Cold Facts: Sparta's municipal building remains unfinished

SPARTA - Four construction workers huddled around a portable heater inside a temporary trailer and tried to keep warm last week, while the cold facts remained outside in an empty abandoned building next door. Sparta officials believe crews are making progress, but construction of the new snow-covered municipal building is far from complete. Township manager Henry Underhill said a persistent mold problem inside the beleaguered facility is preventing crews from making significant headway on the $5.2 million project. “We’re definitely making some progress,” he said. “We certainly don’t want a building with mold in it. But frankly, I think they’re taking too long. We’re trying to kick them every day.” Underhill said a special contractor would be hired to apply an agent to eliminate the mold, but the cold weather has hampered the process. He expects that process to extend another two weeks. The mold is a remnant of months in delays after the first contractor was dismissed from the new facility planned to house the township’s administrative offices and police department. According to Underhill, Atlantic Mutual Insurance, the bonding company responsible for completion of the project, has yet to settle on a contractor to finish the inside of the building. Atlantic Mutual Insurance assumed financial responsibility for the project in July, but negotiations on a new contractor had routinely broken down. Meanwhile, Underhill continues to insist that the insurance company is financially liable for the project. Integrated Construction Enterprises, a New Jersey-certified company experienced in government and public arenas, was chosen as the new contractor for the exterior of the building. The company has been on the site since October installing scaffolding, removing debris and sealing up the building for the winter so that interior work con proceed. Underhill said that Integrated Construction is involved in the bidding process with Atlantic Mutual Insurance for the interior work. He expects a decision soon. While the dusk settles in the construction of Sparta’s new home, the township is using a boiler installed on a trailer parked on the side of the existing facility to administer heat inside the 100-year-old working building. Underhill said temporary heating is costing $2,500 a month, but he said that fee will be forwarded to the bonding company. “We’re adding this to our legitimate claims,” he said. “We haven’t resolved any of the issues with the bonding company yet.” Integrated Construction Systems of Belleville, established in 1991, has annual sales exceeding $30 million per year, and currently employs more than 100 employees. The company has successfully contracted more than 250 projects totaling more than $185 million in construction value. Atlantic Mutual had been meticulously seeking a replacement contractor since Horizon Contracting of Union County stopped working on the project more than eight months ago. Construction on the project had begun in the spring of 2004 and was scheduled for completion in November of that year. Sparta officials have not yet been given a new date for completion of the building. Township officials insist that construction delays or liquidating damages incurred by the new municipal building won’t mount to unexpected costs for Sparta taxpayers. Delays in construction had forced township employees to endure a faulty heating system, leaking roof when it rained, termites, and overcrowding in the existing building the past winter. Underhill said the delays in construction would not change any plans for the new building. When completed, Underhill said, the new 35,000 square-foot municipal building will offer twice the space of the current installation, and will feature a new security system and state-of-the-art larger facilities for the police department.