Directors balk at change order

A 32 percent change order is being sought because of the project's length.
By TIM YOVICH
Vindicator Trumbull Staff
MINERAL RIDGE -- The Mahoning Valley Sanitary District's board of directors is balking at paying an engineering firm 32 percent more for its work than the contract requires.
CT Consultants of Youngstown signed a $408,000 contract with the MVSD for engineering work on a $7.3 million filter improvement project.
However, CT is now saying that it needs $131,000 on top of the agreed amount because the construction will take an added six months to complete: 18 months instead of one year.
Board members Matthew Blair and Harry Johnson questioned the amount of the change order.
Blair pointed out that other engineering consultants bid on the work, but it was awarded to CT because of the price.
"What changed?" Blair asked.
Increased length
Craig Juday, CT's project engineer, argued that the contract was for one year and that areas such as air conditioning and heating increased the length of the project.
Also, Juday said, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has raised environmental issues, such as historical preservation.
The project calls for upgrading 16 water filters. Work has been completed on six of them, five are off line while they are being improved, and five that haven't been improved remain on line.
The MVSD processes water out of Meander Reservoir and sells it in bulk to Youngstown, Niles and McDonald for resale to their customers.
Blair said he has no complaints with CT's work nor does he think the work being proposed is unnecessary.
He suggested that the proposed change order first be sent to the state auditor's officer for review.
The project was halted in 1997 after the state auditor found that MVSD had paid a company $2.4 million for work it never performed. Since then, the MVSD board has been cautious about its contracts.
Tough sell
Blair said that he could understand a 10-percent to 15-percent change order but that 30 percent isn't fair to the other consultants who bid on the project.
"It will be a tough sell for me," Johnson told CT representatives. "I'm not happy with this."
Juday said CT attempted to justify the added work within its budget, but could not.
"CT could or should have known the facts. It's a cost issue," Blair said.
"We don't want to walk away from the project," Juday asserted. "We want to finish the job."
However, the project manager said withholding further services could "possibly" occur if the change order isn't approved.
Blair suggested that Juday get together with Tom Holloway, MVSD director, in an attempt to reduce CT's request.
yovich@vindy.com