Change order №6 had residents questioning council about the work taking place at the Kings Highway Water Treatment Plant.
A change order had Moorestown Township Council fielding questions about the ongoing Kings Highway Water Treatment Plant project for much of the meeting held in Town Hall on Monday, Jan. 22. The consent agenda resolution passed by council authorizing Change Order №6 in the amount of $79,308.78 provided funding for repairs to a well, relocation of a 12-inch water main, iron sludge removal and additional valves and water piping.
Resident Edwin Begg took to public comments to question the reasoning behind the change orders.
“Is this problem — and it is a problem because we’re at change order six and apparently counting — is it a case of poor definition in the request for proposal?” Begg asked.
Township Manager Thomas Merchel said there were some changes the township could not have anticipated when it embarked on the project. He said when they began digging underground, they encountered some unexpected issues. Additionally, over the course of the project, the township brought on a new utility superintendent in May who had some “tweaks” he wanted to see done to the system, Merchel said.
“It’s a large project,” Merchel said. “This is a project that’s expected to have, you know, some of those unknowns that you’re going to run in to.”
Begg responded by inquiring about water quality. He said issues at the water plants located on North Church Road and Hartford Road have raised questions about water quality, and he wondered if these same issues applied to the Kings Highway plant.
“Is there anything that’s coming out of the woodwork now that suggests there might be a problem there quality-wise?” Begg asked.
Township Attorney Anthony Drollas responded by explaining the reasoning behind the change order.
“It’s not a water quality issue, Mr. Begg,” Drollas said. “Never has been.”
He said despite “all the best mapping and surveying that could possibly be done,” crews found a duct bank that was in conflict with the existing water main, and for that reason, a portion of the existing water main had to be moved. He said relocating the main was “the bigger ticket item” in regard to the change order.
“That’s life with water treatment plants and pumps of this magnitude,” Drollas said.
Councilman Michael Locatell added the township has gone to great lengths to ensure water safety. He said crews performed a test where the plant’s pumps were run at full capacity for 72 hours. He said the state Department of Environmental Protection only requires this 72-hour test be run on new wells, but the township decided to take the extra step and run it.
“It’s based on the issues that we had at Church and otherwise that we decided to go that extra mile to make sure that under full load that we wouldn’t be drawing something into what they call the cone of influence that would have some sort of contaminant in it, and it came out clean,” Locatell said. “We had a good report on that, so we’re very confident in the quality of the water.”
Locatell elaborated by saying when a 50-year-old plant gets updated, the old pumps may not fit correctly or may not hold up to new equipment and pressure.
Resident Timothy Daniels questioned council about who was overseeing and approving these change orders.
“Did I hear correctly there are increases in the charges for construction for these capital projects?” Daniels asked.
Drollas said Moorestown’s water and sewer department reviews all submissions from the contractor and either accepts or rejects these submissions. From there, the submission is sent to Merchel who reviews the charge before presenting it to council.
“There are many, many sets of eyes,” Drollas said.
Merchel said the improvements constitute a $7 million project, and every change to the original approved contract has to be done by resolution. He said these changes have to be done when issues arise to move forward with the project.
“You have to approve it at that time because it’s sitting there at that time waiting to be done,” Merchel said. “It can’t just all be done at the end. You have to authorize them to move forward.”
Locatell said he anticipates change order №6 being the last of the change orders.
The next meeting of Moorestown Township Council will take place on Monday, Feb. 5 at 7:30 p.m. in Town Hall.
