The Horry County Police and other county offices were supposed to be moving into their new county office complex in Carolina Forest this spring.
But now, that move has been delayed until fall because of issues with subcontractors not being paid by the main contractor Cooper Tacia out of North Carolina.
The most recent situation involves Drywall Specialites, LLC who say that not only has the company not been paid what they are owed by Cooper Tacia, but also Cooper Tacia has cut their labor payment short.
Company vice-president Butch Cash said his company had an agreement to get paid every two weeks by Cooper Tacia.
鈥淲e have been on the job site for 16 to 17 weeks and have only been paid three times,鈥 Cash said. 鈥淭he last check we received from Cooper Tacia, they took it upon their self to clip our labor payment $50,000.鈥
Cash said Cooper Tacia admitted the mistake about the labor payment but wants to wait another month to clear it up.
鈥淲e will be filing claims as soon as we can retain an attorney,鈥 he said.
As to their future work on the project, Cash added, 鈥淲e don鈥檛 plan on going back due to non-payment. Life is too short to have to fight for what you work for.鈥
This is just the latest setback for the beleaguered project.
Last fall, Carolina Utilities and Sitework filed a lawsuit against Cooper Tacia over non-payment issues for extra fill work needed to get the site ready for construction.
Company owner Brandon聽Lawrence said most of his issues came over extra work order costs that the contractor refused to pay.
鈥淥ur contract said we were entitled to more money if more fill was necessary,鈥 Lawrence said. 鈥淭hey kept denying our applications.鈥
The suit states the company鈥檚 denials began in March 2024, despite being told by some Cooper Tacia officials that Carolina Utilities would be paid.
According to the official complaint, Cooper Tacia 鈥渒ept inducing Carolina Utilities to keep working鈥 with the promise of later payment, but the extra money never came.
Carolina Utilities submitted a final payment request on April 19, 2024, and Cooper Tacia told the company they could not charge for anything over the cost of the original 32,501 square feet of fill, according to the suit.
The suit is asking for $352,115 plus damages, interest, attorneys fees and court costs.
These aren鈥檛 the only companies with non-payment woes.
Carolina Utilities isn鈥檛 the only subcontractor dealing with non-payment woes.
The Construction Services Group was hired by Cooper Tacia in October 2023 to do the concrete work on the same project.
Company president Ron McCollum said his company has not been paid by Cooper Tacia for work completed.
McCollum said Cooper Tacia was invoiced in April, May, June and July last year for $517,011 and still hasn鈥檛 paid.
Previously, a law firm representing Cooper Tacia responded to news stories concerning these matters.
鈥淎s a policy, we refrain from commenting on ongoing legal matters. Therefore, this will be our sole public statement on the issue. We appreciate the trust that the taxpayers of Horry County have placed in us to build their new government complex. Thank you.鈥
(1) comment
Why is it taken too long to construct the police station, but if it was a Cook-out or a Supermarket they go up fast. Maybe County Commissioner or local Senator or Congressman put some fire under whoever needs to move this project along.
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