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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1983-12-19 Board of Public Works Minutes` Board of Public Works Meeting of December 19, 1983 Page 1 A meeting of the Board of Public Works convened in Room 16, Municipal Building at 8:46 P.M. Present were Chairman Wood, Board Members Polychrones, Griffin and Hampson and Assistant Superintendent Edward D. McIntire, Jr.. Also present was Town Counsel, H. Theodore Cohen. The Board met with Leonard White and Robert Koopman of R.H. White Construction Co. Mr. White stated that on January 11, 1983 CDM wrote a letter advising that the Water Treatment Plant Job was substantially complete as Of January 16, 1983 and R.H. White was advised of this. That being the case, the final payment would be due on June 10, 1983, 65 days after the submission of CDM's letter. The final payment of $23,653.15 has not been paid and $2,18S.S7 worth of interest has accrued for a grand total of $2S,838.72. The purpose of our visit tonight is to see why the Town has not paid the bill and why they are letting the interest accumulate. Chairman Wood replied because of the Punch List dated 12/19/83 (attached) and specifically hvdrofluosilic acid leaks. our last meeting. The tank leak and when the job was c more leaks after, the repair held up by this. This is a because of major problems with the White was supposed to repair the leak after, was drained and White came out to repair the 3mpleed and the tank filled again, there were than before the repair. The Town can not be very important problem to this Board. Mr. White stated each time you sent us a punch list we addressed them properly, and to my knowledge, there are no leaks out there right now. This has been true of several other problems you have spoken of. Mr. Koopman stated the leaks you are speaking of, to my knowledge, have been fixed. I should have been notified of the leaks in the hydrofluosilic acid room a long time ago. Mr. Koopman went through ` Board of Public Works Meeting of December 19, 1983 Page 2 the Punch List item by item and stated that none of these major problems are R.H. White's. Mr. White stated this job has been done in accordance with the specifications of CDM. If you have continual leaks you should speak with CDM, in good faith we have come back and back. Mr. Koopman stated we made investigations as to the use of this type of pipe in the hydrofluosilic acid room and the manufacturer stated this type of pipe should not have been used on this job. Every time there was a leak, we fixed it and have developed a system for threaded pipe without flexible connections. Mr. Griffin asked when did you notify CDM of the inferior nature of the pipe, are they in receipt of this information. Mr. Koopman replied I don't have a specific date, but I will find it for you tomorrow, and yes, CDM is in receipt of this information. Mr. White stated on January 15, 1984 we will stop with our maintenance. Mr. Polychrones stated in regards to the pipe how do we know it was not bad workmanship and not the pipe? For example, one of the elbows was not tightened, it was tightened by hand. Mr. Koopman replied in most every situation, Mr. Anderson did the piping. He has been with the company for 30 or 32 years and we have never had a problem with him. Mr. White stated we had a Union problem at the beginning of this job. We found out the Union was not qualified, however, they only did one weeks worth of work. Mr. Criffin asked is there in your estimation an inordinate number of problems with leaks for a project of this nature? Board of Public Works Meeting of December 19, 1983 Page 3 Mr. Koopman replied yes. Mr. Griffin asked would you speculate that we may continue to expect an inordinate number of leaks. Mr. Koopman replied I hope not, we have fixed a numerous amount of leaks in this plant and have spent considerable money to repair these leaks. Mr. Griffin asked where do we begin to separate the distinction between workmanship, product and design. Mr. Koopman replied and/or routine maintenance. I feel this is something you will have to speak with the designer about. ' Mr. White asked does the Board feel that R.H. White has not responded every time a Punch List has gone out. Chairman Wood stated speaking for myself regarding the piping in the hydrofluosilic acid room, it has never yet been acceptable. This punch list was made up yesterday morning so that any changes here have been done since yesterday. In the hydrofluosilic acid room, the problem is that you have to drain the tank to repair the leaks. When we called R.H. White in and there was one leak, and later there were four. you say there is a design problem. CDM says it is not a design problem. I feel it is up to R.H. White to get a design correction from CDM on this. Mr. Griffin stated he would like copies of the correspondence sent to CDM regarding reported leaks forwarded to this Board. Mr. White stated we are not making a point about the leaks, we are making a decision that we will respond until January 15, 1984. If you have further problems with the system, you better look to the design engineer. We Just want our payment. Board of Public Works Meeting of December 19, 1983 Page 4 Mr. Griffin stated we may in fact have a pattern of leaks for which we can present no responsible cause and no party responsible for the action. Whether it is design or implementation or construction, it seems to me it is important for the Board to know when a particular letter was sent to CDM regarding these problems Mr. White stated we will send you the letters tomorrow. We built this as specified with the pipe as specified, any Joint we have repaired you will not get another leak on. We did this in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. Chairman Wood stated my problem is with the aerated water sample Pump and the hydrofluosilic acid room. Mr. Koopman stated regarding the pump, the first time we looked into this, the manufacturer stated it was not working because it was not designed to pump raw water. Mr. White stated his company would fix this pump' even after January 15, 1984. Regarding the hydrofluosilic acid room, the leak between the tank and the suction valve is the only leak R.H. White will repair. Mr. White stated I have been aware of one leak. If we fix this leak when the tank is empty, and it leaks again, we will fix it again. You don't have to worry about this, we will fix it at any time you want. You have my assurance that I will fix those two items. Mr. Polychrones stated the lime slurry mixer had to be replaced with a standby slurry mixer because the original mixer threw oil. We found out later the motor was wired in reverse. Who is going to replace that? Mr. Koopman stated to my knowledge this was repaired today. Board of Public Works Meeting of December 19, 1983 Page S Mr. White stated apparently the Board has not signed Change Order No. 3 Ted Cohen, Town Counsel, stated this was discussed at the meeting with CDM on October 3, regarding substantial completion. There has been a significant problem with the water treatment plant since January of this year whereby CDM issued the notice of substantial completion. Very shortly thereafter there were problems with the lime system. CDM was instructed by the Board to advise R.H. White that we were of the opinion that substantial completion had not been reached as of January. I don't know if the determination can be made that this is totally a design problem and not a construction problem. A proposed amendment to Change 'Order No. 3 was drafted by me and went to CDM and your company, and at the last meeting we had, Mr. Koopman stated R.H. White would not sign it as amended. The Board is willing to sign the amended Change Order. Mr. White stated obviously we would not sign this as we already had a letter stating the Contract was complete. Chairman Wood stated you did get a letter of substantial completion sent by CDM. We were apprised of this by a copy of the letter. At that point the lime system was not working. The ferric pumps were leaking, among numerous other problems. The problem the Board had was at the time of substantial completion these things were not taken care of. The Board had the problem with the mechanics of the building. At this point, the mechanics are mostly working. If we are going to agree this is substantially complete, 4 - 6 months before the pumps are working correctly, what happens to the pumps? We are shortening our guarantee period by 4 - 6 months. Board of Public Works Meeting of December 19, 1983 Page 6 Mr. White stated on the 15th everything was working properly, except for the lime system. Most of the other problems you had were due to design problems. We the contractor bought the pump specified, I don't see this as the fault of the Contractor. We have never had problems such as this with any other water, treatment plant. I sympathize with your position, but a contract is a contract. This is our 60th year in business, and we will come back whenever you need us. You will see me every day up until the 15th of January and on two items you will see me after that. I think the Board should consider their obligation to R.H. White and for any other problems they should go to the design engineer. Chairman Wood stated we paid your bills up until recently. We don't owe you a lot of money. Asst. Superintendent McIntire stated at our meeting with CDM and R.H. White on October 3, with Ted Cohen, we had a punch list of sixteen items. For two months we have had very little response from R.H. White, I think we got more done in the last two weeks than we have in months. Mr. Koopman stated we can pull our time sheets and prove that is not true. Mr. McIntire stated $49,000.00 was released to you. the work was done and created more leaks. On October 3 we were informed they would be repaired. We have a lot of leaks that could have been repaired a long time ago and were not repaired until today. I can understand the leak at the valve but it is important to get it done and get it done right. I would like to see the hydrofluosilic acid room problems taken care of. We have one foot of material in that tank, when that is drained, I would like a commitment from R.H. White to take care of this. .. ' Board of Public Works Meeting of December 19, 1.983 Page 7 Mr. Koopman stated we have already agreed to this. Mr. White stated as far as I see it, we have a problem with a payment due on 6/23/83 and the problem of unsigned Change Order No. 3 and punch lists that keep on coming. I want to get this plant operating, but I also want my money. Chairman Wood stated I am concerned with Change Order No. 3, I would like the amended version to be signed. Mr. White stated I appreciate youp giving us your time tonight and I want you to know we will keep with this project even after we receive our money. The letter of the law' however, states a payment must be made to us. Chairman Wood thanked Messrs. White and Koopman for coming. Mr. Griffin moved that the Board go into Executive Session at 9:S0 P.M. to reconvene in open session and the Chairman polled the Board as follows' Mr. Hampson - yes Mr. Griffin - yes Mr. Polychrones - yes Mrs. Wood - yes The meeting reconvened at 10:32 P.M. It was moved, seconded and voted 4'0 to accept the minutes of the Board of Public Works Meeting of December 8, 1983 as written. It was moved, seconded and voted 4:0 to accept the minutes of the Board of Public Works Meeting of December 12, 1983 as written. It was moved, seconded and voted 4:0 to accept the minutes of the Board of Survey Meeting of December 12, 1.983 as written. Board of Public Works Meeting of December 19, 1983 Paqe 8 It was moved, seconded and voted 4:0 to accept the letter from H. Theodore Cohen regarding the D'Annolfo case as a point of information. It was moved, seconded and voted 4:0 to accept the Board of Appeals decision on the Camp Rice Moody case as a point of information. Under Old and New Business: Chairman Wood stated we were discussing the idea of bringing the tree wells up to grade level as a safety condition, Mr. Dickey recommended against it. It could definitely negate the warranty on any of our trees. He suggested we fill in with wood chips. Mr. Polychrones felt wood chips were not a good idea, perhaps we should fill them with soil. Mr. Griffin felt this might cause an icing problem. Mr. Griffin instructed the Department to inform the downtown merchants not to use salt on the sidewalks this year because of the trees. The Board signed the Payroll and the Billroll for the period ending December 16, 1983. The meeting adJourned at 11:00 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Se- etary . I - 12/19/83 LOUANIS WATER TREATMENT PLANT The following items, included in a list dated 9/19/83, have not been completed to the satisfaction of the Department: 1. Ventilation System for the Chlorine Dioxide Room. (Work commenced during week of 12/12/83) 2. Many hose clamps and metal items have corroded in the Chlorine Dioxide Room. (Clamps replaced but still corroded) 3. Aerated water sample pump needs repair. (Repaired but runs noisily; motor turns hard by hand) 4. Hydrofluosilic Acid Room - pulsation dampener needs repair; three (3) more leaks still exist. (Some repaired; suction and discharge of day tank leak at flanges; discharge of storage tank still leaks). 5. Lime system is inoperable. (New transfer pumps arrived 12/14/83, work will commence week of 12/19/83) . 6. Method to adjust fluoride feed pump on an automatic operation. (not functioning) The following additional items need to be remedied: 1. Lime slaker torque valve not function properly. 2. Slurry mixer (leaks oil) 3. Two leaks sodium chlorite transfer line (chemical storage building) 4. CCP high service flow chart motor not operating (chart not turning)