Clean up costs past due

Although the physical remnants of a massive ice storm that swept through Oklahoma in late 2007 have melted away, four Lincoln County cities are still feeling its effects after a Louisiana-based construction company recently filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against the municipalities claiming they’re owed more than $1.4 million for work the firm did in the storm’s aftermath.
Stroud, Chandler, Wellston and Davenport are named in a lawsuit filed in Oklahoma federal court March 13, although sources say the issues have been ongoing for quite a while. According to court documents, Stroud owes Integrated Pro Services, a company based in Belle Chasse, La., $702,864.50 plus any damages; Chandler owes $512,770.69, plus damages; Wellston owes $121,333.50, plus damages; and Davenport owes $74,595.50, plus damages.
Chester Duncan, director of city services for the city of Wellston, said the lawsuit has been festering, in one stage or another, for well more than a year. He said all four cities have “appealed” the suit and that the reason the money is late in being paid can be traced to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, an arm of the federal government made notorious after its handling of Hurricane Katrina and the deadly storm’s aftermath in 2005.
“We have yet to receive the money from FEMA,” Duncan said. “There’s not much else I can say.”
Three calls to Steve Gilbert, city manager of Stroud, were not returned.
Multiple calls to Richard Mildren, an Oklahoma City-based attorney representing Integrated Pro Services, also have not been returned.
Margaret Love, attorney for the four Lincoln County cities, did not return calls for comment on Monday.
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Andrew Knittle may be reached at 214-3926.