Franklin County agrees to settlement with Orion Marine over damaged fishing pier

Franklin County commissioners have agreed to settle out of court with the Orion Marine Group for damages done to the St. George Island fishing pier in 2012.

A barge owned by Orion Marine damaged the St. George Island fishing pier in 2012 during Tropical Storm Debby.

The barge slammed into the pier during the storm and knocked out three sections of roadway, leaving a 165 foot gap in the pier.

Repairing the pier cost about 650 thousand dollars which was paid for through the county’s bridge fund.

Franklin County spent another 100 thousand dollars preparing for litigation.

On Tuesday, the county signed off on a settlement offer that recovers much of the money, but not all of it.

Under the agreement, Orion Marine will pay the county 575 thousand dollars within the next 20 days.

That comes out to about 72 percent of what Franklin County paid out.

The board could have taken the issue to court, but would have run the risk of getting even less money - and certainly would have increased its expenses.

A half million dollars will go back into the Bridge Fund which will bring the fund up to about 1.5 million.

$75,000 dollars will be put back into General Fund, to cover some of the legal expenses.

http://live.oysterradio.com/