Council approves $133,440 for emergency repairs on Cherry Street

The Mountain Brook City Council recently agreed to pay about $155,000 for emergency work to rebuild a retaining wall that collapsed onto a house on Cherry Street after a heavy rain in May.

The city in March had hired Gillespie Construction to install stormwater drainage improvements on several roads, including Cherry Street, to remedy severe flooding problems, and part of that project involved improvements behind a retaining wall that stabilized a driveway at 133 Cherry St., according to a memo from city attorney Whit Colvin.

However, there was significant rain around May 15, and the retaining wall collapsed onto the neighboring house at 131 Cherry St., damaging the house, making the area unstable and compromising the flood mitigation improvements that were underway, Colvin said in the memo.

Colvin, in his memo, said Gillespie Construction was asked to remediate and correct the damage and conditions but was either unwilling or unable to do so in a timely fashion, so he advised the City Council to take immediate action to prevent further damage.

The city obtained two quotes and chose to award the contract to J.D. Morris Construction for $133,440 because that company was able to begin the project almost immediately. The council later approved an additional $21,000 due to some design changes in the job, for a total cost of about $155,000.

City Manager Sam Gaston said that, while the city is paying that cost now, the city likely will seek reimbursement from others as part of a cost-sharing agreement.