New Contractor Coming To Moundsville City Building Project
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MOUNDSVILLE - Moundsville City Manager Rick Healy says the new Moundsville City building project is moving forward with hopes of naming a new general contractor by the end of August.
The project has been at a standstill since the former general contractor for the job, &build, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. According to Healy, the building has been sitting for "four months without anything being done to it" due to the ongoing &build bankruptcy case.
Since the building has been "sealed up" during this time, Healy said it has not been conditioned, resulting in mold beginning to grow. City officials discovered the mold during an inspection of the property Tuesday, during which the city's construction attorney, a construction inspection firm and two potential general contractors examined the building.
"There are some locations where mold grows," Healy said. "That's not necessarily going to delay anything that's going to be part of the overall remediation of the project."
According to Healy, no measures are being taken "at this point" to mitigate the mold problem due to the project being tied up in bankruptcy court with &build and the surety company Atlantic Specialty Insurance.
"Once the general contractor is hired, gets into the building, and starts doing deep research, whatever needs to be removed will be removed as part of the remediation before the new construction continues," Healy said.
Whether walls or drywall will have to be torn down to remove the mold depends on "whatever's determined by the new contractor," according to Healy. He added that certain sections of drywall will "probably" have to be removed.
"I won't speak for how the contractor will move forward (on the project), but most likely, they will begin to remediate all of the problems first, including getting the mold out of there," Healy said. "They'll be required to do mold inspections before and after the project to ensure it’s all done, but they’ll do the remediation first and then probably move forward with the rest of the construction."
The mold in the building will not "add any more time to the remediation," Healy noted.
"The remediation overall will add time to the project, but not the mold specifically," Healy said. "We’ve got some other issues that were left sort of undone when (&build) left, creating some water entry. Those things must be fixed, too, and that’ll all be done first."
Apart from reviewing the project and inspecting the building, the new general contractor will also begin communicating with subcontractors on how construction will move forward.
Healy said the new contractor will also determine a new schedule for the project in addition to remediation efforts.
With a new general contractor on the horizon for the project, Healy noted that "an awful lot of work" has been done behind the scenes to get the job moving again.
"Although it looks like there's not been any movement, there's been a lot of work done with attorneys and the surety company," Healy said. "The residents can trust that we are moving forward with the project. We are just trying to get through all the legal process first."
Since a new contractor selection is projected to happen by the end of August, Healy hopes the bankruptcy lawsuit of &build, which is delaying the project, will be finished by "the end of August" as well.
"When we have a contractor in place, we can start the work here," Healy said. "I would love to see that happen within a month."
Healy noted that "any progress" to keep the project's momentum moving forward "is big," adding that "unfortunately," the "best part of the building season" of the summer months has been lost.
"We still have several good months left, and once we get the new contractor in there, hopefully, they're going to work really hard on the project," Healy said. "We want them to get as much done as possible before we get cold weather."