I am a subcontractor (Schwing Bioset, Inc.) working on a municipal/public project for the Marshall Municipal Utilities Water Treatment Plant in Marshall, MN. The General Contractor is KHC Construction, Inc. who placed an order with Schwing Bioset, Inc. for equipment, accessories, and services for a project known as "MMU WTP Softening Enhancement Project." We do not have the Payment and Performance Bond information. The last date we supplied materials/labor was December 14,2020. The total purchase order sum was $1,618,125.00 with an outstanding balance of $631,272.10.
Public projects are generally protected by a payment bond. Since mechanics liens encumber the actual property being improved, and publicly owned property is generally exempt from such encumbrances since it can't be foreclosed on in an enforcement action, bonds are substituted to provide payment security to applicable parties. The bond and claim requirements are usually set forth by a state's Little Miller Act.
In Minnesota, the requirements for making a bond claim against a public project are set forth by Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 574. A bond claim in Minnesota must be provided to the the surety that issued the bond and the contractor on whose behalf the bond was issued at their addresses as stated in the bond, within 120 from the claimant's last furnishing of labor or materials, either personally or by certified mail.
The statutes also require that "[t]he public body must make the payment and performance bonds available for inspection and copying upon request" so that a claimant can get the information needed to provide the bond claim.