Akron school officials say a water barrier that was “not properly” installed at the King Community Learning Center (CLC) will likely delay its opening.
“Our main concern is that this is pushing the project date back,” board President Jason Haas said after Monday night’s board meeting. “At this point you have to be afraid that we’re losing an entire year.”
Haas and the school board consulted with its legal counsel during an executive session Monday night before voting to take action against Giambrone Construction of Hudson.
The board says that a liquid water barrier applied to exterior brick walls at King is not working.
The moisture problem could lead to mildew and mold issues in the new building, Haas cautioned.
The board’s resolution states that “Giambrone Construction Inc. has refused to submit an acceptable plan of action to remedy the defective work. …”
Haas said the board plans to meet with the project’s general contractor, King General Trades, and Giambrone Construction today to present an ultimatum to fix the problem or the district will withhold the final payments of the multi- million-dollar contract.
Board members could not list the specific dollar amount yet to paid, but said that 60 percent of the contract with Giambrone had been completed as of Monday.
Facilities Director Paul Flesher said the contractor and its bonding agent should absorb any additional costs added to the project, which was supposed to be completed by July. The Memorial Parkway school is now expected to open no earlier than January though a lawsuit could push that date back even farther.
Doug Livingston can be reached at 330-996-3792 or dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com.