. They used to mow 10 to 15 yards per summer when they were only charging $50 per hour and now, with the increased charges, they only mow about two.”

The council agreed that if the rates for that service were raised, City employees would spend less time mowing and cleaning yards and more time on daily task of city upkeep. Council also thought that the increase would also create more work for local grounds keepers. A public hearing will be held on June 13 to discuss replacing resolution #1012 setting fees for the use of city equipment labor and supplies used for service work on private property.