Firewall, sprinklers add $445K to school project Board: Firm gets no more contracts until cost issue is resolved BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer Firewall and fire suppression work at Sayreville War Memorial High School will cost an additional $445,000. The added cost, presented to the Board of Education last week, is the latest development in a $47 million construction project that has become the subject of controversy in recent months due to issues with the building plans and the lack of proper permitting from the borough's building department. Though construction began last fall, it was recently learned that the school district did not have the proper permits, something that came to light as the result of a disciplinary hearing involving the borough's former code official, Michael Gianotto. Work continued on the project this winter with temporary permits, and the full permits were finally issued on March 14. At the board's April 10 meeting, member Kevin Ciak motioned that the board not award any new contracts to RSC Architects, which planned the project and was to obtain the permits from the borough last year, until the issues with the added costs for firewalls and fire suppression work are resolved. The nine-member board unanimously approved Ciak's motion. RSC saved the district money in its work on the Samsel Upper Elementary School a few years ago, Ciak said, but in light of the potential for litigation over the additional costs, he said the board should not enter into any further contracts with the firm for now. Board members took a tour of the construction site last week, according to board President Michael Macagnone, who said that significant progress has been made on the additions and renovations project. He said he has been told by the construction manager that there are currently no significant issues jeopardizing the project's completion. Since there are some unknown factors involved in Phase III, when work crews will break down the walls of an existing building constructed in the 1970s, the workers will begin part of Phase III this summer. Macagnone said the board will be "playing catch-up" in light of the delay the firewall and fire suppression work will cause for Phase I. While the extent of the Phase I delay is still undetermined, it will not delay the overall project, he said. "I feel very confident that we will complete the project on schedule," Macagnone said. The $445,000 cost for firewall and fire suppression work is an estimate for change orders in phases I and II. It includes steel erection costs from Cherry Steel Corp. in the amounts of $43,780 and $47,181, sprinkler system costs to Frank C. Gibson Plumbing in the amount of $66,308, and contingency allowances in the amounts of $4,610 and $82,813 to Chanree Construction Co. Inc. School Business Administrator Emidio D'Andrea said that Schnitzer is currently completing the plans, and two more change orders included in the $445,000 estimate will go before the board when he finishes the work. Epic Management Inc., of Piscataway, the project manager for the high school work, is keeping the project on track, D'Andrea said, adding that the board will eventually be able to proceed with litigation, if it chooses, in order to be recouped for the additional costs. Macagnone told the Suburban that not all of the additional costs are the result of the architectural firm leaving the firewall and sprinkler system out of the plan. This cost breakdown is still being determined, he said. At the meeting, resident John Bovery brought up the fact that the board is advertising bids for the Wilson School repointing project, and D'Andrea said that RSC Architects has been developing the bid specifications for the past several months. Macagnone said that the board authorized RSC to work on the plans for the Wilson School repointing before the potential for litigation was brought to the board's attention. The firm is not signed on to do the entire project, however. D'Andrea said that while it is possible for the board to find another firm to do the work at Wilson School, it is very difficult to find a new architect willing to take on another firm's plan. Resident Bob Foley said the architect, John J. Schnitzer, of RSC, has developed good projects for the district in the past, but added that the issues with the high school construction project are that firm's responsibility. The board demonstrated complacency in giving the Wilson School repointing to RSC without bids, Foley said, adding that the board should solicit bids from a variety of architects and contractors for its next capital improvement project. Macagnone told the Suburban that while the board entered a contract with RSC to plan the Wilson School repointing, the work of replacing the mortars between bricks does not require the oversight of the architect, allowing the board to find another firm to do that work. But the high school construction project is the district's top priority, Macagnone said. "I don't want to take my eye off the ball, and the ball is getting this project [at the high school] completed on time," he said.