Unpaid businessman targets village council
Derek Neary
Northern News Services
Fort Simpson (Jan 12/01) - Reg Bellefontaine wants thousands of dollars he says is owed to him by the village of Fort Simpson.
But lawyers for the village say that Bellefontaine, the owner of Rightway Coatings which worked on the legally entangled sewage treatment plant in Simpson, is pursuing the wrong party.
Bellefontaine repaired concrete in the plant nearly a year ago. But he hasn't received payment, which he says adds up to $38,179 plus interest, due to liens on the project.
Pleading his case before village council Dec. 18, Bellefontaine said his three-and-a-half-year-old company has experienced "significant financial duress due to the lateness of payment."
"I'm so close to (bankruptcy) that it's scary," he said last week. "I had to secure a loan to pay off my creditors ... that put me in debt now for another five years. All I can make now is interest payments because I can't afford to make the full payments."
Don Goodfellow, the village's Calgary-based lawyer, said Camillus Engineering Consultants Limited (CECL), the primary contractor, is the party that owes Bellefontaine the money.
"We as the owner can't step in and pay the sub-contractor," Goodfellow said.
He said CECL's performance-bond to the village could be compromised if the village were to intervene by paying the sub-contractors.
Goodfellow added the village has directed CECL, which is located in Yellowknife, to resolve issues with the lien claimants. Then the village will discuss how much it still owes to CECL, he said.
But Bellefontaine said his work could have been designated an "extra" under a contract change order. Article 20, a continency clause in the sewage treatment plant contract, sets aside $250,000 for unforseen "extras," according to Bellefontaine. He described it as "essential work" because the project couldn't have proceeded without it.
Tom Wilson, mayor of Fort Simpson, said he couldn't comment on the situation, said council anticipates construction on the sewage treatment plant will be completed by the end of this month. From a legal standpoint, he said everyone is anxious to bring things to a conclusion.
"Nobody wants this thing settled more than council," he said. "It's been a headache for a year ... we sympathize with people but we're tied up with lawyers now. There's nothing we can do about it."
Bellefontaine's report to council also indicated that his estimated damages due to loss of credibility with suppliers, freight companies and goodwill in the community amount to $50,000.
"Since the start of last year I've been told, 'Oh yeah, it's going to be cleared up next month,'" he said.
"That's been very hard for my company. I'm a small company. I'm not made of money. I've worked hard to get where I've got and it's been destroyed on me."
