City and business settle on losses
By Melinda Harrell
Published in News on January 28, 2016 1:52 PM
The city of Goldsboro reached a compromise this week with a downtown business owner to recoup some of the losses that construction of Streetscape caused.
Chef Herb Herbst, owner of Chef Herb's Bistro on Walnut Street, will be receiving compensation for two and a half days of lost business due to water being shut off to his business and a water filtration system that was damaged to the amount of $625.
Herbst began the process to get compensated for lost business in August of 2015 by filing an insurance claim of around $8,000, said City Manager Scott Stevens.
The initial claim included lost sales due to street closing as well as the days the business closed due to the water cut off and filtration system.
Stevens said that claim was denied by the city's insurance carrier.
Since filing the claim in August, Herbst has been vocal about the struggle his business underwent, attending council meetings and discussing the issues with city officials and other downtown businesses over the past months.
Herbst and Stevens met Tuesday to discuss the settlement and the final amount of $625 was agreed upon.
Herbst said he was adamant about being compensated for the two and half days of lost business because of the water being shut off and his equipment repair.
"If you are going to close a business and damage equipment, then it is your responsibility," Herbst said.
Stevens said that the city did not pay for lost compensation due to the streets being closed, but decided to pay the agreed upon amount to "err on the side of the customer."
"We have had a number of meetings with businesses," Stevens said.
"We didn't pay for lost sales due to the street being closed. We paid for the loss of sales where the water was cutoff, in (Herbst's view) he was significantly impacted. I think we try to err on the side of the customers, but did I have data to support (the impact to the business)? No I did not."
Herbst said he is satisfied with the settlement that was reached, as his major points of concern were addressed and his business was subsequently compensated for them.
"From my standpoint, I am going to take my money and reinvest it back into my business," Herbst said.
"I am satisfied, but I will still advocate for every other business down here."
Stevens also said that the city is willing to talk to any business owner who feels like the construction of Streetscape affected their bottom line.
"I would encourage them to call us, and we would be happy to talk with them," Stevens said.
Stevens said no other business has contacted the city about the issue, however.