MIDDLETOWN – High School North seniorBrendan Flanagan feels that being on the not-yet-completed football field for gym classes puts many students’ health in jeopardy.
“Alot of us have gym classes on the field or are training and practicing there for our sports. How can that be safe?” Flanagan said. “All it takes is one student to hurt themselves and then a lawsuit probably,” he told the Board of EducationMay 27.
Based on Flanagan’s remarks, parent Bill Heaney commented that state law regulating the safety of school facilities could lead to a quicker resolution to having repairs made to the controversial field.
The contractor for the athletic field at High School North and the Board of Education disagree over who is at fault for the unsatisfactory work done on the field, so work on the field has come to a halt.
According to another parent, Public School Contracts Law provides that in an emergency situation involving safety concerns, a contractor can be brought in to rectify unsafe conditions.
The statute, N.J.S.A. 18A:18A-1 et seq. (as of June 7, 2007), on emergency contracts, stipulates that “Any contractmay be negotiated or awarded for a board of education without public advertising for bids and bidding therefore, notwithstanding that the contract price will exceed the bid threshold, when an emergency affecting the health or safety of occupants of school property requires the immediate delivery of goods or the performance of services, provided that the contracts are awarded in the followingmanner.
“The official in charge of the building, facility or equipment wherein the emergency occurred … shall notify the purchasing agent or a supervisor of the purchasing agent of the need for the performance of a contract, the nature of the emergency, the time of its occurrence and the need for invoking this section,” the statute states.
“If that person is satisfied that an emergency exists, that person shall be authorized to award a contract or contracts for such purposes asmay be necessary to respond to the emergent needs. Such notification shall be reduced to writing and filed with the purchasing agent as soon as practicable.”
Flanagan said that he knows that if an emergency situation arises, the board can look for a new contractor without having to put the job up for bid.
“I understand that it is not until an emergency situation thatwe can just end the contract to get it fixed quickly,” Flanagan said. “I would like to ask you to please not wait until an emergency happens
He said that he could not believe that students are on the field if it is not safe.
“We have a part of the field that turned into cement,” Flanagan said. “What if someone falls on that? I think that is a direct threat to the students.”
Board President Laura Agin responded that the board is looking into the matter.
“I have concern based on the discussion we’re having here ofwhenwe ruled the field was not safe,”Agin said.
“But the thing is,we are still on that field for gymclasses,” Flanagan responded. “Even with the cement there, we are on that field.”
Flanagan said that the gymnasium in the high school needed new protective mats for the walls and that was done quickly.
School board attorney Christopher Parton said that legally the emergency situation must take place inside of the school building and that since it is on the football field, the law does not pertain.
But some residents said they feel that since gym classes are held on the field it should be considered as the school building and the school should look for another company to complete work on the field.
The law also states that the original contractorwould be responsible for repairs if the need arises, and the boardwould have to pay for the work done
“Upon the furnishing of such goods or services, in accordancewith the terms of the contract, the contractor furnishing such goods or services, shall be entitled to be paid therefore and the board of education shall be obligated for said payment,” the law states.
Parton said at themeeting that the board is looking into every possible way to get the field completed in a timely manner.
This also includesworkingwith turn contractorMondo to get the field done.
“There is nothing we can do about that except to try as hard as we can to get this done as quickly as possible,” Parton said. “With that being said, on May 12 the board notified Mondo on their continuing refusal to come back and finish the [work], such as the grating and the percolation of the fill stone, as it is not percolating as it should be.”
The district has begun to post updates on the field situation on itsWeb site.
On June 6 the site had information on what steps have been taken since the May meeting.
“The district is also in the process of implementing its rights, under the contract documents, to complete the project itself, using different professionals and contractors, and to then pursue any costs through Mondo’s bonding insurance company and other similar sources,” the statement said. “The first step in that process is to generate a Request for Proposals for an engineer and construction manager to assume control of the project.”
The statement said that this step has been completed, and the district will be receiving proposals and continuing that process as well.
“This process, however, is subject to the bidding laws,” the statement said.
“The ’emergency exception’ to those requirements is not applicable to this situation, but the superintendent has requested that the executive county superintendent grant an exception to that rule, allowing the district to proceed more quickly with this process. The district is expecting a response from the county superintendent in the coming days.”
Parton said that the board previously told Mondo to stop work so the board could present the company with a list of improvements needed to the work already done on the field.
According to Parton, the artificial turf installer never came back to work.
OnMay 20,Mondo released a statement charging the board with breach of contract.
In total, $355,000 of the $768,710 contract has been paid to Mondo for work done on the field.
Parton said that he contacted the bonding company, Westchester Fire Insurance Co., which is now in charge of the field and fixing the field.