Demolition contractor sues city of West Allis, Wisconsin

After West Allis considered taking money from Champion Environmental Services Inc. to satisfy a claim from Advanced Waste Services Inc., Champion hit back with a $2.2 million claim against the city.

Champion, Gilberts, Ill., was the lead contractor on the 2007 West Allis project to demolish the old Pressed Steel Tank Co. Inc. facility. Midway through the project, the city brought in Advanced Waste Services, Rockford, Ill., to remove contaminated fill from the site.

Advanced, on March 19, said Champion owes it $96,100 for work Advanced performed, and the city agrees Champion is responsible for the bill, said Scott Post, West Allis city attorney.

Post said he does not know if the $2.2 million claim Champion filed May 16 was intended to pressure the city on the Advanced Waste dispute.

"I have no idea what they're trying to do -- get two and a quarter million more than the contract," he said, "That's all I know."

Champion submitted a low bid (PDF) of $760,000 in August 2006 to win the contract, and undercut the next-highest bidder by $95,000. Demolition began in January 2007.

The city acquired the 10-acre property to redevelop it as part of the Six Points/Farmers Market tax-incremental finance district.

TIF enables municipalities to borrow money to fund infrastructure improvements for an area that otherwise would be difficult to develop. Money that would ordinarily be used to pay property taxes on the land is diverted from the tax roll to pay off the loan.

Post and Christopher St. Clair, West Allis principal engineer on the demolition project, said the city paid Champion for all of its costs on the project. St. Clair said the company's claim made for interesting reading, but was unfounded.

Dominic Gorniak, president of Champion, would not comment on the ongoing dispute. Attorneys and executives for Advanced Waste Services did not respond to repeated calls for comment.

The lion's share of Champion's claim, $1.2 million, is because it couldn't salvage any recoverable materials from the old Pressed Steel Tank building. According to the claim, Champion employees saw $400,000 worth of copper wire, $323,000 in crane rail and supports, five transformers worth $75,000 and other valuable things in the building during the pre-bid walkthrough.

Champion factored that into its bid because the contract said contractors could keep the proceeds from selling salvaged materials. But, when Champion began work on the site, all of the items were gone, according to the claim.

Pressed Steel Tank's assets on the property were caught up in lawsuits that many firms filed against the company when it went into receivership, Post said.

St. Clair said the city had nothing to do with it.

"I can guarantee that the city of West Allis did not go in there and take anything out of the building," he said.

The rest of Champion's claim is for extra work performed due to site conditions that weren't included in the bidding documents and reports prepared by city consultant Arcadis U.S. Inc., a national consultant based in Highlands Ranch, Colo. Champion's claim also demands the city pay Advanced Waste Services' claims for hauling and disposal costs.

St. Clair said workers found more asbestos than Arcadis reported in the bidding documents, and West Allis approved change orders that Champion requested for the additional work.

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