Work at the Knox Wastewater Treatment Plant was set to reach final completion Wednesday, 12 days after the most recent deadline. Engineer Steve Henschen with Jones Petrie Rafinski says that when the board of works had an executive session last Monday, Thieneman Construction still had about 15 to 20 items remaining on the punch list, most notably, the installation of an overhead door.
“I sent out an email that same day to the contractor, saying, ‘You have, basically, this week to get things done because we have to close out the grant by the end of the year,’ et cetera, et cetera,” Henschen told the board of works Wednesday. “Whatever happened, all of a sudden, they were able to get a door, and the door’s installed now.”
As of Wednesday morning, Henschen said the only thing remaining was some final wiring work. The contractor expected to have it done later that day.
The project has experienced delays and cost overruns for months. Among other issues, a concrete pouring accident in the spring led to the need for a cold joint in the basement wall, while the contractor’s failure to put a rubber gasket around the plastic pipes at the two manholes on either side of the building led to leaks.
Henschen noted that the city’s contract allows it to reduce the dollar amount, if it accepts work of lower-than-expected quality. After reaching out to some contractors, JPR determined that $7,000 would be a fair adjustment, to cover the cost of resolving any future leaks. “TCI may not ever agree to it, so we may not get them to sign a change order, but that’s really irregardless because our contract allows us to do that, and we just document that deduct,” Henschen explained.
He added that the process is also simpler than requesting an extension to the one-year warranty.
In the end, board members approved Thieneman’s final pay application for the work itself, minus $7,000. They also agreed to pay almost $24,000 of the retainage, leaving $62,500 to be approved next month.
