An arbitrator has dismissed a more than $600,000 claim by Elmer's Crane and Dozer against the City of Traverse City. The construction firm submitted a winning bid last spring for a paving and refurbishing project for the Orchard Heights subdivision for the set amount of $836,270, but later sought compensation for an additional $600,000+ in unforeseen expenses it incurred due to poor soil conditions at the construction site.

During the arbitration process, Elmer's alleged a preliminary soil report provided by the city didn't reflect the true soil conditions at the site. However, the arbitrator found that the contract between Elmer's and the city put "the burden on (Elmer's) to ascertain the soil conditions," and that the company, "after making a risky bid and suffering huge cost overruns," sought a loophole in the contract that would shift the blame to the city.

"In a nutshell, (the arbitrator) found no merit to Elmer's claims and awarded no damages to Elmer's," City Attorney Lauren Trible-Laucht summarized in an email to city commissioners. Mayor Michael Estes called the decision "great news for the city."