Control board to mull new list of change orders

By DAVID SKOLNICK
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The city's board of control was to consider today another list of change orders to the city-owned Chevrolet Centre.
If they are accepted, the board would have approved more than $1 million in cost increases to the facility since late September.
The nine change orders to be considered today add $72,540 to the facility's cost. Of the nine, eight increase the cost of the project by $102,540, and one is a $30,000 reduction.
The lone reduction comes from Marucci & amp; Gaffney Excavating, a Youngstown company, and is a $30,000 credit because the company didn't install temporary pavement at the facility. The board also will consider a $10,328 addition to the city's contract with Marucci & amp; Gaffney, the company that handled site preparation for the center, at today's meeting.
Other proposed increases in front of the board include $21,328 to Roger Kreps Drywall and Plastering, the Boardman company that installed drywall and metal panels at the facility, and $17,678 from Ohio Steel Industries of Columbus, the company that provided structural steel for the center.
More expected
The center opened in late October. It's projected to cost between $44.8 million and $45 million, but the final figure probably won't be available until at least next month, city officials say. That is because more change orders are expected, and disputes with some contractors over bills to the city need to be resolved, possibly in court.
As part of a deal signed in November with General Motors to name the arena the Chevrolet Centre, the city agreed to make a good-faith effort to purchase GM vehicles through state purchasing contracts for its fleet.
The board was to vote today on legislation to buy a vehicle described only as a "Chevrolet 4-door sedan" for $17,500 through state purchasing for its waste treatment plant. The Chevrolet would replace a 1993 vehicle with more than 200,000 miles, the request says.
The board also was expected to approve a $7,262 severance package for ex-Police Chief Robert Bush, primarily for unused sick time. Mayor Jay Williams, who took office Jan. 1, opted to replace Bush as police chief with Jimmy Hughes. Bush has since accepted a job as a Mahoning County assistant prosecutor.