Overall Princeton schools project on schedule.
By: Jeff Milgram
With the beginning of summer vacation and the end of the rainy spring, the pace of construction work in the Princeton Regional School District has picked up dramatically.
But a complicating factor may be on the horizon. An unsuccessful bidder is trying to block installation of the artificial surface at the Princeton High School football field.
So far, a suit filed by Land Tech, the third lowest bidder, has not delayed the installation of the artificial surface, Superintendent Claire Sheff Kohn said Thursday.
Construction throughout the district is going according to schedule.
"They are going, essentially, like gangbusters," Michael Mostoller, chairman of the Princeton Regional Board of Education’s Facilities Committee, said Wednesday.
"As of now, it’s on schedule. I can’t vouch for the future," said the district’s facilities director, Gary Weisman.
The Hillier Group, the board’s architect for the $81.3 million project to renovate and expand all six of the district’s schools, has redesigned Princeton High School and bids are scheduled to go out at the end of July, Mr. Mostoller said.
He said Hillier has gotten the project’s costs close to its $30 million budget. Epic Management, the board’s construction management company, believes the cost estimates are accurate, Mr. Mostoller said.
"We’re within striking distance," he said.
The PHS project had to be redesigned because initial construction bids came in more than $13 million over budget.
At the end of April, the school board awarded a $714,500 contract for the artificial surface to American Athletic Court, after the low bidder, Shearon Environmental Design, was found to be without a New Jersey public works contractor registration certificate.
The third lowest bidder, Land Tech, sued American Athletic Court, saying its artificial surface, AstroPlay an advanced form of AstroTurf did not meet the bid specifications.
Land Tech uses a rival artificial surface known as FieldTurf.
According to published reports, FieldTurf sued S.R.I. Sports, the manufacturer of AstroPlay, in 1998 and 2000 for patent infringement.
The 2000 suit is still pending.
The school district is not a party to the suit. In a verbal ruling, a judge ordered American Athletic Court to strictly meet the bid specifications and Mr. Mostoller believes AstroPlay did that.
In the meantime, the work goes on and is on schedule, Mr. Weisman said.
On June 30, American Athletic Court began digging up the topsoil on the football playing field before installing a gravel drainage level for the artificial surface.
The firm has hauled excess soil off the site, and installed temporary fencing and a temporary bridge across the existing track to protect its surface.
The project, which will permit the field to be used for practice and games, is scheduled to be completed before the beginning of the new school year.
The end of the school year in June meant that crews could get inside the buildings to start interior renovations, Mr. Weisman said.
At John Witherspoon Middle School, crews have begun work on the cafeteria, kitchen and bathrooms, Mr. Weisman said.
Work is continuing on a classroom addition at John Witherspoon, he said.
On May 15, 2001, voters overwhelmingly approved the project, which was scheduled to begin in September but was pushed back by changes in the site plan at PHS and Littlebrook. Voters approved spending more than $57 million in taxpayers’ money. The state will contribute about $19 million, Princeton University has promised $500,000 to turn the PHS auditorium into a library and the board will use $2.3 million of the district’s surplus for the project.