It's doesn't appear the city of Bismarck will have to pay for having the Galleria Parking Ramp fixed, as the insurance company for the subcontractor involved in the damage is conditionally approving payment for the work.

Parking authority representative Rocky Gordon, who manages the ramps, updated the Bismarck City Commission on the continuing saga of the Galleria, a portion of which was closed the first week of September.

The damage occurred during a project to remove the topping slab and attached concrete planters on the Galleria's roof.

Edsons Concrete, a subcontractor hired by the general contractor, Capital City Construction, cut through support tendons as it was removing a portion of the deck. The damage was severe enough to close the parking ramp until temporary supports were put in place. Even after this, the top three floors of the Galleria remained closed.

The insurance companies of the general contractor and subcontractor disputed actual fault in the damage, keeping any progress from being made on the repairs.

At the last meeting of the Bismarck Parking Authority, the group recommended having the city pay for the repairs, with the intent it would later recover the money from the insurance company.

"The remainder of the topping slab and planters have been successfully removed," Gordon said. "We had an intense conversation with the insurance companies regarding the damages and expectations for repair. The subcontractor's insurance company has accepted the tender of claim, but it has reserved the right to subjugate other parties for payments."

The parking authority will present the damages in a letter to the insurance company today, Gordon said.

The parking authority did ask the city commission for a waiver of the normal bidding process and the authority to proceed with the repairs.

City attorney Charlie Whitman said that repairing the damaged tendons is a specialized process, with the closest company located in Minneapolis. Whitman advised the commission that it would be proper to declare an emergency, allowing a waiver of the bidding process and proceeding with the work.

"The longer we sit on this, the longer a portion of the Galleria will remain closed. If this goes out to bid you can add at least a couple of months to the process," Whitman said.

A portion of the repair project can be done by a local contractor, and it was decided to go with Capital City Construction, since it is already mobilized at the ramp.

Warford and the other commissioners questioned whether the repairs should go ahead until they had an agreement in writing, particularly since the insurance company had included a condition.

Whitman said that the condition was not whether the insurance company was going to pay for the project, it was reserving the right to include other companies involved and get payments from them.

Commissioner Sandi Tabor moved to declare an emergency, waiving the bidding process and providing authority to go ahead with the repairs. The motion was approved unanimously.

(Reach reporter Gordon Weixel at 250-8255 or gordon.weixel@;bismarcktribune.com.)