Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Contracts topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves multiple mold-assessment contracts after questions about retroactive approvals and cost differences
Summary
Trustees approved several contract items for mold/moisture assessments after discussion about vendor price variance and retroactive authorizations; administration said additional assessments were sought after an initial recommendation showed potential multi-million-dollar remediation needs.
The Susquehanna Township SD board approved multiple contract line items covering building assessments while trustees pressed the administration about pricing differences and why some work required retroactive approval.
A board member asked why an Intertek proposal circulated Friday at $4,110 appeared on the agenda as "not to exceed $10,085" and why other firms (Mid Atlantic/ECS and Terracon) quoted very different prices. The board member said approving large assessment sums retroactively raised fiscal concern and asked whether the district could have obtained all proposals before authorizing any work.
An administrator and the project manager explained that the district sought three independent assessments after an initial recommendation from ECS estimated remediation costs that could run into the millions. The administration said obtaining multiple assessments was a form of due diligence intended to compare approaches and cost estimates before selecting remediation options; they also said some assessment work proceeded quickly to preserve construction and opening timelines for the Anderson Center. "One of the reasons why we went with 3 companies is because our initial recommendation from ECS … cost the district into the millions," the administrator said, describing the need for second and third opinions.
The board approved grouped contract items after discussion and roll-call votes. Transcript audio and agenda text contain differing dollar amounts for certain proposals (example figures referenced in the meeting: Intertek $4,110 in an initial email vs. a $10,085 not-to-exceed figure on the agenda; Mid Atlantic/ECS $6,900; other amounts for Terracon appear inconsistent in the transcript). Where the recorded figures are unclear in the transcript, the administration was asked to provide clear, itemized invoices and a brief written explanation of any retroactive authorizations at a follow-up meeting.
Trustees emphasized the need for cost transparency before large remediation work is authorized and asked staff to present all comparable bids and recommended next steps before committing to remediation expenditures.
