Public Works Projects on Hold

At this morning's Sales Tax Overview Committee(STOC) meeting, we were provided an report on the 49 projects which were placed on hold as a result of the federal indictments issued in the wake of the Public Works scandal.

I've scanned that report and posted it. To read it in it's entirety click here (PDF)

While Public Works initially reported that 49 contracts were the subject of a hold and review, it was ultimately determined that many of these matters were already 100% complete or could be completed internally. At the end of the analysis 17 contracts are at issue. These contracts fall into two categories: Consulting (design and inspection services) and Construction (where design work is complete and construction has commenced.)
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CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS
There are a total of 12 Construction contracts at issue. These contracts involve two separate companies: 1) Horizon Construction Company, Inc. and 2) Yocham Enterprises, Inc. These companies are owned by the individuals named in the federal indictments.
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Construction bidding laws require general and sub contractors to obtain performance and or payment bonds (also known as surety bonds) on certain contracts to protect tax payers against contractors who fail to complete a job or fail to pay their subcontractors. Municipalities, including Tulsa, require surety bonds on construction projects.
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When a contractor fails to perform on a contract the surety steps in to complete the project. Here, due to the indictments of the owners of Horizon and Yocham the City has notifed the sureties of the default and placed them on demand to step in to complete the following projects: (open PDF to see the list)

Employers Mutual Casualty of Des Moines, Iowa is the surety for Horizon and Granite Re of Oklahoma City is the surety for Yocham. Both have acknowledged receipt of our claims and we are in discussions with them to find a resolution to timely complete the projects.

The rest of the report outlines the consulting contracts at issue, and the completed projects. Again, you can click on the above link to read the entire report.

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Yocham Enterprises
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Breisch and Associates
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