NEWS RELEASES
Minnesota Campground Project Encounters Numerous Problems
Editor's Note: This news item was retrieved and first published through Timberjay's website.
TOWER, MN — The Timberjay, a news outlet in Northern Minnesota, reported the results of its investigation into the construction boondoggles and cost overruns that have plagued an upgrade at the city-owned Hoodoo Point Campground and caused contention among contractors and city officials. The original plan, begun in 2018, called for the addition of seven seasonal RV sites and an upgrade to aging wastewater infrastructure. In the end, poor design, which ranged from RV utilities placed on the wrong side of the new campsites to a sewer line with dips and insufficient slope, led to a final cost nearly twice the original estimate for the project.
The Timberjay spoke with campground managers, Randy and Julie Pratt, who received permission from current city officials to speak about the subject. The Pratts say they attempted to alert project managers and now-former city officials about sloppy work by the contractor, Utility Systems of America (USA), and questionable engineering and oversight by the city’s engineering firm, Short, Elliott and Hendrickson (SEH). The former city officials in charge of the project, clerk-treasurer Linda Keith and former mayor Josh Carlson, both currently facing criminal charges for misconduct in another matter, largely ignored the Pratt’s pleas to intervene and refused to allow them to speak publicly about the project or to discuss problems with the project’s contractors or engineers.
Read the full results of the investigation on The Timberjay website.