High school construction: District brings on attorney

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High school construction: District brings on attorney (3/22/03)

By: Phil Pfuehler March 22, 2002

Prompted by worries over unsettled construction issues at the new high

school, the school board has approved hiring a " construction attorney. "

Shamus O'Meara, a Minneapolis lawyer whose firm specializes in school

construction, has been hired by the board on a " time basis. " River Falls

School Superintendent Boyd McLarty said O'Meara's hiring is a precaution

needed to protect the taxpayers' $30-million investment in the new high

school.

" We're not looking to litigate. We just want to finish the project, " McLarty

said. " But we have to be prepared, and we are not experts in construction.

We have to find out what our options are, and to protect ourselves for the

future. "

McLarty said O'Meara will send an engineer and a metallurgist to examine the

new high school on Cemetery Road.

An April 8 meeting is set between school district officials and Waupun-based

Westra Construction. At the meeting Westra is supposed to show how it has

wrapped up all unfinished work and to specify an agreement for jobs that

still need finishing - such as the athletic playing fields, which are

unusable and must be re-seeded this summer to have any chance of being ready

by Sept. 1.

Two major issues remain a concern:

1) A cracked wall in the high school's auxiliary gym.

2) A dozen leaks so far in the school's plumbing and the discovery of many

other spots where pipe joints weren't " crimped. " The suspicion is that many

other pipe joints, including behind walls, are not crimped and could bring

future leaks, flooding and promote growth of harmful mold.

McLarty said that, in light of all the leaks, the standard one-year warranty

on the school's plumbing is inadequate.

Testing for mold will also be done this spring. Between the leaks and rain

that fell in the building before the roof was finished, McLarty and school

board members think this test is a must.

Another new Westra-built school, Chavez Elementary in Madison, opened last

fall and then closed because of a mold outbreak. An engineering firm found

the builders failed to control humidity levels during the construction, let

water enter the school through leaky roof coverings, and didn't dry interior

walls after a flood.

McLarty said the district is still negotiating for now. He said having the

construction attorney's expertise will improve the district's negotiating

position.

" We still have some big issues to deal with and we're not the experts, "

McLarty said. " It's better, we feel, to be smart and knowledgeable. We also

have to put some pressure on to get things done. "

McLarty will also meet with the district's architectural firm, St.

-based Wold Architects, next week Friday. A key item on that agenda are

obstructed views from the high school gym bleachers.

That problem is considered an architectural flaw unrelated to Westra.

" We really don't have a problem at this point with Wold, " McLarty said.

" They've been cooperating with us on this issue completely. "

McLarty said the construction attorney will be paid for whatever work needs

doing. Payment will come from the district's remaining construction fund of

$2.5 million.

©River Falls Journal 2002