Rock Hill board members question change orders

Published 12:00 am Thursday, July 18, 2002

Money, and how it is spent, became a touchy subject Tuesday evening at the Rock Hill Board of Education meeting.

Board member Carl Large expressed concern about the number of change orders submitted to the board for approval in the construction of the new high school and elementary.

On the agenda Tuesday evening were five requests for change orders totaling $116,246.80.

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"I've commented before, there have been quite a few change orders. Now, it's difficult to be perfect, but it seems like a wide variation from when the architect drew up the plans. Why?" Large asked.

At the June 18 meeting, there were three change orders totaling $90,437.28.

At the April 16 meeting, board members were asked to approve $43,505.00 in change orders.

Superintendent Lloyd Evans defended the change orders, saying that things happen that "cannot be foreseen."

Board member Wanda Jenkins wanted to know if Evans had asked the contractor for the project to come to the meeting and discuss the change orders, and if he had been asked, why the contractor was not at the meeting.

"They need to be here," Jenkins said. "This is money in their pockets and they need to be here to defend themselves."

One item that drew particular criticism was a change order to "RWS Building Company in the amount of $28,009.61 for the utilization of beige brick for the new elementary school."

The board had initially decided on a red brick building with beige brick trim when the plans for the facility were first approved.

At some point, the order for bricks became flip flopped and Scioto Block sent more of the costlier beige bricks for the major portion of school construction and fewer red bricks to trim it.

"It depends on who you talk to," Evans said, when asked where the fault lay in the brick order mix up. "Some say it's the contractor and some say its the architect."

"I thought they ate that cost, since the order was wrong," audience member Junior Jenkins commented.

Evans pointed out that the architect, Triad Architects of Columbus, had agreed to pick up the tab for part of the cost of the blunder.

"This allows the contractor to recoup part of their cost for the brick," Evans said.

Board member Rich Donohue asked what the district's share of the change order costs would be. Evans replied 11 percent.

"So the district is paying for this?" another audience member, Phyllis Mullins, shouted out.

Evans responded by saying the original cost of the brick mix up was more than $70,000.

"If they got technical, Rock Hill would probably have to pay the full cost," Evans said.

The board approved the change orders, with one member, Rich Donohue, voting against the change order for the bricks.

The new elementary school should be ready for students by the start of the new school year in August. Teresa Moore/The Ironton Tribune