Sapulpa Ward 2 City Councilor Brian Stephens, the owner of CCR Construction, along with Freedom Electrical Services, Inc. has filed suit against Creek County Treasurer Don Engle over non-payment for remodeling work on his personal residence that happened earlier this year, according to court records filed on October 25th, 2021.
The work, performed between March and July of 2021, amounted to $19,854.00 in labor and materials for CCR Construction, and $6,380.40 in labor and materials for Freedom Electrical. Stephens says they have not been paid for that work, despite having a contract with Engle. “Some of us can’t afford to not get paid,” he said in a phone conversation with Sapulpa Times.
Don and Deana Engle say that they paid Stephens $30,000 for what Don Engle described as “atrocious” work. “It’s the shoddiest contracting work I’ve ever seen in my life,” he said.
In a phone interview with Sapulpa Times, Deana explained that they were told the project would take six to eight weeks, but that it lasted over five months. “We were living in an 18-ft travel trailer in our backyard while this was going on,” Don Engle said.
According to Stephens, CCR and Freedom Electrical both worked as independent contractors during the remodel project, but decided to file suit together to be more cost-efficient. Don Engle says he never expected to receive a bill from Freedom Electrical because every other contractor in the project had been hired and paid by Stephens.
“There were painters, a plumber, sheetrock people, ceramic tile people, floor people—all of these people were hired and paid by [Stephens],” Engle said.
Freedom Electrical could not be reached for comment.
On October 29th, a Joint Answer was filed with the Creek County Court Clerk by Assistant District Attorney Andrew Goforth in an effort to remove the Office of the County Treasurer and the Board of County Commissioners from the list of defendants in the case.
