School district claims city is holding up construction

The hope to get the new, $10.5 million Early Childhood Development Center completed by the beginning of the 2021-22 school year was dashed at the regular meeting of the Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education on Nov. 23.
After an estimated completion date of Oct. 31, 2021 was announced, Board Treasurer Simone Pinter asked if there wasn’t a chance to get it done by the beginning of the school year.
Rob Kakoczki of Plante Moran CRESA said they have been put behind six weeks by the city not approving the original civil design for underground water storage.
A second design was submitted and, “It’s kinda been in a standstill for six weeks,” Kakoczki said.
School Supt. Pete Kudlak said the project had an aggressive timeline and when they got the delay there’s no way they can hit the original opening date.
“Hopefully the city will not close down any more,” said Board President Amy Pearce. “They’re doing the best they can do.”
“We would have to be done by the end of July to get the furniture in there,” Kokoczki said. “It’s in everyone’s benefit to be open sooner.”
Supt. Kudlak said they probably won’t be able to have tuition preschool in the fall. He said they can move to the new building in January and it’s hard to start a preschool then.
“This put everything back a year for tuition preschool,” Kulak said. “We thought we had an agreement and it fell through. It is what it is…”
“We want these guys to do the best job possible,” said Pearce. “We don’t want them to feel pressure.”
On Dec. 1, City of Belleville DPW Director Rick Rutherford told the Independent that while the construction of the school building is under the jurisdiction of the state, the infrastructure is the responsibility of the city because after it’s done, the city will have to maintain it.
He said the original plans were submitted to the city with a note: “Please expedite the review.” Rutherford said that meant the city looked at it more carefully. The city engineer, Hennessey, reviewed it and found things that didn’t comply with state and national standards and returned it for changes.
“It’s the responsibility of their engineer to make sure everything is in compliance,” Rutherford said. He said the water main design has to be submitted to EGLE (the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes & Energy) and the water retention plans to Wayne County.
“There are certain standards,” Rutherford said. “We can’t throw caution to the winds.”
Rutherford said the engineering review was delayed further by being a day short last week because of the holiday, but the city engineer just told him he expected to have the revised plan reviewed by the end of the week.
In further discussion at the school board meeting concerning the building, Pearce asked if money left over from the Early Childhood Development Center construction can be used for other things.
“Can we buy more chairs?” she asked.
“We built the building,” Kudlak said, referring to what some of the bond funds were for. He said they could improve the playground and have a better quality furniture, if there is extra money to spend.
“It would be better to keep it in the building,” Kudlak said of the expenditures. “When everything in the bond is done, we could do more things,” he said.
Also at the meeting the board approved Plante Moran’s Bid Packet #2 (Group A) as recommended for a total cost of $5,851,622, including a $458,422 contingency, with all bids and alternates in or under budget.
The price includes a brick alternate, classroom canopies alternate and exterior classroom window seats/benches alternate.
A voluntary alternate came from Professional Thermal Systems, low bidder for plumbing and mechanical. It offered a voluntary deduct alternate of $32,000 if awarded both bid categories and this was accepted.
Professional Thermal Systems’ accepted bid was $675,000 for plumbing and $872,000 for mechanical.
Other contractors awarded bids were: Simone Construction Services, $642,500 for structural concrete and slabs; Schiffer Mason Contractors, Inc., $782,900, for masonry; Zak Welding and Custom Work, LLC, $221,600 for structural and misc. steel; The Spieker Company, $865,000 for wood framing; Clark Contracting Services, $429,200 for carpentry and general trades; Preferred Glass, Inc., $373,000 for aluminum, glass and glazing; and Douglas Electric Company, $532,000 for electrical.
At the next school board meeting, Plante Moran will present the remaining contracts – Group B – for $3,249,789 and a guaranteed maximum price for the building from Granger Construction — $10,548,848.
The amount includes $192,200 for Trade Contractor General Conditions, which covers temporary heat to keep the ground thawed so they can keep going in the winter, along with toilets and a dumpster.
It also includes $158,355 for Davis Street repaving, an estimated Civil Design Changes Allowance of $190,000 for city approval of the underground drainage, and $1,072,373 to Granger Construction Manager for staffing, fees, bonds and insurance.
At the Nov. 23 meeting, the board also:
• Approved the resignation of Belleville High School teacher Jonathan Mayers as of Nov. 29 after less than a year of service;
• Approved the resignation of Brittany Bonds from the Transportation Department as of Oct. 15 after one year of service;
• Approved the employment of Michael Dotson as a custodian with a starting date of Nov. 9; and
• Went into closed-door session for a periodic personnel evaluation of Supt. Kudlak and then adjourned without taking action.