All bonds, insurance and other financial guarantees required under this section shall be secured from companies authorized to do business in the State, and shall be deposited and remain at all times with the City Finance Director.
(a) Plan Checking and Field Inspection. Prior to the commencement of Construction, the subdivider shall deposit an amount of money equal to the estimated cost of plan checking and field inspection. All work done by the Engineer in connection with checking, computing and correcting such plans for improvements, all Ohio Edison street light connection fees, and all street name sign installation fees and all other applicable fees directly related to the review, inspection and/or installation of subdivision improvements, shall be charged against such deposit. If, during the progress of the work, the cost thereof appears to exceed the amount so deposited, the Engineer shall notify the subdivider of this fact and shall do no further work in connection with such review until the subdivider has deposited such additional sum of money determined necessary by the Engineer to cover the cost of the work. The subdivider shall also pay to the Office of the Finance Director an amount fixed by City Council per man hour for field inspection of the improvements. The estimated inspection fees shall be determined by the Engineer. The subdivider is held responsible for all of the above listed fees. The performance bond posted by the subdivider guarantees the payment of all of the above listed fees, and no bonds will be released until all inspection fees have been paid in full.
(b) Insurance. The owner shall save the City, its officers and agents harmless from all claims of any nature whatsoever by any person, firm or corporation, either for damages to person or to property, arising out of the carrying out of the work, and/or from liability from all claims relating to labor or material furnished for the entire work and material used in constructing the improvements. The owner shall, prior to recording of the record plat, furnish the City with evidence of paid-up insurance for the protection of himself and the City that provides public liability insurance and automobile insurance in the following minimum amounts and coverages:
Bodily injury, each person | $1,000,000 |
Bodily injury, each occurrence: | $2,000,000 |
Property damage, each accident: | $250,000 |
Property damage, aggregate: | $500,000 |
(c) Construction Agreement. To assure construction and installation of improvements required by these Regulations, the subdivider shall execute a construction agreement with the City in form and substance as determined by the City Engineer and approved by the Law Director. This agreement shall provide that all such improvements shall be constructed and installed at the subdivider's expense in compliance with the standards and specifications for each of the various types of improvements; such improvements shall be available to and for the benefit of the lands within such subdivision; such improvements will be completed and installed within the time for completion as set forth in the ordinance approving the record plat. Any further provisions that the Law Director may deem necessary to the public interest may be added, including the right to request surveys, resurveys, title searches or liquidated damage clauses. The construction agreement shall further provide that, if the improvements are not completed within the specified time, the City, upon proper notice, may complete the improvements and recover full costs and expenses thereof from the subdivider and may appropriate each portion of money or bonds posted for the faithful performance of such works. Prior to Council accepting this Construction Agreement, the subdivider must submit a Performance Guarantee (refer to Section 1173.08
(e)).
(d) Commencement of Improvements. No construction of any improvements or clearing, grubbing and grading shall be commenced prior to the approval of the construction agreement by Council.
(e) Performance Guarantee.
(1) Type of guarantee. The subdivider, when requesting Council's approval of the Construction agreement and/or the record plat, shall execute and file with the Finance Director the construction agreement provided for herein, and also shall file with the Finance Director a full construction letter of credit in an amount equal to the estimated cost of all the improvements which he has agreed to build and install, plus an additional five percent of such cost. The additional amount shall provide for any margin of error in estimation and shall also be available to the City to offset increased construction costs and administrative costs which the City may incur if it is forced to complete the improvements under the forfeiture provisions hereof. The subdivider’s engineer shall prepare a cost estimate and submit it to the City Engineer for approval. The letter of credit shall specifically stipulate that all draw requests must be approved in advance by the City Engineer. Additionally, the letter of credit becomes null and void only after the City Engineer certifies the completion of the work. Finally, the letter of credit must specifically state that the City may draw upon this letter of credit to complete any improvements not completed by the subdivider within the specific time periods established herein. The form of the letter of credit must be approved by the Finance Director and the Law Director. An example of an acceptable letter of credit can be found in the appendix of this section.
(2) Term of guarantee. The letter of credit shall be for a period of time at least one year longer than the time in which the subdivider is to complete his improvements. In the case of a surety bond, it shall provide that no reasonable extension of time granted the subdivider by the City shall act as a release of the surety or sureties.
(f) Final Inspection. Upon completion of all the various items of work, the subdivider may apply to the City for final inspection. If the City finds that all installations meet the requirements of the approved plans and specifications, and the same are approved and accepted by the City Engineer, then the performance bond may be discharged, provided that the subdivider has first posted his maintenance bond as provided for herein. All items found to be not acceptable by the City Engineer at the time of the final inspection must be corrected prior to the issuance of any building permits. The subdivider will not be allowed to apply for any building permits within the subject subdivision until all improvements (excepting sidewalks) have been completed to the satisfaction of the City Engineer and all required submittals have been forwarded to and approved by the City Engineer.
(g) Maintenance Guarantees. A cash maintenance bond or a corporate surety bond shall be posted with the City in the amount of ten percent of the cost of improvements and shall be arranged for a period of 24 months from the date of final inspection and approval of improvements by the City Engineer. The bond shall be subject to approval by the Finance Director and the Law Director. The subdivider shall be responsible for routine maintenance of all improvements within twenty-four months, and shall repair all failures due to faulty construction as soon as they become apparent. The subdivider shall also make repairs due to erosion or abuse by utility companies and shall repair all failures for all other reasons during the maintenance guarantee period. The streets and other improvements shall be in a condition acceptable to the City Engineer at the end of the maintenance period. If the subdivider fails to perform such maintenance to the complete satisfaction of the City Engineer, the City Engineer may use such cash maintenance guarantee to complete the required improvements.
(h) Bond Release. At the termination of the twenty-four month maintenance period the subdivider may apply to the City for an inspection of the various items of work. Before the inspection is made the subdivider shall cause the sanitary sewers, storm sewers and the surface of the pavement and walk to be cleaned. The City shall require the replacement of any defective work or materials, or of any walk that has been damaged within the twenty-four month maintenance period. When the City finds that any defects in workmanship or materials which might have developed within the twenty-four month maintenance period have been properly corrected and that other obligations of the bond have been satisfied, it shall notify the subdivider that the bond may be released, and the City shall assume all maintenance thereafter.
(i) Bond Forfeited. If the improvements are not completed as proposed within the time limit that was established in the acceptance ordinance, or an extended time period approved by Council, the performance bond shall be forfeited and the money shall be collected by the City and used to complete the specified improvements. The money that is collected from the bond shall be used for no other purpose, except that the City may charge ten percent in addition to the cost of the improvements for administrative overhead. Any money remaining after the completion of the work shall be returned to the original depositor. If at the termination of the eighteen-month maintenance period the subdivider fails to make the repairs, corrections or improvements which are ascertained by the City Engineer, then the City may declare the bond and use the proceeds to make repairs and corrections necessary and to perform the maintenance required of the subdivider. The money so collected shall be used for no other purpose except that the City may charge ten percent in addition to the cost of the repairs, corrections or maintenance to offset administrative overhead, and any remaining funds shall be returned to the original depositor.
(j) Miscellaneous. The guarantees for performance and maintenance provided for herein may be combined in a single document or instrument so long as the obligations are clearly stated and the City is not prejudiced by combining them. Any such combination bond must be approved by the Law Director. At any time during the existence of the performance or maintenance obligations, the subdivider may exchange one form of guarantee for another so long as the City is not thereby prejudiced. Any application for such a substitution must first have the approval of the Law Director.