The new library may be open for business, but the bills are still flowing in. The Township Committee has approved a package of about $157,000 in change orders for construction of the new library that have accumulated over the last few months.
With the unanimous approval of the change orders on May 12, the township will tip the $12,570,000 it had budgeted for the construction of the new library, which opened last month, by about $69,000, Township Administrator Robert Sheehan reported at a meeting last month.
Township officials reported to the Committee on April 28 that they had withheld the change orders that H & S Construction had requested in order to push the company to complete the project.
Township Construction Manager Carey Spiegel said officials have been fairly tough on H & S, ensuring they were being paid only for work that was called for in the plans and that they were not trying to cheat the township. He said officials made sure the work remained within the contract boundaries.
There were some change orders township officials rejected, and so far, no formal appeals have been filed. The biggest change order that was rejected was one for $75,000 in which the construction company claimed the architect was unfair in approving a sole source lighting fixture, which the township rebutted. “At least for the time being, it went away,” Spiegel said. “We think we have enough clout to make it go away permanently.”
There are still $17,000 to $20,000 more in change orders that have not yet been processed. A few of the change orders are from individual vendors, including one that satisfied a shortage of filing cabinets. “We’re closing in on completion of the paperwork,” said Spiegel.
Spiegel said there were still some nagging items that needed attention at the library, but they were mostly cosmetic and did not put the building or the people inside it at risk. One item that still needs to be completed is the monument sign on the corner and work on the graphics.
