Trending
PARKERSBURG -- Members of the Wood County Board of Education said they better understood how delays in construction at Williamstown High School led to a $37,000 change order, but still questioned some of the numbers presented this month.
Earlier this month, the board delayed approval of a $66,350 change order from Swope Construction for work at Williamstown Middle/High School that included a line for "general conditions for delays," citing 70 days of delays as the cause of the $37,000 increase.
A paragraph description from architectural and engineering firm ZMM included in the document said Swope crews "were delayed by Mon Power and the delays affected their ability to do the work." The description said relocation of power poles and installation of insulated line jackets "resulted in critical path items on the construction schedule to be impacted."
Board members said the explanation was insufficient and questioned how the "70 days" number was calculated.
At Tuesday's meeting, Adam Krason with architectural and engineering firm ZMM, which oversees the district's facilities projects, walked the board through an approximate timeline and explained some of the costs involved.
"We were concerned about that delay as well," Krason said. "I can assure you none of this ever reaches your desk until we've really vetted it and determined it is legitimate.
Krason said the issue was first brought to the board in June 2019 when masonry work on the expanded section of Williamstown High was delayed because crews needed Mon Power to move a pole and lines.
Swope was "unable to complete the one wall of the auditorium because of those power lines," Krason said. "They needed the power lines insulated and they needed one pole removed. The pole actually sat in the footprint of the building. They could not complete that portion until the pole was removed. "
Krason said a timeline of photos shows construction work on the area around the pole beginning in September, but shows the pole remained in place for several months. The insulation was put into place in December 2019, Krason said, which allowed crews to complete some masonry work.
"The pole didn't get removed until January," he said.
Krason said after reviewing the timeline, Swope increased its delay request to more than 90 days, but ZMM felt only the original 70-day delay was justified.
"We think they have been reasonable with this, and I do recommend the 70 days is the true delay related to the masonry work," he said.
Board members struggled to compare the timeline of the delay to the cost of the delay, in part because the actual completion date did not seem to have changed and work on the building never stopped.
"Days to dollars isn't working for us," said board President Rick Olcott. "Were costs truly observed and felt by the project itself or is it just a shifting of work to different timeframes?"
Krason said the original completion date, as listed in the contract with Swope, would have been completed in mid-June. Officials now expect the auditorium to be completed sometime in late August, possibly early September.
"Swope is materially delayed by this," Krason said. "The auditorium would have been completed at the same time as the classrooms had they been able to move forward with the masonry work in a reasonable manner."
Krason also said the $37,000 price tag was explained in a letter from Swope and reflected three areas affected by the delay: Additional pay for supervisors who remained on site longer to review the work; equipment, fencing and equipment rentals costs which had to be extended; and temporary power, which Swope pays for if the project goes beyond its initial completion date.
"Those are the three items they are asking for in the total of $37,000," he said. What they are asking for compensation for is only the direct cost of them remaining on site to complete the work on Aug. 24."
While board members were mostly satisfied with the explanation, some still took issue with how some of the information had been brought to the board.
"That is exactly what we need, what you just went through, this itemized list of cost impacts to the project," Olcott said. "Stop talking 'days.' We understand now. There is cost out of their pocket we need to compensate for. I think the safest thing to do is to stop talking in days."
Michael Erb can be reached at merb@newsandsentinel.com.