SS9402C-CS 960507 (2) wg
May 7, 1996 MAY - 8 1996
Transmitted via FAX-(214)304-3570
cliv MANAGER
Followed by Mail CITY OF COPPELL
Mr.Jim Witt
City Manager
City of Coppell
P.O.Box 478
Coppell,TX 75019
RE: Bethel Road Project
Dear Mr.Witt:
This is to acknowledge receipt of your facsimile letter dated May 7, 1996. Upon receipt,I attempted to
contact you but was only able to leave a voice-mail message. This is to advise you that we will not be
returning the proposed agreement forwarded to us.
To say the least,we were rather surprised by the content of your May 7 letter. I received your May 2, 1996
letter with an alternate agreement only yesterday,May 6, 1996. Continuing with our previous efforts to
resolve this matter,we have been working diligently and in good faith with Ken Griffin to resolve the issues
and contract for the reconstruction of the sewer. Due to the time restraints placed upon the project,I had
asked for a meeting with you to finalize any remaining issues so that the reconstruction could begin. While
we can understand if you have other time commitments,we believe that another meeting would be
productive and is necessary if the City wishes to expedite completion of the project.
I have referred your May 7, 1996 letter to our Legal Department for review. They have confirmed that
HDR's contractual liability is limited to correction of any design errors and that HDR is not responsible for
corrective construction or repair work. They have also confirmed that the City has an obligation to mitigate
any damages. We have provided the City with a construction bid from an alternate construction Contractor
which we believe is reasonable and certainly more cost effective than utilizing the original contractor who
may share some responsibility with HDR and the City for the costs. HDR has also expressed a willingness
to contract directly with the alternate construction Contractor to further expedite the project.
Although we have no contractual obligation,HDR has offered to share in the costs of reconstruction. We
provided to you an Agreement outlining the terms under which we would agree to participate. The City's
proposed alternate agreement is not acceptable. HDR remains willing to resolve the matter under the
conditions previously discussed. However,should further action be pursued by the City Attorney,we will
have no alternative but to withdraw our offer and rely upon our contractual and other legal obligations.
Very truly yours,
HDR ENGINEERING,INC.
William R.Hindman,P.E.
Senior Vice President
cc: L.Pachman
HDR Engineering, Inc. Suite 125 Telephone Engineering
12700 Hillcrest Road 214 960-4000 Construction Services
Dallas, Texas Fax
75230-2096 214 960-4471
OILS �E L C ppellll,Texas 75019
C The City With A Beautiful Future
P.O.Box 478 214-462-0022
Coppell,Texas 75019
C �
May 7, 1996
VIA FAX 214-960-4471
Mr. Bill Hindman
Senior Vice President
HDR Engineering
1270 Hillcrest Road, Suite 125
Dallas, Texas 75230-2096
Re: Bethel Road Project
Dear Mr. Hindman:
I have received your request to meet with you this afternoon regarding the Bethel Road project.
I have a commitment which could prevent me from being there, but in all sincerity, I do not
believe another meeting would expedite the completion of the aforementioned project.
If the agreement forwarded to you on May 2 is not received by 5 p.m., the City will have no
option but to proceed with the project with our original contractor, and turn this matter over to
our City Attorney for further action.
Res fully,
( /L---- -
Jim Witt
City Manager
JW:kb
hdrengr.507
cc: Ken Griffin
Pete Smith