Lake Village dispute settledRobinson Construction to finish some work at subdivisionBy Blythe Terrell (Contact) Steamboat Pilot & Today Thursday, June 25, 2009 Steamboat Springs — The town of Hayden and Oregon-based Robinson Construction have agreed on a deal to repair infrastructure at Lake Village subdivision. The neighborhood in southern Hayden has sat unoccupied since Robinson filed liens in September 2007, alleging it had not been paid for work. The developer, Mountain Adventure Property Investments, has since entered bankruptcy proceedings. But months of negotiations have paid off for the town and Robinson Construction. The company expects to get to work in a few days, said Kirk Moisan, a project executive for Robinson Construction. “We’ve agreed to complete the punch list as we would have if we would have completed the whole project, just the normal course of business,” Moisan said. “And the town has agreed to have us complete some of the work that’s not complete, so they defined the scope a month ago, and we’ve been going back and forth over the money.” Town Manager Russ Martin has vowed that no town cash will pay for repairs at Lake Village. Money for legal fees and work has come from a $502,000 letter of credit developers received for the project. Robinson, which is not affiliated with RN Robinson & Son, of Hayden, will obtain another warranty bond to ensure that work is done to inspector specifications. Martin said Tuesday that he was pleased with the agreement with Robinson. Lake Village was meant to be part of a 1,040-acre project called the Villages at Hayden. Developers planned 86 single-family residences and six townhomes on the 40 acres off Routt County Road 53 in southern Hayden. Instead, it consists only of five empty model homes and an unused playground. The work Robinson will do includes repairing a sagging sewer line, adding street signs, landscaping at the park and installing sidewalk ramps, Moisan said. “It’s just detail items that never got completed because we never came back to the project,” he said. He expects the work to be finished in 45 to 60 days. Some work will remain for whoever takes over the subdivision. Lake Village is in the control of Glen Anstine, the Chapter 7 trustee handling the Mountain Adventure Property Investments bankruptcy from Denver. Anstine’s job is to sell whatever assets he can and pay creditors. For months, Robinson Construction has said Mountain Adventure Property Investments owes it money. The company never paid Robinson Construction $5 million for work at Lake Village, Hidden Springs and Mount Harris at the Cliffs, Moisan has said. MAPI filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2008. The bankruptcy was converted to a Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy in October. Mountain Adventure Property Investments was a partnership of 4-S Development, Grassy Creek Holding Co., Oregon-based Robinson and Sons and FSB Bancorp., of Oklahoma. Local developers Ron Sills and Roger Johnson run 4-S and Grassy Creek, respectively. They couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday. 4-S filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and Grassy Creek is in Chapter 7. Johnson previously denied that Robinson deserved more payment. Moisan said 4-S Development recently changed its tune. “They wanted us to vote for their reorganization plan, and we wouldn’t do it till they agreed they actually owed us the money,” he said. 4-S stipulated that it owed Robinson but hasn’t paid any money, Moisan said. |
