Derek Neary
Northern News Services
Fort Simpson (Jun 08/01) - Fort Simpson village council has reached an agreement to keep its battle with Clark Builders out of court.
Clark Builders, a Yellowknife-based construction company, had filed a $130,000 lawsuit against the village over a recreation centre tender it felt was unjustly awarded to a higher bidder in 1997.
A few weeks ago the two parties agreed on a figure to settle the dispute. At the village's request, they also agreed to keep the amount a secret. Mayor Tom Wilson said the confidentiality clause is standard practice in such matters.
"It keeps doors from being opened for any other builders or construction companies (to sue)," he said.
Wilson said he doesn't consider the settlement an admission of wrongdoing on the village's part.
"When you look at lawyers' costs and everything else, it's like the fisherman -- sometimes you just have to cut bait and go on," he said.
Pete Simpson, manager of Clark Builders, previously told the Drum that the village had made two offers that had been rejected, but the most recent proposal was more acceptable.
"It was sufficient enough for us to seriously consider the cons of going to trial," he said. "I mean there's a lot of pressure during trial, and you never really know the outcome of trial. It was a fair settlement."
Simpson said he expects the matter to be settled in its entirety within a few weeks.
"All we ask is that anybody who is calling for tenders make sure that those tenders are totally transparent," Simpson said.
Asked whether the village's tendering policy has been amended to avoid a similar situation in the future, Wilson said it's more a matter of adhering to policy rather than revising it.
"You don't have a bunch of experts sitting around on council. You go by the advice you're given," he said. "Nobody's perfect. If any mistakes are made, you have to pay for your mistakes and move on and try and learn from them."
