Mountain Brook council OKs $133,000 for collapsed retaining wall repair

The Mountain Brook City Council on Monday agreed to pay $133,440 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 and along 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, on or about May 15, a significant rain event occurred, and the retaining wall collapsed onto the house next door at 131 Cherry St., damaging the house and compromising the flood mitigation improvements that were under way, Colvin said in the memo.

“The retaining wall itself was over 6 feet in places, and a screening fence was located on the top of the wall,” Colvin said. “The wall and the fence collapsed such that it now lies against the adjacent home. … The building envelope was compromised, and the areas where the wall now lies are unstable. The concern is that an additional rain event will cause further settlement and compound the damage already caused. A significant rain event could also compromise the newly installed stormwater system as it is not currently backfilled and covered, pursuant to the design and construction drawings.”

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 the City Council chose to award the contract to J.D. Morris Construction for $133,440 because that company is able to begin the project almost immediately. The job is to restore the site to “pre-incident conditions.”

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. The job should take two to three weeks, Gaston said.

The city’s contract with Gillespie Construction for the initial stormwater improvements was for $892,360, but that also included work on Euclid Avenue, Lorena Lane and Fairmont Drive, City Clerk Heather Richards said.

In other business Monday, the Mountain Brook City Council:

• Held a first reading of an ordinance to create a 25mph speed limit on Marlboro St.
• Heard a report from Gaston about the city receiving a Leading the Way award from the Kansas-based ETC Institute for being in the top 10% among city governments that had residents complete the institute’s surveys between January and May of this year regarding the city’s delivery of services to residents
• Recognized incoming Mountain Brook Junior High seventh grader Carter Kirksey as the city’s “mayor for a day.”
• Set a special meeting for 8 a.m. on Monday, July 31, to consider awarding bids to repair damage from a sprinkler system accident at the O’Neal Library.

The next regular meeting for the council is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Aug. 14.