ARENA PROJECT Youngstown's board of control approves changes to contracts

The changes add $166,958 to the arena project's cost.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The city's board of control approved 13 change orders for work at the downtown arena project.
The board voted Thursday in favor of five contract reductions totaling $211,546, and eight contract additions equaling $378,504.
Overall, the board agreed to spend $166,958 more on the arena project.
The building is projected to open Nov. 4 with a Youngstown SteelHounds minor league hockey game. Construction is estimated to cost $41 million.
City officials along with Hunt Construction Group, the Dallas-based company serving as the facility's construction manager, and MS Consultants Inc. of Youngstown, the project's engineer, are reviewing contract specifications for the arena looking for cost savings.
Also, the three examine the contracts to see if improvements are needed. The improvements typically increase the cost of construction.
Of the eight change orders approved that add money to the project, five went to Ohio Steel Industries.
Breaking down the numbers
The board of control -- consisting of the city's mayor, finance director and law director -- approved change orders worth $338,924 to Ohio Steel for steel revisions and modifications.
With the additions, the company will receive $3.9 million for steel work at the arena.
The board approved two change order additions, worth $26,994, to Lencyk Masonry for changes to masonry work.
The board also approved a $5,150 reduction for the company to use only one coat of masonry sealer. With the overall addition of $21,844 for Lencyk Masonry, the company will receive $1,310,446 for work at the arena.
The other change order addition went to Sidley Precast Group for $12,586. Sidley received the additional money to install welded studs to the arena's seats. The addition brings Sidley's cost for work at the facility to $1,239,628.
The biggest cost reduction approved is $115,386 for a materials cost cut to VEC Systems, the company installing the arena's roof.
VEC agreed last month to a $126,586 reduction in its arena contract. With the reductions, VEC is getting $668,859 for its work. That's a 26.6-percent reduction from its original bid for the work.
Other changes
The board also approved the following change order reductions:
U$46,690 to Comm Steel for miscellaneous metal items.
U$32,320 to Komar Plumbing for a less-expensive substitute plumbing conduit.
U$12,000 to D & amp;G Mechanical for using less expensive piping.
The city cannot reduce the amount paid to a vendor for work on the arena project unless the vendor agrees to accept the cut.
skolnick@vindy.com