New construction managers will be selected shortly for two other projects: Neptune’s Midtown Community Elementary School and East Orange’s Elementary School No. 5. The Neptune contract is expected to be awarded by the end of March and the East Orange contract by early April. No impact is expected to any of the project schedules.

The awarding of the Barnegat contracts came 15 days after Gilbane was removed from the projects by the SDA.

The decision to remove Gilbane followed a five-month formal mediation process regarding recovery of costs for errors by it and two other companies, which contributed to a yearlong delay in the opening of Neptune’s Midtown Community School. The SDA rejected a proposal by Gilbane and terminated the company from all Authority projects due to fundamental differences that became apparent during the mediation process regarding the role and responsibilities of a Project Management Firm (PMF), whose scope of work is broader than construction management.

"Anytime a company is removed from a project, there is understandable concern about disruption to the project schedule," said Scott Weiner, CEO of the Authority. "But we pledged to the affected districts that we are committed to minimizing, if not avoiding, disruption. Our staff did an excellent job in achieving an expeditious turnaround time to ensure these projects are not affected by the changes in personnel."

A contract for work on the new Barnegat High School addition and a new elementary school was awarded on March 7 to Armand Corp. of Cherry Hill for $556,993. Armand is a Minority/Female-Owned Small Business Enterprise.

Also awarded on March 7 was a $1,330,000 contract to AFG Construction Management Inc. of New York City for additions and rehabilitation work on Cecil S. Collins, Lillian M. Dunfee and Robert L. Horbelt elementary schools and Russell O. Brackman Middle School.

The contracts will officially become effective upon receiving necessary documentation from the awardees. Those submissions are expected shortly.

The SDA anticipates filing suit against Gilbane shortly for costs attributable to the company’s failures associated with the removal of mold from Midtown Community. The mediation, which the SDA facilitated to allocate liability among the three responsible parties, yielded a total of $6.5 million from Turner Construction, the general contractor, and SSP Architectural Group, which designed the project.

The SDA learned of the presence of mold in the exterior walls of Midtown Community in January 2007. The SDA hired experts to assess the conditions and to advise SDA concerning correction of the problem; work was undertaken with the guidance of the Department of Health. The brick façade had to be taken down and the exterior walls replaced to remove the mold. The walls and façade have been rebuilt. Opening is now scheduled for September 2008 after a year’s delay.

Gilbane was terminated from contracts involving 22 school projects. Fourteen projects do not require new construction managers because they are virtually complete or deferred for construction.

The process in Barnegat was performed under SDA regulations that allow for an expedited process for contracts of less than $2 million. A pool of contractors was determined upon analysis of project requirements. A random computerized selection determined which companies were asked to submit quotations. An SDA committee reviewed submissions, using price as a primary criteria along with other qualifications.