The Eastern Plains Badger

Elizabeth trustees approve $1.48 million settlement with streetscape contractor

The proposed agreement would end Triple M Construction’s Main Street contract, but final attorney review, payment and unfinished work remain unresolved.

Published Elbert County
Illustrative roadway cross-sections from the Town of Elizabeth 2040 Transportation Plan, showing arterial, collector and local street layouts with sidewalks, trees, parking and bike facilities.
Illustrative roadway cross-sections from the Town of Elizabeth 2040 Transportation Plan, showing arterial, collector and local street layouts with sidewalks, trees, parking and bike facilities.

Elizabeth trustees unanimously approved a proposed $1.48 million settlement with Triple M Construction on Aug. 25, ending the company’s contract for the Main Street Streetscape Project while leaving final legal and payment steps unresolved.

The board approved Resolution 26R24 subject to the town attorney’s final approval of a provision addressing attorney fees for a material breach. The provision would allow either the town or Triple M to seek prevailing-party attorney fees if the other materially breaches the agreement, the meeting video shows.

The settlement agreement terminates Triple M’s Aug. 13, 2024, trade contractor agreement “for convenience” and sets a final settlement amount of $1,483,345.13. The original contract amount was $2,915,834.

Payment has not been verified. The town administrator said at the meeting that the town would issue a check after the statutory subcontractor-notice period ends.

The agreement releases known warranty, punch-list and other disputed items but does not waive claims involving faulty or defective work that was unknown or undiscovered as of Aug. 25. Triple M also must cooperate if the town pursues a claim against the project’s design engineer. The agreement identifies potential design deficiencies as a significant part of the dispute.

The statutory final-settlement process remained pending as of Aug. 27. The town’s contractor-settlement notice sets Sept. 8, 2026, at 5 p.m. as the deadline for entities that supplied labor, materials, equipment, tools or other supplies to Triple M or its subcontractors to submit verified claims to the Town Clerk. If claims are filed, the town must withhold amounts as required by law.

The records reviewed do not provide a revised completion schedule, replacement contractor, rebid date, funding plan or list of remaining streetscape work. They refer to potentially incomplete or defective work and disputes over responsibility for completing the project, but do not establish what work remains or who will perform it.

The town’s Community Development webpage labels the Main Street Streetscape project “Complete,” but the undated page does not provide a closeout date or explain how that status relates to the settlement’s references to potentially incomplete or defective work.