THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 16, 1996 TAG: 9608160587
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: JEFFREY S. HAMPTON, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: CURRITUCK LENGTH: 72 lines
A platoon of Currituck County officials cornered two representatives of Trafalgar House Construction at a meeting Thursday to demand quality work and rapid completion of the new $16 million high school in Barco.
The two-hour meeting at the Knapp Teacherage in Currituck began with tension on both sides, but in the end, the No. 2 man of the beleaguered construction firm promised that Currituck County High School will be finished by Nov. 25.
According to the contract, Trafalgar must deduct $2,500 from the school's price tag for each day beyond the contract deadline of Sept. 18.
Despite that financial motivation, there have been a series of setbacks and blunders that have rankled Currituck officials and the Virginia Beach architect who designed the school.
``There are a lot of deficiencies out there that have not been corrected,'' said C. Michael Ross, the principal architect of the high school, the largest building project in Currituck's history. ``There seems to have been an attitude from project managers and subcontractors, possibly even with Trafalgar, that they don't have to comply with the schedule. We have a contract, and we've got to enforce it.''
Larry McCandless, a senior vice president with Trafalgar, said: ``I'd like to know who has an attitude like that, because I'll fire them today. We contractors will make mistakes. We're not perfect. We will fix whatever we don't do right.''
Ross and school superintendent Ronnie Capps rattled off complaints. Capps noted that there have been four project supervisors since construction of the 165,000 square-foot school began 14 months ago. The latest supervisor, Ron Montecalvo, was at the meeting.
McCandless answered the accusations matter-of-factly.
``I apologize, to a degree, for the rollover of personnel. Unfortunately, we can't keep people from quitting. We can't have indentured servants.''
Four other major complaints cited at the meeting:
Failure to adhere to construction specifications.
Regular setbacks in the completion date.
Inadequate supply of materials.
Not enough workers on the job. McCandless said there are 120 men on the site.
Recently, workers painted the cinder-block wall in the gymnasium even though the wall was moist from leaks, said Staley B. Powell, assigned by the county to oversee the project. Powell said he has asked several times to have the leaks repaired.
``The correction of those smaller issues is not being expedited,'' said Powell. ``The bigger problems always come because of the smaller items.''
Capps said the football field is still not finished, a full year behind schedule. The first football game is Aug. 22.
``It will be done by the first football game if I have to come here and do it myself,'' McCandless said.
Also attending the meeting were County Manager Bill Richardson, Board of Education members John E. Barnes and Garry Owens; County Commissioners Eldon Miller and Owen Etheridge; Director of Facilities J.F. ``Skip'' Sanders and Finance Officer Dan Scanlon.
The county has contracts with three primary builders in addition to Trafalgar. Miller stressed the need to get every primary contractor to agree in writing to the new deadline.
Powell said some contractors are saying it will be another 120 days from Sept. 18 before they can finish.
``Realistically, there's not a person in the room, if the truth be known, that knows when this project is going to be completed,'' Powell said.
McCandless said he doubted that the other primary contractors will sign a commitment to a completion date. However, he agreed to meet with county officials and contractors on the site.
Capps and the other officials said they were cautiously satisfied after the meeting.
``My concern at this point is quality first, schedule second, and still adhere to the Nov. 25 deadline,'' Capps said. by CNB