Irwin officials balk at paying more for office project

As Irwin Borough faces almost $170,000 in additional costs from contractors and a designer to convert its century-old building into a modern first-floor government office, council members Monday balked at some of those estimated bills.

The project started this year at $1.1 million. The proposed bills for new change orders are on top of about $75,000 in change orders approved in September.

Council members Monday unanimously rejected an estimate of $27,807 from Graham Construction Co. of Claysville, the project’s general contractor, for revisions to resurfacing the first floor of the borough building on 424 Main St.

In addition, council tabled a proposed bill from Graham Construction for $116,542 to follow revisions in plans to resurface and level the police department floor in the rear of the building, along with adding three exterior doors and additional alterations to the office walls.

On top of the rising costs, Graham Construction informed the borough that the extra work would delay completion of the project until April 9, instead of the anticipated completion date of mid-December.

The estimates from Graham Construction did not contain any breakdown of costs for the materials and the labor, said Council President Rick Burdelski.

A spokesman for Graham Construction could not be reached for comment Monday night.

A $5,500 bill from Civil & Environmental Consultants of Monroeville, for designing the project revisions in the police department, was approved for payment.

Civil & Environmental Consultants is the designer for the project. Jason Fronzek, vice president for Civil & Environmental Consultants and the lead at the Monroeville office, could not be reached for comment Monday night.

Council did approve a $5,209 bill from Shipley Plumbing LLC of Cranberry for repairs to the main gas valve and an extension of the natural gas line.

Westmoreland Electric Services Inc. of East Huntingdon wanted $12,364 for lighting in the front and rear of the building, but council opted only to approve about $3,448 for lighting in the rear of the building, which is the police department entrance along Western Avenue.

Chief Dan Wensel said the lighting in the alley would enhance the safety of his officers.

Council held off on paying for lights at the Main Street entrance, which would have cost around $9,000.

A $3,340 bill from Westmoreland Electric for additional rewiring was tabled, even though the company sought retroactive approval.

Councilman Tyler Baum questioned why the borough would approve paying a bill for work it never initially approved. Baum said he wants to talk the borough solicitor, Zachary Kansler, about the matter.

Councilman Shawn Stitely expressed his frustration over what he said was “a lot of items that were missed” in the original design, and that the borough has to pay for the work and for the time to redesign the project.

“Why was it missed?” Stitely asked.

The borough should do a thorough review of the 900-page bid sheet to see what it contained, Stitely said.

Following the meeting, Burdelski said they do not know if this is the end of the change orders that council will face on the project.

Some of the changes in plans for the project were not anticipated until after material containing asbestos was removed from the floor, said Shari Martino, borough manager.

Once the material was removed, it was discovered that the floor was not in good condition, Burdelski said.

Borough officials had decided last December to move its second-floor administration offices to the ground level occupied by Rosendahl’s Appliance Center. The appliance center relocated to a former restaurant across Main Street in April.

Irwin officials had looked at other sites in town as possible locations for the administration office and the police department, but opted to convert its existing office space. Both the administrative offices and police department are on the second floor, with no elevator or stair lift to assist those with mobility issues to help them reach the upper level of the building.