For people having a new home constructed, the biggest fear is that their contractor won’t finish the job on time. When it comes to building a new municipal center, that worry is multiplied many times over.
Town of Charlton officials have seen these worries come to fruition in their efforts to have a new town hall built. Slated to be completed on July 13, the town board hasn’t done any ribbon cutting on the building that stands now without even a front door, or for that matter, a roof.
Instead, the board nullified the original building contract with Schmidt and Schmidt of West Charlton on Sept. 12.
At its Sept. 25 meeting, the town board voted to hire Rosch Brothers Builders of Latham to quickly shore up the unfinished building left exposed to the elements by the original company.
The project has followed a long and carefully orchestrated plan that went to town voters in November 2005 for approval. Town officials kept residents apprised of the project on the municipal Web site, which included a detailed timetable and drawings of the building.
Voters approved a 15,000- square-foot building at a cost of $2.5 million. In keeping with the town’s rural flavor, the artist’s rendering of the new town hall is a Colonial structure with two stories above ground, as well as a basement for storing records. The project went out to bid in May 2006, and the project construction phase was kicked off on July 13, 2006.
Town Supervisor Alan Grattidge said the decision to take the Schmidt company off the project was a tiring one, done in many stages to meet legal requirements.
I was trying to hold out the hand of friendship to the contractor, but he certainly let us down all the way around, said Grattidge. `It’s a shame, because we waited so long and planned for this, got the financing, this contractor came in on bid, but we’ve had to issue a default of the contract. He’s a general contractor, and he simply hasn’t performed as needed.`
The town board has gone through a series of steps to try and work things out with the original builder. Last spring, they notified the bonding company about their concerns the construction wasn’t moving along. In August, they called in Paul G. Carr, an engineering management professor from Cornell University, to assess the site.
In a 34-page evaluation, Carr reviewed every level of the project, from the opening of bids to scheduling to changes suggested by the builder that caused delays in the work. Of particular concern was the unfinished roof.
`It is obvious that until the roof is in place, the building is exposed to the elements, and a significant expenditure already made by the town is at risk,` said Carr. `Until the roof trusses are delivered, and the town’s investment is secured, the value of the work in place would be impossible to appraise.`
As part of the legal process, the town board offered Schmidt and Schmidt an opportunity to present a recovery plan to show how they could potentially complete the project, but that plan was also vague and incomplete.
`We stayed with them as long as we could to stay within our budget range,` said Grattidge. `But this board is committed to staying within its original budget. There’s the potential for additional costs, but we’re doing our best to have the bonding remain the same.`
Calls to Schmidt and Schmidt in West Charlton went unanswered.
The new contractor, Rosch Brothers, started work on that same day, to get emergency work done to protect the partially constructed building from the upcoming winter weather, including putting on the roof to enclose the place.
After immediate concerns about saving the building from further damage, town board members will need to determine how to handle the defaulted contract.
`As far as litigation, it’s hard to say what we’ll need to do,` said Grattidge. `We don’t know if we’ll have to go back out to bid.
Town Clerk Heather Scribner said she is scrambling to store office supplies to outfit the new town headquarters.
`We had $20,000 in grant funds to buy new equipment, and now there’s no place to put it,` said Scribner. `I just hope we can get word out to people that we’ve done everything humanly possible to get the town hall finished, short of building it ourselves. It’s just been unbelievable.`
Grattidge took the high road and said he and his board are hoping to have the new town hall completed by April or May 2008.
`We’re down, but we’re not out,` said Grattidge.“