Issues With Windows Costing Brick School District An Extra $200K

BRICK, NJ — A project to replace windows in several Brick Township schools is costing the district an extra $200,000 because of issues with the new windows.

The expense came to light during a heated exchange between members of the Brick Township Board of Education, district administration and school board candidate Walter Campbell over a decision to replace the district's architectural firm with a new one at the recent school board meeting.

By a 5-2 vote, the board approved naming Netta Architects of Mountainside as the district's architect of record, replacing the Wayne firm of Di Cara/Rubino Architects.

Before the vote, board member Karyn Cusanelli questioned the reasoning behind the switch and asked how Netta was chosen, and why it was done through a non-fair and open bidding process.

Victoria Pakala and Stephanie Wohlrab said Netta was chosen as part of a request for proposals that went out in January, after the new board members — Pakala, Wohlrab, George White and board president John Lamela — voted to oust all of the district's current professional services personnel as soon as they were sworn into office.

Laurence Uher, vice president of Netta, was in the audience and said Netta is the architect of record for about 50 school districts around the state, and that he personally worked for the Brick school board when he was with another architectural firm.

Lamela said they were concerned about the dramatic difference between the costs of the bids that were received for the East Gym project compared with what the architect had estimated for the cost, and he said the initial design for the parking lot work being done behind Brick High School and at Lake Riviera Middle School was not what the district requested.

Pakala added the architect was replaced because, "It was our understanding that his recommendations weren't followed in the past. We didn't think it was prudent" to keep using a professional whose recommendations were not being followed, she said.

The recommendations centered around the district's project replacing some of the windows in schools throughout the district. The $4.5 million project is "down to punch-list items," White said as he gave the board's facilities committee report, adding there was still work continuing to get air conditioning units into classrooms and offices that need it.

Campbell, who served on the board from June 2011 to December 2012, was a volunteer appointed to the facilities committee when the windows project began, and was harshly critical of the architect change.

"I worked with this present company for three years," Campbell said, saying he felt the firm had served the district well. "How can four people who just came in here last January make a decision on a new architectural firm not knowing the background and all the extensive work we did over the last three years?"

"It was multimillion-dollar projects," he said. "It's embarrassing."

Interim Superintendent Thomas Gialanella said he had issues with the architect.

"I was not personally happy with the architect recently," he said. "We didn't think we were getting the proper attention" on issues that had arisen in recent months.

"We are spending an extra $200,000 on the windows project because of problems that weren't anticipated," Gialanella said. "And we're spending $30,000 or $40,000 on doors at Brick Memorial," thought he said there is a dispute over why doors that did not comply with fire codes were installed.

"I think a change in architect was definitely needed," Gialanella said.

The windows installed at several schools in Brick are causing ventilation problems, Pakala said.

"What was the architect's recommendation?" she asked of Campbell. "Can we hold him responsible for the problems we're having now?"

Campbell said the problem was the project needed a clerk of the works to oversee it, and blamed Business Administrator James Edwards, Barton and former board member Frank Pannucci Jr. for refusing to hire one.

That's when things got testy.

Edwards said a clerk of the works would not have been able to solve the problem created by the windows used for the project. The windows recommended by the architect were double hung style, but the windows chosen by the committee — which at the time included Pannucci, and Campbell and John Hyfantis, who were serving as volunteers — were Kalwall windows, because they are more energy-efficient.

In an interview after the meeting, Campbell said the Kalwell windows also provide a higher degree of security for students and staff. The company says they are shatterproof, and they also are translucent, which Campbell said increases security for the students at a time when school safety is a top priority.

A bottom window opens to allow fresh air into the room, but the Kalwall windows do not accommodate window unit air conditioners. Edwards said the Kalwall windows cost about the same as the double-hung windows.

Campbell expressed frustration over being removed from the facilities committee, overseeing the project, which sparked a response from Barton:

"How did I take that (windows) project away from you?" Barton asked, noting that he had expressed frustration during the first year of his term at not being placed on any committees.

Pakala and Lamela then asked Campbell how he ended up on the committee in the first place.

"The public elected you?" Pakala asked, and Campbell said he was appointed by the board.

Campbell said later that part of the reason he had been appointed to the committee after his board term ended was because he had been heavily involved in a number of critically needed projects to update the district's schools, including the overhaul of the 60-year-old electrical systems at Brick Township High School, the replacement of the track and the replacement of the bleachers, which had become a serious liability issue, he said.

Campbell insisted a clerk of the works would have addressed the issues that arose where certain rooms needed windows to accommodate air conditioners, a point Edwards challenged him on repeatedly.

"We were going to spend $18,000 on a clerk of the works that you found for us, that we didn't do an RFP for, and you wanted us to hire," Edwards said. "The committee said no to you but somehow I'm to blame for it."

Edwards said a clerk of the works would not have fixed the design problems that were created by the use of the Kalwall windows. Campbell said those problems would not have arisen if there had been proper oversight, noting that at Brick High School, windows that required window air conditioners were marked and the Kalwall windows were not installed in them. At other schools, Campbell said, that was not done.

The net result, Pakala said, is "it's a matter of 50 air conditioning units sitting in storage and we have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on alternate units so that this district can be in compliance for its students, faculty needs and student IEPs."

"There are 50 air conditioning units that are perfectly good that don't work in these windows because they are inappropriate," Pakala said.

Edwards said the district is in the process of installing split AC units in the rooms needing air conditioning, but said the total of 40 to 50 needed is just an estimate.

The split units are $2,500 apiece, Edwards said, adding the district has installed 40 of the units so far.

Campbell said the window units that don't fit should be used to replace window units that go bad. He also said the split AC units are more energy efficient than the window units, which will bring costs down for the district.

The total budget on the window project is $4,282,477, Edwards said.

The library at Brick Township High School has the Kalwall windows. Photo via Google Maps