Change Orders for Field Projects on Council's Plate

For those who couldn’t make it to this week’s township council meeting, there were a few interesting items that didn’t make it into a full story, but were nonetheless noteworthy. Here are a few leftover tidbits from the meeting:

• Township engineer Jim Rudderman told council there were two change orders for the Wesley Bishop North field project. Earlier this year, LandTek—the firm installing the turf field and making other improvements to the park—accidentally cut both an electrical line and an irrigation line while excavating a water retention basin, explained township manager Scott Carew. No one knew about the lines because neither one was charted. As a result, an electrician had to be brought in to hook up a generator—which was donated by a private citizen, along with the gas to run it—to provide light to the street hockey rink, and the irrigation line had to be relocated and reinstalled. Both items have to be paid for, hence the change orders. However, both were tabled while the township investigates whether either the engineer or the contractor are culpable. "If there's  party responsible, we want to make sure they help the township in paying for it," said Carew.

• Rudderman also presented to council another pair of proposed change orders related to field projects (both of which were tabled):
  • The contractor installing the new lights at Jeff Young and Maple Dawson parks ran into a problem when crews hit groundwater five feet down. The light poles need to go down 12 to 14 feet, Rudderman explained. To circumvent the problem, the contractor has proposed installing temporary casings into the ground, in which the poles will be placed. The casings would cost around $21,000. 
  • Council rejected last month a change order to expand the size of the lower field (currently under construction) to add a third, natural grass field so the sports teams—namely lacrosse—could have more room for games and practices. The cost of the change order was around $35,000—"a pretty expensive ticket for 60 feet of additional field," said Rudderman. The engineer said he's exploring an alternative that would allow LandTek to convert a flat open area closer to the skate park into a third field, which would be a lot cheaper.

• Rob Notley, project executive with Greyhawk, told council the town hall project was on schedule. Sambe Construction is in the process of creating the building pad—"kind of a critical component," he said—and removing the parking lot pavement and retaining walls by the library. Soon they'll start laying the foundations. Notley said the construction company has submitted change orders for the project, but he wanted to work with township administrators and the construction team before bringing them to council.

Council will hold its next meeting at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 18 in the IT room at Moorestown High School.