The Liberty County Development Authority on Monday approved $13,700 in work to correct leakage issues at the Hugo Boss building in the Midway Industrial Park.

LCDA CEO Ron Tolley said the company has experienced leakage in the building for a number of years.

“At the last meeting I mentioned, the problem was that Hugo Boss was experiencing some leakage, and we have done some work in the past lowering the dirt a bit away from the building ... it wasn’t lowered as much as [designer Hussey, Gay, Bell & DeYoung] had suggested, but it was still sufficient to take care of it,” Tolley said.

But the problem has persisted, and Tolley said designer HGBD and builder Choate Construction have identified dirt around the building as a cause of the leaks.

The proposed solution includes lowering the grade of the dirt surrounding the building and deepening the bottom of the runoff area, according to a diagram Tolley presented to the board.

He added that Hugo Boss is planning to replace a portion of the wall in the affected area and add flashing to the area.

Three companies submitted estimates for the work, but the estimates contained varying scopes of labor to correct the issue.

The lowest estimate, $5,200, came from Savannah-based JDR Construction & Design, a company that Hugo Boss previously has worked with, according to LCDA Finance & Administration Director Carmen Cole.

The board selected Midway-based Coastal Site Services, the second-lowest estimate at $13,700, after discussion and concern that the lowest estimate may not capture the full scope of work that needs to be done at the site.

The Coastal Site Services estimate includes removing 3,000 square feet of sod and four existing wax myrtles, lowering the grade eight inches, evacuating the bottom of the swale to create a 2-foot elevation difference, replacing the wax myrtles and re-sodding.
The third estimate, $14,725, was from Southern Pride Lawn Care of Guyton.

Chairman Allen Brown asked whether the builder or designer had any responsibility to correct the wrong.

“HGBD says that, because we have an issue, we do need to properly maintain the seal, so it’s probably questionable whether that has been done, but given the minor expense here versus how major a partner Hugo is in our community … personally, I think it would be good of us to show a goodwill gesture there and take care of our issue,” Tolley said.

Present board members Al Williams, Robert Stokes and John McIver approved the work. Members Brian Smith, Paul Krebs and Jim Thomas were not present.

In other business, the LCDA:

• approved a budget adjustment to reflect an additional $229,752 in cash being carried from the 2012 fiscal year to the 2013 fiscal year.

• heard updates on the issue of back taxes for Bioagra equipment from attorney Kelly Davis, who suggested that the LCDA establish a policy to communicate projects and any tax abatements with the tax appraisers’ office to prevent such confusion in the future.