Engineer receives more for its supervision
BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Woodward & Curran Vice President and professional engineer Justin deMello announced Aug. 26 the Starke wastewater treatment plant has reached substantial completion.
This follows the commission’s decision earlier last month to pursue liquidated damages again Weiss Construction.
DeMello said the construction contractor is working on a punch list of final items, including the demolition of old facilities. But despite the delayed completion, the project has been a success, he said.
Equipment and material delays stemming from the Covid pandemic contributed to the delay. There have, however, been no unforeseen changes that pushed the cost above the $23 million bid. The only changes to the contract were deductive, which is almost unheard of, deMello said.
Woodward & Curran assumed operation of the new treatment components in May, and all systems have been running well.
“We thank you for allowing us the keys to your new Chevy,” deMello told the commission.
During a prior meeting the commission voted to pursue liquidated damages for the delayed completion, and there were questions about why the commission hadn’t been kept up to date. DeMello reminded them he had appeared before them in May and told them of a six-month delay during an otherwise positive update.
He then touched on Woodward & Curran’s history as construction administrator for the project. The original contract covered February 2023 when construction began through December 2023. In July, the city amended its contract with the engineer to cover payment for its 13 months of service from December 2023-January 2025.
Last week, amendments were requested to cover the period from January to October 2025 when final completion is now expected to occur.
Unlike construction costs, the engineer’s administrative costs have grown since final completion extended from 20 months to 33 months.
“We want to seamlessly continue to perform a very high level of construction administration services to manage this contract and continue to make it a successful project. We do have a lot of outstanding items to close out with the contractor,” deMello said.
Five percent of the construction contract funding from USDA has been held in retainer, amounting to around $1 million. DeMello said that was more than enough to finish up the punch list, even if the contractor walked off the project and they had to bring in someone else.
“I understand that at the last meeting a discussion came up around liquidated damages, right? Really, this is a tool to get the contractor to move, right? We are saying, ‘Look, enough is enough. Finish the job,’” he said. “We are working tirelessly to close out amicably with this contractor, and that’s why we’re holding the money that we’re holding and making sure the city is protected through that punch list and close out.”
The July amendments to the Woodward & Curran contract totaling $649,400 have been sent to USDA. The final amendments approved last week totaled $264,500. The original contract amount and previously approved amendments total $1.8 million.
