Sewer Project Facing New Cost Overruns
Village Board Not Pleased With The News
By Doug La Rocque
MRB Group, the engineering firm that has been handling the sewer project along the Lyman Street and River Street area that has been in the works for several years, was back before a special meeting of the Hoosick Falls Village Board Tuesday evening, January 7, looking for approval of another amendment (Number 6) to the original engineering services budget that totals $104,776. This was broken down into three categories, $65,000 for additional construction administration, $9,776 for additional services, and another $30,000 for construction observation that is tied to the hazardous mitigation ordered by the NYS Department of Environmental Services. Add to this the statement by Bill Davis of the MRB Group that about $60,000 of the construction administration has already been spent, in what he labeled as an “act of good faith” on their part, to ensure the project is finished in early spring, and avoid any further delays. MRB said the Village has been invoiced for this, but the paperwork they presented to the trustees this night contained no details as to how this money was spent.
Photo by Steve Bradley.
Trustee Ben Patton addressed Mr. Davis, demanding that these charges be broken down and presented to the Board. He said that MRB should have had the charges detailed in their presentation tonight, “and if you don’t think that’s important, then we have a problem.”
Another problem that developed was MRB’s statement that they have spent 70 to $75,000 on the mitigation. Village Attorney Andy Gilchrist said this was a figure the Village should have known before it entered into negotiations with the Honeywell Corporation for reimbursement of the hazardous mitigation efforts. He said they had figures from three contractors – Sterling Environmental, J-Squared and Luizzi, and that is what the settlement for $475,000 was based upon. That settlement precludes the Village from seeking any further funds for the original mitigation efforts.
The discovery of a previously unknown box culvert tied to the John Street Superfund Site, created another separate mitigation process, for which the Village is in negotiations with Honeywell for another reimbursement. Mayor Rob Allen and Attorney Gilchrist stressed the importance of knowing how much of the money MRB has spent on mitigation is tied to that box culvert, so it can become part of the talks with Honeywell.
The Board members decided not to take any action on Amendment 6 at this meeting, partly because they want the breakdown on expenses Trustee Patton demanded and because three members of the Board, Deputy Mayor Ryan and Trustees O’Malley and Pine were unable to attend. As a group, they said they wanted these three involved in any decision they may make. The matter was placed on the agenda for the Board’s regular meeting on Tuesday, January 14.
The Board did authorize Mayor Allen to sign two of three pending change orders presented for the project, but tabled a $10,000 plus measure, because it is tied to that box culvert work.
The only other business before the Board was a resolution to set March 18 as the date for the 2020 Village elections, but since the draft wasn’t ready yet, it too was tabled for a week.