By Sylvia Maria Gross
Kansas City, MO – The Kansas City Missouri City Council agreed on Thursday to pay a local contractor for the work he did on the 18th and Vine museums almost ten years ago. Rick Gill ran a successful construction business, and had won several awards from minority and Hispanic contractors associations. But his company fell apart over the past decade, while he's tried to get the city, or the authority it established, to pay up.
A Jackson County jury awarded him almost 2 million dollars in 2002 when he sued the 18th and Vine authority. After an unsuccessful appeal, the city transferred the authority's assets to a new entity. Gill, who had yet to receive any money, was about to return to court on Monday, alleging that the city created the new authority to avoid the payment.
After mediation on Wednesday, city officials agreed to pay Gill 3 million dollars, which will wipe out a contingency fund the city had set aside this fiscal year for emergencies like responding to an ice storm or a flood. Rick Gill told KCUR's Sylvia Maria Gross that he's relieved that it's finally over.