EAST AURORA SCHOOLS
Project change orders cost East Aurora schools $74,000
Since the East Aurora School District began its $24 million capital project earlier this year, a stream of change orders totaling around $74,000 has trickled in.
But Superintendent James Bodziak last week said the increases are justified.
“We believe the change orders are in line,” he said after the School Board approved the latest one for $44,129 to Concept Construction Corp. due to soil replacement at Parkdale Elementary School, which is undergoing a major expansion to include two additional grade levels.
“One of the big risks at Parkdale is the soil,” said Arnie Cubins, senior project manager for LP Ciminelli Construction Management, who gave the board an overview of the change orders to date.
Typically, topsoil ranging in depth between 4 and 6 inches was believed to be at Parkdale. For such a project, contractors must strip the topsoil and replace it. Workers, however, ended up finding topsoil at depths of between 16 and 20 inches for most of the building’s footprint, Cubins said.
The contractor submitted a $54,000 bill, though Cubins said it was negotiated to $44,129 and approved by the board.
Under board policy, the superintendent can approve change orders up to $10,000 without board approval, though he still must keep the board apprised of new developments. If changes occur that total more than $10,000 and pertain to health and safety concerns, the superintendent can approve those, as well.
Cubins and district officials said the borings checking the soil levels were either misread or there were inconsistent areas around the building, where soil was either deeper or more shallow than 16 to 20 inches.
“It’s not surprising they missed. The area is known for soil variations,” said board member Steve Zagrobelny.
The outstanding $30,440 in change orders accounts for about a dozen other items— some of which included fire alarm improvements for the high school auditorium; additional fencing to cordon off the construction area at Parkdale; correcting a soil problem connected with a gas line installation at Parkdale; and a sanitary sewer issue.
Existing fill was used by National Fuel instead of new fill when a gas line was put in. It settled in a trench and had to be re-excavated and fixed, Cubins said.
A future change order expected to total around $17,067 is associated with new front doors at Parkdale that are being redesigned to more closely reflect the Roycroft look.
