The only company to bid to restore the Rachel at the Well site, badly damaged by Hurricane Ian, is suing the city of Fort Myers.
Neubert Construction is asking the Lee Circuit Court for an injunction. The suit says Neubert wants a chance to explain to the City Council why it should get more money for the job.
Rachel is the statue near the Edison Estates surrounded by tall columns and backed by a fence.
Also known as the Spirit of Fort Myers, the statue and surrounding columns are nearly 100 years old. The site is a landmark at the entrance to Edison Park.
The statue of the maiden at a water well has been restored since Ian, two-and-a-half years ago. But the surrounding tall columns and fence were badly damaged by the hurricane and have not been repaired or put back in place.
Neubert originally bid more than $400,000 to restore the statue’s base and rebuild the columns and fence.
But Scott Hertz, the company's attorney, says the city also asked Neubert to put a work trailer on the site, and assign a supervisor exclusively to this one job.
"That site is very tight," Hertz said. "There is no way to fit a construction trailer in that space."
Hertz also explained that it made no sense to have a supervisor assigned only to this job, which by construction standards in this area, is not particularly big. Neubert has indicated that the base needs repair, and the columns must be reinforced with steel rods, known as rebar in the industry.
The company also has said the fence needs to be attached to the columns with longer screws. The previous screws were only two inches, and not nearly strong enough to hold against Ian's winds.
The company said the demands from the city add more than $300,000 to the cost, boosting the total to more than $800,000.
When those numbers were presented to the City Council in February, members voted to end negotiations with Neubert, according to the suit.
"It is frustrating that the council will not allow Neubert to explain all this," attorney Hertz said.
At this point Neubert is not asking for damages from the city. Rather it wants the court to enjoin the city from moving forward with a new bid process, and to request that the council allow Neubert to make a formal presentation of the work and the costs.
The suit does ask that the city pay Neubert's attorney fees and court costs resulting from the legal action.
The city of Fort Myers said it is aware of the suit, but has not been served yet.
The Fort Myers public information officer sent an e-mail to WGCU News.
"City management is looking to complete the Rachel at the Well restoration process as soon as possible and currently exploring more cost-effective options," the message said.
Fort Myers has about a month to respond to the suit.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. Mike Walcher is a reporter with WGCU News, and also teaches in the FGCU Journalism program.