Board of Ed Approves Riders to Contracts

By Amy Edel

On Nov. 6 the Board of Education officially approved agreements for services of Wiedersum Associates, PC (as district architect) and J. Michael Orifici Associates Inc. (as district construction management firm), each with a rider dated Nov. 6, 1997. These riders are the result of pressure from residents in the district who drafted a letter to the Board of Education and spoke at several heated meetings at the presentations to the POAs regarding their concerns about the contracts the district had initially approved. These residents explained that, as professionals in the fields of contract negotiations, construction management, etc., they felt that the district was not amply protected by the contracts against additional expenses by the two hired firms.

Thomas Bowles, attorney for the district who drafted the contracts and the subsequent riders, addressed the surprisingly small crowd in the high school cafeteria (the meeting was changed back to the cafeteria because sets were taking up the stage space in the auditorium) at the Board of Ed's Public Hearing on the Bond Referendum. Copies of the actual riders were made available Nov. 7 in Assistant Superintendent for Business Bryan's office.

The rider to the construction management firm's contract is 11 pages of material added to the 18-page original contract that already had a three page rider added to that. The rider specifies that failure to meet the Dec. 31, 2000 date for "substantial completion" of the closeout of all work will not be cause for additional compensation unless the delay is caused by one of the following reasons: "1. Contractor default, as that term is defined by the contract for construction; 2. Substantial Contractor delay (i.e., delays chargeable to the Contractor under the contract for construction); 3. Service of the CM made necessary due to Contractor's failure to 'close out' the Project within six months notice to close out from CM to Contractor; and/or 4. Material alterations in the scope of the Project or significant delays caused by the Owner which render substantial completion on Dec. 31, 2000 impossible and requires services beyond the term set forth in the schedule appended to this Agreement."

Also the CM is required to provide a "parent/administration coordinator who shall, every two months during the terms of this agreement, meet with Owner's administrators and concerned parents" to make certain that as little disruption is made as possible to the classroom time of the students. The CM is also authorized to "take reasonable measures" to work on behalf of the district to "remedy any site safety concerns" and to charge any of these costs that result from contractor negligence back to the contractor.

The CM's compensation has been changed to the following: "0 to 8 million dollars of construction cost - 3.7 percent fee; 8 million to 16 million dollars of construction cost - 3.5 percent fee; 16 million to 24 million dollars of construction cost - 3.3 percent fee; 24 million to 32 million dollars of construction cost - 3.1 percent fee; 32 million to 40 million dollars of construction cost - 3 percent fee." Reimbursable costs will now be invoiced at actual cost and will not exceed $15,000. Computer time is no longer a reimbursable expense. The fees listed above do not apply to the Contractor Change Orders for field conditions, "which will be billed at a fixed fee of 2.5 percent of the amount of the Change Order, except that no additional compensation is payable to CM" if the change is the result of a failure on the part of the CM.

"Weekends and holidays shall be billed at a standard rate of $275 per one-half (1/2) day, per employee." This is the equivalent of four hours and does not include travel time. This fee is only applicable where the weekends are in addition to a regularly worked 40 hour week.

The rider to the architectural firm's contract is 15 pages of changes to the original 11-page contract. Changes include such items as, "The Architect shall be responsible for making such changes in the Construction Documents as may be suggested by the State Education Department, at its expense." The rider specifies that, "Where direct communication between Owner and Contractor has occurred, the Owner and Contractor shall promptly and jointly document in writing the nature and result of the communication as well as the reason for the direct communication and shall provide a written copy of said document to the Architect."

Also, "Based on the Architect's and Construction Manager's observations, inspections of the Work, and evaluations of the Contractor's Applications for Payment, the Architect and Construction Manager shall review and certify the amounts due to the contractor. Said review and certification shall be completed within 30 days of the Architect's receipt of the Application."

The architect is required to appear at public meetings, as a witness in arbitration, or other proceedings where the firm is a party concerning its basic services to the district. Reproducible records of its drawings of significant changes must be provided. These drawings must be certified by the architect, contractor, and construction management firm.

Other specific changes include: "Pre-construction phase payments shall be computed by allocating each component of such compensation (e.g., Schematic Design Phase, Design Developmental Phase, etc.) on a bid-package by bid-package basis according to the Construction Manager's estimated value of each bid-package which is divided by the total number of months shown for the performance by Architect of each such component of services, respectively, in the most current Master Schedule, as prepared by the Construction Manager and approved by Owner and Architect, existing at the time of invoicing."

For complete copies of both riders, residents can stop in the business office in the Administration Building. If anyone has additional questions, the School Board urges people to feel free to call any member of the Board of Education or the Superintendent at 294-3001.