The Harpswell Select Board recently approved a $20,000 change order to its contract with the Massachusetts-based engineering firm GEI Consultants Inc. for work related to the construction of a town boat launch at George J. Mitchell Field.
It was the fifth change order approved for GEI, which isn’t uncommon for public infrastructure projects. Still, Select Board members criticized the recurring change orders — totaling nearly $80,000 — and one member voted no in protest.
At the board’s Nov. 20 meeting, GEI Senior Waterfront Engineer Kevin Buruchian explained that the latest change order was needed to hire a third party to conduct independent site inspections mandated by the Maine Department of Transportation.
The department “has said that it has to be a true third party,” Buruchian said.
He said GEI would convey the funds directly to the testing provider and would not take a cut. Still, Select Board members criticized the engineering firm for not anticipating the need for independent tests.
“This is at least the second time GEI has caused a change order because something unexpected showed up,” member David Chipman said. “We’re relying on you guys to be the professionals here. … How did this get by you?”
Buruchian said he is new to the project and wasn’t privy to prior discussions about site testing. He said inspectors will test several components of the project, including concrete strength and soil compaction beneath the ramp and parking area.
All three board members criticized the latest change order. Still, Chipman and Select Board Chair Kevin Johnson voted to approve it, saying the project needs to continue moving forward.
The town broke ground on the project Nov. 4 after years of planning. About $193,000 is going toward GEI’s services, and general contractor Wyman & Simpson is receiving $1.55 million to build the launch.
Buruchian said Harpswell still has roughly $100,000 in project funds to cover change orders, but Town Administrator Kristi Eiane said the town was hoping to use that money to pave the boat launch parking lot. The current scope of work calls for a gravel lot.
Select Board member Matt Gilley, who voted against the previous change order for $20,000 in September, voted no a second time at the Nov. 20 meeting.
“There wasn’t a law passed in the last six months that required this third-party testing,” Gilley said. “This is something, in my mind, that you guys (at GEI) should have caught.”
