Mold at township complex proves costly

The cost is placed at $280,000, but an insurance company will pick up the bill.

By: Jeff Milgram
   It will cost at least $280,000 to clean up the mold in Princeton Township’s municipal complex under construction on Witherspoon Street.
   Township Administrator James Pascale said four environmental firms submitted proposals for the cleanup.
   Mr. Pascale said he expects the Township Committee’s Building Committee, made up of Mayor Phyllis Marchand and Committeewoman Roz Denard, to award the contract to Safeway Environmental Group of New York City, which submitted the lowest estimate, $280,000.
   The Township Committee, which is not scheduled to meet until Sept. 13, has given the Building Committee the authority to award the contract.
   Mr. Pascale said township officials will meet with Safeway today. Once the contract is awarded, the work could begin within 48 hours, he said.
   Safeway, which specializes in asbestos removal, is one of the largest environmental cleanup companies on the East Coast, he added.
   All interior work on the star-crossed building was suspended after the mold was discovered Aug. 13.
   The latest delay means the $11.8 million project won’t be completed until the spring, 15 months behind schedule.
   The mold was discovered during an inspection of the heating and air-conditioning system, and all interior work was halted because mold is considered a health hazard, Mr. Pascale said. Work on the exterior is continuing.
   The township is blaming the building’s former general contractor, Paphian Enterprises Inc. of Ocean Township, for the mold.
   Township Engineer Robert Kiser said an excessive amount of water used to clean some masonry blocks led to the mold.
   In addition, Mr. Kiser said, there was a water main break inside the building this past winter.
   Dry wall in the lower level, which will be used by the Police Department, will be removed and replaced to a height of 4 feet, and ducts used for heating, ventilation and air conditioning will be cleaned, Mr. Pascale said.
   Paphian denies any responsibility for the mold and claims it warned the township last summer that the building could have problems with mold.
   The project has a troubled history. It was originally scheduled to open in the winter of 2000, but was delayed when Paphian was removed as general contractor that October for alleged failure to meet contractual obligations.
   The company is being investigated by the state Department of Labor for alleged payroll and worker classification violations at several construction sites, including Princeton.
   After Paphian’s dismissal, township officials had predicted the building would open in early spring. That estimate was pushed back to late spring, and then to the winter.
   In April, Mr. Kiser estimated the final cost would be $1 million to $2 million more than the original $11.8 million price tag. But the township’s bonding company, Traveler’s Insurance, is expected to pay for the additional costs.
   Mr. Pascale said Traveler’s also would pick up the cost of the mold cleanup and pay for any additional costs due to the construction delay.