The contractor that recently renovated the Bellwood Dam for the Altoona Water Authority has sued the authority for $8.9 million, an amount over and above the contracted price of $20.6 million, alleging that it’s due that sum because of delays, uncompensated additional work and redesigns, all beyond its control, according to a complaint filed with Blair County court.

The claims of Allison Park Contracting in the complaint are “without merit,” as the firm entered into a “fixed-cost, fixed-time” agreement “with full knowledge of the project scope and requirements (and) throughout the course of construction (it) demonstrated repeated performance deficiencies that hindered progress and compliance with contractual obligations” — ultimately failing to complete the work as required, according to a written authority statement handed out at a recent board meeting.

Delays began immediately, as it took the authority from the project start date of March 1, 2022, to June 20 that year to empty the reservoir, rather than the expected 10 days, according to the company’s complaint.

There was additional work required throughout the project and further delays for the company when it was discovered that the company needed to do unexpected “undercutting” to remove unstable subsoil to ensure proper foundations for multiple structures, according to the complaint.

There were drainage issues that required installation of additional pumps, according to the complaint, as well as a lack of direction from the authority on filling areas where subsoil was removed.

There was a stoppage of sediment removal from the reservoir basin due to objections from the township government where it was supposed to be deposited, then problems that needed to be corrected with the design of a new deposit location near the reservoir worksite, according to the complaint.

There was also a much larger amount of sediment to be removed than originally estimated, according to the complaint.

There was a need to redesign a concrete “anchor plan,” according to the complaint.

Cumulative time lost due to the various delays led to the contractor still being unexpectedly on the job in August and September 2024 when Hurricane Debbie caused damage that led to additional work.

In addition to the lost time and the additional work, the issues created by the authority and its consulting engineer Gwin Dobson and Foreman interfered with the contractor’s pace of work and created inefficiencies, according to the complaint.

The contractor finished the dam project in October 2024.

There were lengthy discussions between the parties that led to a company proposal for a change order in June 2025 for the additional $8.9 million, but the authority denied it in September, according to the complaint.

The company filed a formal claim for the money later in September, a claim the authority denied in December, according to the complaint.

“The AWA hasn’t made any officers to pay APC compensation to which it is entitled,” the complaint states.

The law firm McNees Wallace and Nurick of Harrisburg filed the suit for Allison Park on Jan. 20.

Authority solicitor David Gaines filed the authority’s initial response.

At its most recent meeting, the authority assigned its defense of the case to Tucker Arensberg of Pittsburgh, whose attorney Matthew Hoffman subsequently filed an appearance with the court.

The Allison Park suit also demands $50,000 from Gwin Dobson and Foreman.

On behalf of the engineering firm, attorneys from Burns White in West Conshohocken have asked the court to dismiss that part of the suit “with prejudice.”

The authority has “made numerous good-faith efforts to work with (Allison Park) to address and resolve these issues” without success, the authority stated. “(A) thorough review of the facts and project record” shows that the company’s claims are not valid, according to the statement.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.