Seneca County supervisors in the Public Works Committee voted to advance a $13,630.61 payment request to John Snyder Architects to the full Board of Supervisors, after hearing that the Office for the Aging (OFA) and security renovation ran past the architect's original budget because of subcontractor delays.

The action moves the payment out of committee for a final decision by the full board. During committee, John Snyder, representing John Snyder Architects, said contractor management issues and long lead times for specified exterior doors were major causes of the delay: “They didn't install those doors until the second week in September,” Snyder said, adding that finishing tile and securing entrances could not occur until the doors were installed.

Committee members and staff described steps already taken to motivate contractors, including withholding pay apps. Supervisor Shipley said county staff had been withholding substantial payments to encourage completion. “We've been holding back money ... to provide motivation for these contractors to get back on-site,” Shipley said. Snyder told the committee he did not plan further billable hours beyond current closeout activity: “...at this point, we're so close that I can't bill anything more because I feel like we're in that real closeout stage.”

Why it matters: committee members expressed concern about taxpayer exposure for contractor mismanagement. Supervisor Schmitters said the county should not be “paying for someone else's mistake” and urged stronger contractual completion dates and liquidated damages on future projects. Supervisor Shipley and other members recommended adding clearer completion dates, inspection schedules and possible incentives/penalties in future specifications.

What the committee decided: members agreed to move the requested payment to the full board for a final decision. The committee also requested a tentative executive session at the full-board meeting to discuss potential litigation related to the project; the chair asked counsel Art to prepare a summary for that session. Supervisor Heights noted he did not anticipate any further funding requests for this project.

Background and context: Snyder described that the general contractor’s superintendent retired in November and his replacement did not manage subcontractors to specification, shifting management duties to the architect and county staff. Snyder said the contractor failed to install specified heavy-duty exterior doors on schedule (a 20-week lead time was cited) and that late installation delayed multiple finish items including tile and final inspections.

County staff told the committee that code enforcement staff have been performing additional inspection work that raised their workload, and that some permits and inspections had been requested late or not called for by contractors, which further delayed closeout. Code officer Adam Hampshire was singled out for extensive inspection work at the site.

Next steps: the committee forwarded the payment request to the full board for final action and asked John Snyder to be available for follow-up discussions. Members also requested staff prepare options to bolster future contract language (completion dates, inspection timelines, and penalty/incentive clauses). The committee asked staff to prepare any litigation briefing for the tentative executive session scheduled at the full-board meeting.