Town of Charlton residents and officials won’t be ringing in the New Year inside a completed new town hall, but negotiations and legal paperwork about the unfinished work are likely to hang on well into 2008.
General contractor Schmidt and Schmidt of West Charlton, originally hired to build the new $3.1 million town hall, recently filed a $1 million claim against the town, alleging illegal termination of the contract.
The claim seeks $1.03 million in damages, an amount including damages tied to the cost of labor, materials and equipment of $673,200, improper withholding of payment for work done of $318,303, and $38,500 for work the contractor says was not covered by the original contract.
Ribbons were due to be cut signaling the official completion of the town hall in July 2007. Town officials followed a long and carefully orchestrated plan that began with a vote in November 2005 for approval to move forward. Town officials kept residents apprised of the project on the municipal Web site, which included a detailed timetable and drawings of the building.
The project was approved for $2.5 million for a 15,000-square-foot building. 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.
But instead of proceeding smoothly, copies of letters and minutes from town board meetings show continual delays in the work, ranging from changing dimensions and measurements to materials being unavailable.
Town Supervisor Alan Grattidge detailed how the town board proceeded through a series of steps to try and work things out with the original builder.
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 had to issue a default of the contract.`
Last spring, they notified the bonding company about their concerns the construction wasn’t moving along. They called in an expert in August to assess the site, engineering management professor from Cornell University Dr. Paul G. Carr. 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 to the board was the unfinished, gaping 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 in his written report. `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.
Following stringent legal requirements, the board nullified the original building contract with Schmidt and Schmidt, and at their town board meeting Sept. 25, 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 new contractor began work on Oct. 1 to get emergency containment done to protect the partially constructed building from the upcoming winter weather, including putting on the roof to enclose the place. This shoring up of the building is now completed.
Calls to Schmidt and Schmidt in West Charlton went unanswered Monday, Dec. 10.
Delays in the project are likely to tack on extra costs to the $3.2 million price tag.
`The taxpayers of Charlton have waited a long time for the new town hall and this action will just add more time and expense to the project,` Grattidge said. `But it is still our hope to move into the new building in the summer of 2008.“