Thursday, August 17, 2000 Older Editions

Construction way cleared: Bring on the steam shovels

By Rebecca Piro

It's official. The Cross Street Schools project was awarded to general contractor John T. Callahan & Sons on Monday, and the town is shooting to break ground sometime in September, says Plant and Facilities Director Joe Piantedosi.

On Friday, Justice John Cratsley dismissed the preliminary injunction filed by second-lowest bidder Neponset Valley, said Town Counsel Tom Urbelis.

Neponset had claimed that Callahan violated Mass. General Law by changing its bid during the bid opening on July 13. It asked the courts to eliminate Callahan from the running and award the project to Neponset instead, but Cratsley declined to issue any injunction.

"Based on affidavits, the judge decided that there was not a likelihood of success that (Neponset) would prevail (in court)," said Mark Johnson, chairman of the School Building Committee.

In a preliminary injunction hearing, the plaintiff must prove that they have a valid argument and a reasonable chance to win, he explained.

Justice Cratsley ruled that there was no proof that Callahan's bid was "obscure," as Neponset claimed, and he said that an awarding authority such as Andover has the right to waive minor deviations from bidding requirements.

Though Johnson would not predict Neponset's next action, the judge's decision pretty much eliminates any chance Neponset would have at an appeal, he said.

With the lawsuit out of the way, the only thing left to do is sign the contract, which usually takes a couple of weeks, Piantedosi said.

"The first thing we have to do is get the contract signed. Then the whole project team has to sit down and establish a schedule (for the construction)," he said. The only unknown factor is the date of the project team meeting, which will be scheduled sometime soon, he added.

Though the preliminary injunction was filed in early August, Piantedosi says the court order did not set the project back significantly. "We're on track. We haven't lost any time that's hurt the schedule," he said.

The town chose to continue as though Callahan was the chosen contractor while awaiting the hearing at Middlesex, Piantedosi said in an earlier interview. Therefore, the town was prepared to act fast as soon as the ruling came down.

"We're happy with the decision. It is what we expected," said Piantedosi.

A September ground breaking "has been our time table all along," added Johnson. "We're very happy and we're going to move forward."

The town's goal is to have the schools ready for occupancy in September of 2002, Piantedosi said.

Both contractors, their lawyers, and town representatives spent Thursday at Middlesex Superior Court in Lowell as a result of Neponset's filing.