Thursday, July 20, 2000 Older Editions

Who will build the schools?

By Rebecca Piro

The School Building Committee opened a bid last Thursday night that hit the $24.7 million budget for the two new Cross Street schools right on target, said Chairman Mark Johnson. But the contractor that submitted that bid, the lowest of the six the committee received, may have a resume marred by some problematic projects and lawsuits.

Low-bidding contractor J.T. Callahan & Sons of Bridgewater, has worked on projects in several Massachusetts communities, according to newspaper reports. Some of those reports say that various towns and cities that commissioned the projects were not entirely satisfied with the results.

For instance, in Abington, the foundation of a building was poured in the wrong location, reportedly as a result of a mistake made by a surveyor hired by Callahan & Sons.

In addition, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says that Callahan & Sons has collected about $44,000 in fines since 1987.

However, the architect building the Andover schools has worked with Callahan before and had not indicated any problem, said school officials.

As of early Wednesday morning, J.T. Callahan & Sons had not returned calls seeking comment.

The building committee opened the bids Thursday not yet knowing any background information on the bidders, and it was happy with the six it received, said Johnson.

"We were very concerned, because throughout the state bids have been coming in very high," he said. Numerous school projects have been cropping up all over Massachusetts because of the flourishing economy, he added, increasing demands on contractors and upping bid estimates.

In addition, the sub-contracting bids, which were opened Wednesday, July 5, had come in at about $400,000 over what is estimated for sub-contracting jobs in the general cost estimate. Without a low general contracting bid, the town would have needed to make cuts to the design.

But the committee breathed a sigh of relief when the six bids ranged from $24.7 million to $27.2 million, including sub-contracting costs.

"We were very satisfied," said Project Manager Phil Tuminelli, "because we got six bidders during a very difficult bidding climate."

The low bidder, J.T. Callahan & Sons, has also previously worked with theCross Street schools architect Symmes, Maini and McKee of Cambridge.

By law, the committee must accept the lowest bid as directed by statute 44A, as long as the company is deemed "eligible and responsible," which is defined as follows: "(Responsible means) demonstrably possessing the skill, ability, and integrity necessary to faithfully perform the work called for by a particular contract, based upon a determination of competent workmanship and financial soundness."

Though there is not much latitude for rejecting a bid within that statute, Johnson would not say where the line is drawn to label a company irresponsible and ineligible.

Stephen Joyce, director of the Carpenters' Labor Management Program, an arm of the New England Carpenters Union, says there is a long list of communities unhappy with Callahan's work. One of the most recent of these is Lynn, which has a school project reportedly $7 million over budget and 17 months late, he says. But Johnson says the stories and numbers mean nothing until both sides have been heard.

The committee has not yet checked out Callahan's background, he said, and without that information there is no good reason to consider its bid unacceptable at this time.

"You have to ask why (the Lynn project) is $7 million over budget," said Johnson. "You can't just look at one project and disqualify them."

Though Carpenters' Labor Management Program cites 36 lawsuits involving Callahan over the years, that is just not enough information to judge it, Johnson said. Questions should be asked to find out what type of lawsuits they are, how far back they go, and who was really at fault -- the community or the contractor.

If the committee decides J.T. Callahan & Sons is eligible and responsible, construction could begin in only 40 days, said Johnson. In addition, Callahan's bid leaves room for a 4.4 percent contingency to cover unforeseen expenses.

It is exactly those unforeseen expenses that Joyce, the spokesperson for Carpenter's Labor Management Program, cautions the committee against.

"(Callahan's history) shows that if the town decides to use Callahan, it should expect to pay more. It isn't always the lowest bid at bid time that will be the least amount of money (in the long-run)," he said. "You have to take the lowest eligible and responsible bidder. (Callahan) is not what I would consider a responsible company."

On the other hand, Andover resident Tom Deso of School Furnishings, a distributor of school furniture in Amherst, N.H., has seen Callahan take on at least 10 jobs over the past few years, and sees no reason to discredit the contractor.

"School building projects are usually plagued with problems," he said, "and they are not always the general contractor's fault. It could be the architect's problem. It's not always as simple (as blaming the contractor)," he said.

Deso cannot imagine that Callahan will not be awarded the contract, and he has faith the company will prove itself. Every contractor that bids on public projects must be qualified by the state's Division of Capital Planning, he said. Therefore, if all the horror stories about Callahan are true, the contractor would not be on a list for disbarment by the state. School Committee Chairwoman Tina Girdwood also says it is difficult to disqualify a low bidder, and any appeal could delay the project significantly.