Subcommittee approves change order for Dunn's Corner stormwater sand and hazardous-pipe disposal, not to exceed $59,794.21

The West Virginia Public School Building Subcommittee voted Sept. 25 to approve a change order to address two unanticipated items at the Dunn's Corner school site: abatement/disposal of an original Transite stormwater pipe found in the foundation excavation and placement of a sand layer required by DEM for the site's stormwater chambers. An unidentified committee member moved to approve “change order number 4 ... not to exceed $59,794.21,” the motion was seconded and passed with no recorded opposition.

The project's architect and owner’s project manager told the committee the Transite (an asbestos-fiber–reinforced stormwater pipe) was discovered in the excavation and that disposal and hazardous-material handling were not included in the contractor's original scope. The architect said the sand layer appears in the DEM permit set and in the permit drawings but was omitted from the bid documents, creating a scope gap the contractor says requires extra work and materials.

“The sand layer was not on the bid documents. It was in the permit set. It was in the DEM set,” an unidentified project representative said during the discussion. The team reported attempting to negotiate scope and price reductions: some change proposals have been trimmed by removing items outside subcontractor purview (for example, overhead and certain general-condition charges), but the sand and disposal items still require funding so the site contractor can complete stormwater work while mobilized.

Committee members pressed the team on the extent of contractor entitlement — whether the contractor already owned some excavation work — and asked for verification of the bottom-of-excavation depth before finalizing cost responsibility. One member said they believed some excavation labor and material were already included in the contract and suggested the committee seek a clearer breakdown of the delta between the originally bid crushed stone and the required sand layer.

During the public discussion the architect supplied a sourcing estimate, saying the sand would come from Cranston at an indicated unit rate and that trucking added materially to the line item. The committee noted the risk that re-opening negotiations might prompt subcontractor delay or loss and balanced that against potential cost recoveries in other change orders.

The committee approved the change order to allow the contractor to proceed while on site; the approved motion is recorded as not to exceed $59,794.21. The committee also asked staff to follow up with documentation confirming excavation depths and to continue efforts to minimize the net project cost where possible.