Jailhouse rocks

FRITZ MAYER
Posted 3/16/17

MONTICELLO, NY — The Sullivan County Legislature received an update on progress on the construction of the new county jail at a meeting at the government center on March 9, and county officials …

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Jailhouse rocks

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MONTICELLO, NY — The Sullivan County Legislature received an update on progress on the construction of the new county jail at a meeting at the government center on March 9, and county officials seemed satisfied with the project so far.

However, the commissioner of the Division of Public Works, Ed McAndrew, explained that one area where an adjustment was needed was the amount of money to be spent on the excavation of rocks, specifically red shale, at the construction site.

He said that it’s difficult to know exactly how much excavation would be needed in advance of the beginning of the project. He said, “In our original contract we put in 5,300 cubic yards of rock excavation as part of the bid. We knew that would certainly be our most varying number... .” County officials did not want to use a number that turned out to be too high because county taxpayers could end up paying for work that was never done.

McAndrew said the contractor, the Pike Company, provided a unit price for the removal of additional rock at $31 a cubic ton, which McAndrew said is a “very good price” for this area.

He said there is an existing change order that allows for him, the county manager and the commissioner of budget and planning to spend an additional $25,000 for rock excavation, which he said would quickly be used up.

He said that rather than come before the board with multiple change orders, his department came up with an estimate that there might be an additional 6,200 cubic yards remaining to be cleared from the site, which would require another $192,200.

McAndrew requested that the legislature move that amount out of the $1 million contingency fund that exists for the jail, and any of that amount not spent on excavation would be returned to the contingency fund.

He said evaluations about the rock existing on the site and being removed daily are performed not by the Pike Company but by a separate company called Advanced Testing, which works directly for the county.

Legislators wanted to know if there was any value to the rock—mostly red shale—being removed from the site. The answer was not much, but there were discussions underway about whether it would be possible to move some of the better rocks in county trucks to store at the county airport.

Legislator Ira Steingart said, “This is what is to be expected. Anybody that does any excavation work in Sullivan County knows that the likelihood of hitting rock is pretty good... “

McAndrew said foundation work is being done now, and the Pike Company is looking to start bringing in the precast units of the building into the site in June or July.

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