Standoff between UI and Modern Piping emerges over final payment
Hunter
4/19/19
The Iowa City Press Citizen reports that the Iowa Board of Regents is accusing Modern Piping of extortion after the company requested additional monies to turn over maps and construction documents.
UI officials agreed to pay the remaining $18 million it owes the contractor after the Iowa Court of Appeals upheld a ruling earlier this month. The Regents also agreed to pay Merit Construction a settlement of $9 million.
However, UI President Bruce Harreld says that ahead of Thursday’s Board of Regents meeting, Modern Piping asked for another $500,000 to $2 million to hand over those papers detailing what pipes they put in the children’s hospital. The $18 million payment was approved based on the understanding that Modern Piping would provide those documents.
Harreld cited Merit Construction, who provided comparable documents for their work at the end of their agreement.
Harreld added that the documents are important for the hospital so that the university knows which pipes are carrying potentially dangerous gases, and claims that patients are at risk without that information.
Modern Piping refutes the claims, saying they already provided the documents to the University two years ago, but says they will provide another set once they’re paid what they’re owed. But UI officials say they won’t pay until the second set is delivered.
Ken Brown, CEO of Modern Piping, calls President Harreld’s statement “completely false.”