Council tables UBC Precast discussion
The Newcastle City Council is unsure how to proceed with collecting the judgment awarded to the city after City Attorney Dublin Hughes filed suit on behalf of the city against UBC Precast, an Idaho business owned by Greg Hoskins, when the company failed to deliver the contracted precast restroom for Dow Park.
On March 18, the council discussed whether it would hire an Idaho attorney to move forward on the judgment after Hughes received a quote from Racine Olson, an Idaho law firm, for $1,000 to file the foreign judgment and $275 per hour to collect the judgment.
The total amount of the judgment is $48,189.10, according to City Clerk-Treasurer Stacy Haggerty.
According to Hughes, his research had not turned up any property for Hoskins.
Sentiment amongst the council on whether or not to proceed was mixed. Councilman Don Steveson said that $1,000 is not a lot of money to get back the money the city has invested.
“I think we need to pursue what is available,” Steveson said.
Councilman Tyrel Owens, on the other hand, questioned expensing additional taxpayer dollars to go after funds that may never be received.
“If he doesn’t own any
property or have any deeded property in that specific county, there is really no leverage for us to make any gains,” Owens said.
With the hopes of getting more information, the council voted to table the discussion until April 1.
On April 1, Hughes reported that he still had not received documentation on owned property by Hoskins and no further discussion was had.
The timeline
According to Greg Stumpff, public works supervisor, UBC Precast submitted a low bid of $62,410.00 for a precast restroom at Dow Park on April 5, 2022.
“The contract stated that the building was to be delivered in 120 days after the original contract was signed and the date which it was signed and executed [was] on April 13, 2022,” Stumpff told the News Letter Journal.
At some point, UBC Precast requested more time to deliver the product, which Stumpff said he assumed was due to supply chain issues.
“This was a reasonable request; we were seeing supply chain issues with everything the city was doing at the time,” he said.
After former city engineer Mike Moore’s resignation, Stumpff said he contacted the company on Sept. 13, 2022, and requested information on completion dates and the prep work that needed to be completed by city crews.
“I received an email from UBC explaining the supply chain issues. I was told that a portion of the work was completed but not the entire project,” he said. “On Feb. 21, 2023, I received an email from UBC stating that the first milestone was met and UBC requested to be paid $31,205 for work performed to that date.”
At that time, Stumpff said he requested an expected delivery date and was told sometime in June.
“The last contact I had with UBC was May 9, 2023, when I asked specific questions about the plumbing placement. We were working with a local plumber to install the plumbing under the building and had to be completed before the building arrived,” he said. “My questions were answered. That was the last time UBC responded to me.”
After several calls, Stumpff sent his last email to the company on July 13, 2023, with no further communications received.
Shortly after that, Stumpff spoke with Hughes, who took over the matter.
Hughes told the council over several meetings that he had attempted to contact UBC Precast through several avenues, including certified mail, to no avail.
On Oct. 2, 2023 the council directed Hughes to file suit against UBC Precast and he reported on Oct. 16 that it had been filed, according to Haggerty.
The default hearing was held on Feb. 27, 2024. Following the hearing, the council voted on March 4 for Hughes to find an Idaho law firm to enter the foreign judgement.