JCI as a partner

I mentioned the large number of change orders that have some Duluth Parents fearful that their part of the Red Plan might run out of money before they are commenced. We are not alone. According to the Timberjay JCI has been routinely been making change orders in their $67 million rebuilding of the St. Louis County Schools. However, they are making the changes themselves without informing the School Board: From the Timberjay:

Take the most recent claims by JCI’s Randy Anderson and John Henry. When a school board member first raised the question about change orders late last month, and why those changes hadn’t received board approval, Anderson told the board the contract didn’t require board approval.

That’s flat out wrong, and Anderson should have known that. If he wasn’t aware of the contract’s requirements, he shouldn’t have tried to buffalo school board members by suggesting that he was.

And Henry’s argument was no better. He insisted that JCI needed to be able to approve change orders quickly, suggesting they often require “snap judgments.”

There’s no doubt that construction scenes often require quick decisions, such as where to unload the latest shipment of windows or wall studs. Or who is picking up lunch for the crew today.

By the way. When I was on the Duluth School Board all change orders were brought to the Board. Everything that the Timberjay reports about them is true. In a short construction season they must be acted on quickly. JCI’s refusal to tell the School Board about the changes in order to expedite construction strikes me as stupid. If I got elected to their Board I’d inquire whether the District even had to pay for unauthorized changes especially since JCI has made a habit out of misinforming the Board from the beginning of their relationship.

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