A new plumber should be selected by July 10 for construction of the new fire house.
The first contract was awarded to low-bidder Performance Plumbing, which abruptly announced in late May that it had closed up shop, disrupting the construction schedule.
“Just the day before our meeting last Thursday, [project manager] Newfield Construction got confirmation that Travelers was going out to bid,” First Selectman Henry Tirrell reported. “We hope to have a new contractor by the end of the first week in July.”
As holder of the payment and performance bond, Travelers will be on the hook for any difference in the contract and for costs caused by the delay.
Tirrell said the snafu set back the completion date for the facility by two to four weeks.
Newfield’s Brian Grant told the Fire House Committee that normally, when there is an issue, it is evident early on. “But the issue with the plumbers was out of the blue and was not like anything Newfield seen had seen before,” Tirrell reported. “The bottom just dropped out.”
There was discussion at the meeting about whether enough due diligence had been done on the plumbing bids. Pressed to bring the escalating cost of the fire house down to an amount acceptable to the town, the committee had selected the lowest bidder “because that’s where you save money,” Tirrell said.
“Travelers basically insured their ability to follow through,” he concluded. “Should they have done more to look into this company for a $400,000 contract? It was a big company, and no one saw it coming.”