Sep 19, 2014 5 min read

CARMICHAELS – Members of Carmichaels Area School Board expressed their frustration Thursday over delays in the completion of the new junior-senior high school cafeteria.

The new cafeteria and kitchen, being constructed in the area between the two schools, was initially to be done Aug. 15, prior to the start of the school year. Completion of the project was then pushed back to Sept. 15. Thursday, Tom Allen of Accelerated Construction Services, the project construction manager, told the board he was confident the cafeteria will now be ready for use Oct. 24.

“We’re frustrated,” board president Thomas Ricco said at one point during the lengthy discussion about the project. “We wanted the cafeteria to be open and it’s not open, and it looks bad on us.”

Board member Ed McIntire said he believes the district should be compensated for the delays and for work that could have been done but was not done. “I’m tired of hearing excuses,” he said.

“If (the students are) in there in November, I’ll be surprised,” board member Melodie Berardi said, recounting the missed deadlines.

The project was initially delayed because of an issue involving paperwork with the state’s plan of construction program and the weather, Superintendent John Menhart said following the meeting. Another issue developed with the drawings requiring approval of a change order, he said.

The latest issue, discussed Thursday, involved concrete laid as the subflooring. The concrete has to dry to a certain degree in order to apply the flooring, which will be sheet flooring in the kitchen and terrazzo in the hallway and an area where students will eat. It has not dried to the proper level in the kitchen area.

Architect Kevin Hayes of Hayes Design Group said problems with moisture in concrete often occurs. Before, he said, it was addressed through the use of volatile organic compounds that allowed the flooring to adhere to the concrete. The use of VOCs, however, is now prohibited.

Hayes recommended the application of a special moisture mediation system that would require the board to approve an additional change order not to exceed $19,900. The board later approved the order in a 5-2 vote. McIntire and Berardi voted against it; board member Jerry Simkovic and Ron Ferek were absent.

Hayes also told the board members of his firm and ACS have spoken to the prime contractors about problems caused by the delays and he believed they would do what it takes to keep to the schedule and have the cafeteria ready by Oct. 24.

The board also reviewed and approved eight additional change orders totaling $27,803. McIntire and Berardi voted against the motion.

Prior to the vote, Berardi noted the board already approved more than $100,000 in change orders.

Those change orders were somewhat expected and contingency funds put aside for them, Hayes said. The district is saving money by renovating rather than building new, but when renovating an old building many conditions are unknown and don’t come to light until work begins and walls and ceiling come down, he said.

One of the change orders approved Thursday, as an example, involved removal of an acoustic paneled ceiling. Above it, workers found not a single plaster ceiling, as expected, but two plaster ceilings that had to be removed to reach the structural bulkhead, Allen said.

The board also asked Allen and Hayes to make sure workers in the junior high turned off the lights each night. Lights in the building have been left on all night.

In other business, Menhart reported that even with work proceeding in the junior high and cafeteria “everything has been running smoothly.”

He thanked administrators, maintenance and cafeteria staff, teachers, K-2 Engineering and West Penn Power for helping getting school started on time.

K-2 personnel went out of their way and were at the school the night before the first day of classes to make sure everything was safe and in order, he said. West Penn Power employees also worked extra hours to assist with an electrical problem.

The district only received the building occupancy permit on the first day of school, prior to the start of classes, Menhart said.

Because the cafeteria in the junior-senior high is out of service, meals have been prepared in the elementary school and transported to the junior-senior high.

Cafeteria manager Sean Stark reported the arrangement has worked well. He thanked maintenance staff who have assisted in the program. Stark also reported the cafeteria was inspected by the health department and received no violations.

Board members asked Mike Gyurke, school police officer, if someone could be posted at Route 88 and Greene Street to assist students crossing the road before and after classes. Work on the nearby bridge on Route 88 has resulted in long lines of traffic.

The board accepted the resignation of Scott VanSickle, head baseball coach, and elementary teacher Teresa Brown. Brittney Bell was hired as Brown’s replacement.

The board voted to purchase a new telephone system for the district from ePlus Technology Inc. at a cost of $62,263.