School Construction to Proceed While $800,000 Redesign Cost Negotiated

By Dave Freneaux

    Arkel Anderson Joint Venture, the Contractor building Central’s new schools, has submitted documentation in support of a possible increase of as much as $821,000 in the cost to construct the schools.  The possible increase will not necessarily be paid by the Central Community School System, as the design issues involved appear to be the responsibility of PBK Architects, the firm hired to design the buildings.  The School Board was called to meet Wednesday at 5PM to determine the best course of action to ensure quality construction while minimizing delays and additional costs and protecting the interests of Central’s taxpayers.

     The School Board met first in executive session with attorneys, then in open meeting with the public and representatives of Arkel Anderson Joint Venture.  The Board unanimously voted to issue a “Constructive Change Directive”, which acknowledges that there is a problem but requests that construction proceed while resolution to the issue is negotiated.  The parties agreed that the resolution period would be 30 days.

     Traditionally, design flaws are the financial responsibility of the architects and engineers hired to provide the plans, and often “Errors & Ommissions” insurance policies ultimately protect all parties.  However, the contract to construct the schools is between the School System and Arkel.  The challenge facing the School Board is to negotiate a solution to the issue in which all parties are treated fairly and Central’s taxpayers are protected.  While some of the $821,000 costs are based on the costs of manpower, delays and overtime, approximately $500,000 of that amount is based solely on the increase in the cost of steel that has occurred during the months required to redesign the structural steel plans.