Fears over change orders exceeding the legal limit had Secaucus Housing Authority commissioners treading carefully at the Feb. 18 meeting.
To meet some of the deadlines for on-going work, the board approved two change orders for work in Kroll Heights. One change order is to remove cracked ceramic tiles out of the office and install a new floor. The other covers painting in the laundry and lavatory. This increased the contract from the original $45,000 for various construction to $48,950.
SHA Director William Snyder said that he had requested the work be done, but said other problems had occurred. He said the contractor had failed to do work properly on the doors leading to the building’s lobby and had taken up the floor on the second floor of the Impreveduto Towers’ lobby without prior permission.
Snyder said the company went ahead before he could bring the matter up with the housing authority and said he was concerned over the numerous change orders, which now exceed the state-imposed threshold. Snyder said the state requires the SHA to seek new proposals if change orders – which add costs to the original contract – rise above 20 percent of the original contract’s total. Snyder said the change orders requested to date are 28 percent. He also said that change orders require a review process that allows the SHA’s architect to look over the details before allowing the contractor to move ahead.
“While we want to install a new floor, we have to get another proposal,” Snyder said. “This will likely go back to the original contractor, but we have to abide by state law.”
Snyder said the doors were another problem, something that came under review by the SHA’s engineer.
Philip Massi, the SHA engineer, said the function parts of the door had been installed in the wrong place, causing the doors to become non-operational. Visitors and residents were forced to use the side door. Unfortunately, the contractor did not secure these doors when he was through with work for the day, leaving it so that almost anyone could come or go.
While there have been no incidents, Massi said the contractor is responsible to make certain the building is secure. If the doors can’t be locked then the contractor must provide security or pay the overtime for the SHA’s security people.
Massi also said the contractor had been storing equipment in inappropriate places, despite the fact that the SHA had supplied a storage room. He said some minor details were also noted, such as electrical conduits not sufficiently concealed. This was due to the fact that electricians were asked to do the carpentry work rather than the contractor hiring carpenters to do the work.
Massi said his past dealings with this particular contractor in other towns had resulted in similar problems.
Other business
SHA Commissioner Michael Harper asked about a report due out on noise reduction in Impreveduto towers. The report, according to Massi, is finished and being analyzed with bid specs possibly ready by next month. “We hope work can be done before the summer,” Massi said.
During the public comment period, two residents questioned possible upgrade of the community room on top of Impreveduto Towers. They asked if the kitchen could be enlarged. Snyder said a larger kitchen would reduce the size of the community room, but this could be something considered as part of the overall capital improvements. He stressed, however, the need to prioritize things, saying that there is a limited amount of money to go to various issues such as roofing or other necessities. Residents also asked about setting up a computer room for seniors, and Snyder said this could also be considered as part of the capital improvements.
“But you may have to choose between repairing the roof or installing a computer room,” he said.
One resident also asked about the roof fan on the Elms building, saying that the fan is used to remove odors from the building, but has not been left on. Apparently the complaints about fan noise had caused workers to put it on at intervals rather than leaving it on. Residents said they could smell cooking onions in the elevators and fish in the halls.
Residents also asked that the SHA approve the senior citizen yoga program before the six-week schedule expires. The seniors claim that by letting the program lapse, the board breaks the continuity of senior citizen exercising. The seniors and some board members had thought the program was funded for six months, not six weeks.
But Snyder said that because the program had not been bid on, the contract could not exceed $1,000. Each class costs $100. So to avoid coming into conflict with state law, the board has to review and renew the program every six weeks.
Snyder said he would talk to the SHA’s social worker about seeking proposals that would allow the program to get funded for a longer period of time.
The board also received bids and proposals for various routine services for the year. William B. O’Neill bid $5,995 for auditing services; Burkes and Macowitz, $15,000, for legal services; and Nick Costantino bid $19,200 for accounting. While the SHA received only one bid for its security service, the commissioners asked for two options.
“We asked for bids on one or two guards,” Snyder said, during a telephone interview. “We used to go with two guards, but wanted to see the cost difference.”
Explorer Investigation Services of New York City, bid on the service. The SHA’s buildings and grounds committee will review the security bid, while the SHA’s Professional Service Committee will review the other bids. A vote to accept is expected at the March meeting.