Schools agree to pay contractors $200K

Two $100,000 allotments were approved by the East Windsor Regional Board of Education in hopes of accelerating construction projects burdened by delays.

By: Michael Ross
   HIGHTSTOWN — The school board agreed this week to pay $200,000 in unexpected change orders to contractors in hopes of accelerating construction projects burdened by delays.
   Two $100,000 allotments were approved by the East Windsor Regional Board of Education on Monday. The action followed recommendations made by Epic Management of Piscataway, the district’s construction manager, and The Prisco Group of Hopewell, the district’s architect.
   The district’s construction counsel, Leslie Jeddis Lang of Wilentz, Goldman and Spitzer of Woodbridge, advised the board to follow the recommendations. She presented her advice after a 90-minute closed session meeting.
   One allotment will be paid to Triridge Construction Inc. of Ridgewood for a general construction change order, or modification, at the Melvin H. Kreps Middle School. The other $100,000 will be paid to Air Con Inc. of Mountainside for a heating, ventilation and air conditioning change order at the Ethel McKnight Elementary School. District officials were unable to clarify the details of the change orders.
   "At this point, we’re not above our budget," board President Bruce Ettman said Tuesday.
   Each of the school district’s six schools is undergoing renovations as part of a $64.4 million bond referendum approved by voters Sept. 24, 2002. The district had hoped most of its construction projects would be finished three months ago, but much of the work is behind schedule.
   "We’re still within the (contingency) amount of the bond," Mr. Ettman said, adding that a percentage of the bond is designated for contingency purposes, such as change orders.
   "We’re looking into who may have caused some of the delays," Mr. Ettman said, adding that investigations are ongoing and that no specific contractor(s) have been deemed responsible for the delays. He said the change orders are necessary to accelerate the projects and that "we’d rather sort it out with the schools built than without the schools built."
   Earlier in the year, Superintendent Ronald Bolandi said taxpayers will not have to foot the bill for contractors’ errors.
   The board also agreed Monday to pay no more than $5,000 to Clive, Samuels & Associates Consulting Engineering of Princeton (a consultant to The Prisco Group) for a professional consulting review of Air Con’s contract change order proposal. Mr. Ettman said such consulting is needed to review new construction plans.
   "When you get to this level, where you have claims and change orders, you really need to have an attorney who understands construction law," Mr. Bolandi said last month. "It puts people on notice that we’re serious about protecting the taxpayer’s money."
   "I was hired to maximize project success," Ms. Lang said Wednesday. Ms. Lang, who chairs her firm’s Construction Industry Law Group, was hired last month to compile construction project information, assess the status of projects and evaluate the district’s legal exposure on each project. She was paid $50,000, an amount funded by the bond referendum.
   "This project has the usual issues … that you see throughout the construction industry," Ms. Lang said. She characterized the $200,000 payments as "minor adjustments" in the scope of a $64.4 million project and said the district’s construction issues are "typical to challenges of school construction."
   "This is standard procedure for now," Mr. Ettman said, adding that construction projects are always "fraught" with risk and that the change orders are not surprising. "The district, I think, has done a good job."
   "I’m glad to see a board pay such close attention," Ms. Lang said, adding that the board is "very committed" to ensuring contractors are properly and fairly paid. "The thoroughness and commitment are to be commended."
   Ms. Lang added that board has paid "painstaking attention to detail" to meet its obligations to students and to the public to ensure schools are opened by the start of the next school year.
   "The board has been really focused on doing its job to make sure schools are open in September 2005," Ms. Lang said. "I’m very pleased to report that we have seen tremendous progress," she added. "Never before has September 2005 felt so comfortable."
   Ms. Lang said she has completed the services for which she was hired but that she will continue working with district as needed.