Unexpected brick deterioration raises costs at Owego police‑department rehab; board OKs contingency spending to keep work moving

During a construction update on 90 Temple Street, Sam Frauenhofer told trustees that removing the exterior brick revealed badly deteriorated interior coursing and crumbling cinder block behind the front stoop, creating a need for additional work beyond the original masonry restoration scope. Frauenhofer said the contractor estimated roughly $52,000 to stabilize and parge interior wall sections and an additional roughly $56,000 if the front stoop walls require full rebuild.

The project contract awarded for construction was $396,800 with a total construction allocation of $544,647 and an allocated contingency of $147,847. Frauenhofer asked for direction to continue work to keep the contractors on site; trustees provided verbal approval to use up to $60,000 of contingency funds to address unforeseen masonry needs and asked staff to prepare a formal change order for the mayor's signature. "So I would be looking for some action on approval to move forward with the masonry restoration work," Frauenhofer said, noting that windows are on an eight‑week lead time and that most additional work is within current contingency.

Trustees discussed schedule impact and structural fixes such as improved drainage to limit freeze‑thaw deterioration; staff estimated the masonry work could add one to two weeks to the masonry portion but would not change the overall completion date, pending window delivery and finalized change‑order pricing.