The Town of Huntington is seeking to recover $2 million in damages for problems at the Woodbine Marina in Northport.
The lawsuit, filed in State Supreme Court, and announced Tuesday, calls for more than $1 million in compensatory damages each from the two defendants, and claims breach of contract, negligence and misrepresentation of expertise, failures in calculations and design, among other deficiencies, which have resulted in costly damage, dangerous, unsafe and hazardous conditions, and lost revenue to the Town.
It was filed against L.K. McLean Associates, P.C. (McLean) and Bellingham Marine (Bellingham). Neither responded immediately to questions about the suit.
In addition to the lawsuit, the town distributed a video shot this weekend that shows problems at the marina.
“Nine years ago, the Town relied on the defendants’ expertise and representations to the detriment of our taxpayers and, disappointingly, this process repeated itself four years ago after the first two rounds of costly damage occurred. While we can’t change the past, we are fighting to recover the taxpayers’ investment in this project while we consider options for the future use of the Woodbine Marina site,” said Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci.
The town signed an agreement with the two companies in August 2011 for the repair and replacement of docks, which the town now says have not stood up to weather conditions.
As a result, the Town will not be operating Woodbine Marina this year. Slipholders from Woodbine were eligible for a lottery for open slips at Mill Dam Marina, which has undergone major renovations this year.
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