By Matthew Higbee
Connecticut Post Online (Bridgeport, Connecticut)
Copyright 2006 MediaNews Group, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
SEYMOUR, Conn. — An architectural firm hired to renovate the Seymour Ambulance Association headquarters is suing the corps and the town for an unpaid bill. Smith-Osborne Architects, which filed the lawsuit in Middletown Superior Court last week, claims it is owed more than $100,000 for construction plans it drew up for a four-ambulance garage and renovations.
The initial contract signed in April 2004 was for $92,578, the lawsuit states, but additional work requested by the town pushed the cost to $100,790. Only $1,369 has been paid, according to the lawsuit. Seymour Ambulance hired the firm to redesign its Wakelee Avenue headquarters under the leadership of former Chief Frank Marcucio III. But the association was subsequently hit with a financial crisis that led to Marcucio’s resignation.
Scott Andrews, the current association chief, said the original plans were scaled back. A second set of plans includes a new roof and renovations for part of the building, but a new garage was eliminated, Andrews said.
Andrews declined to comment on the lawsuit without speaking to the association’s attorney, Dominick Thomas, who was unavailable for comment.
Whether the association or the town is responsible for the bill appears to be in dispute. Last August, Town Counsel George Temple told the Board of Selectmen that the town was not legally responsible for any of the past architecture bills.
In May, First Selectman Robert Koskelowski sought to rewrite the town’s lease with the ambulance association, making the corps financially responsible for the remodeling. A new lease has not been signed, according to Andrews. Last August, the Emergency Medical Services Oversight Commission reported the ambulance association had achieved financial stability.