Commissioners discuss health department construction change orders; excavation cost covered by grant

Hampshire County commissioners reviewed change orders on two health department construction projects during the April 15 meeting and were told grant money ultimately covered substantial unexpected excavation costs for the mobile-unit building site.

President Brian Englanger and other commissioners said engineers should have tested soil conditions before finalizing site plans. "The engineers for the project... should have tested the soil where the building was going to be as that is clearly in their contract," Englanger said, adding that the commission would not want repeated, costly change orders to become routine.

Commissioners said the mobile-unit excavation problem would have required a large expense; a county official said grant funds offset the bulk of the cost and the remaining amount billed to the project was "to the tune of $120,000," which the clerk indicated would not be charged to the county general fund. Commissioners noted smaller interior change orders for the health department building but said work is back underway and both facilities are moving toward completion.

Commissioner Mance described the issue as an example of a contracted professional service failing to meet the expected standard and said the county should weigh prior performance when soliciting future bids. "Public dollars are paying for that," he said, noting that while the county avoided a direct expenditure, the funds used came from state or federal sources.

Ending: Commissioners asked staff to track contractor performance and to consider adding prior-performance criteria to future procurements to reduce the likelihood of costly change orders.