June 10, 2016
Kansas

El Dorado: City files lawsuit regarding wind turbine

By Julie Clements | The Butler County Times-Gazette | Posted Jun. 9, 2016 | www.butlercountytimesgazette.com

The city of El Dorado has filed a lawsuit against two companies regarding the wind turbine at the wastewater plant.

They have filed a number of claims against GBA Building and George Associates Builders.

“What we asked designers for was a wind turbine that would provide all the electricity the waste water plant needed,” said City Manager Herb Llewellyn, adding this was the turbine recommended to the city. “Even when it ran optimally, it never provided the amount of power we asked for.”

Then two bearings went out and the turbine would not run.

“With this last failure, we decided we weren’t getting the type of support needed from the designer or builder,” Llewellyn said.

While the commission has been discussing the issue in executive sessions, action was taken during the regular session Monday to proceed with the lawsuit.

“The consensus was we needed to do something,” Llewellyn said.

The suit was filed a couple of months ago in district court.

Llewellyn asked the attorney with the firm representing the city, Ashlyn Lindskog, with Martin Pringle Attorneys at Law, to address the commission during their meeting Monday evening to let people know what was going on.

She said the lawsuit stemmed from the idea they hired these two companies to give them a certain working product and they did not get that.

To repair the turbine, would require taking it down with a cost of $300,000 to $500,000.

The commission approved 4-0, Commissioner Chase Locke was absent, proceeding with the legal action.

They are now doing discovery and have filed suit. Next will be the depositions and then the case will go before the judge.

Lindskog had told the commission it would take a little bit of time to get all of the documents together.

Llewellyn said it wouldn’t surprise him if it was next year before the case went before the judge.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2016/06/10/el-dorado-city-files-lawsuit-regarding-wind-turbine/