Waste agency settles lawsuit with contractor

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Linn County/Cedar Rapids Solid Waste Agency's board has settled a lawsuit in a dispute over how much dirt a contractor hauled to cap off and close the “Mount Trashmore” landfill in 2006.

The contractor, Tschiggfrie Excavating Co. of Dubuque, initially had asked the waste agency to pay $604,000 for one quantity of dirt at the site, though the agency questioned both the quantity and the billing, Karmin McShane, the agency's executive director, told the board Tuesday.

Tschiggfrie went to court in 2008, and eventually, the parties entered into mediation.

Under the settlement, the agency will pay Tschiggfrie $65,000 while the agency's engineering firm and a subcontractor will pay Tschiggfrie $42,500 each.

The agency reopened the Site 1 landfill south of downtown Cedar Rapids, known to many as Mount Trashmore, in 2008 to take in debris from that June's historic flooding. The landfill continues to take in flood-related demolition debris.

In the settlement, none of the parties admitted fault and all will pay their own attorneys' fees, McShane said.