By Charlotte Smith
Concerns over the biggest construction project in Bladen County history continue to circulate. The Bladen County Board of Education met on Tuesday, February 1, 2022, for a special called meeting to vote on the Project Management Services and the Septic System Installation Bid for the Tar Heel School Construction Project. All board members participated in the meeting that lasted less than 20 minutes.
Officials plan to demolish the current Tar Heel Middle School located on NC Highway 87 and build a Kindergarten through 8th-grade school. The project is to build a new energy-efficient, first-of-its-kind facility on and around the current school’s location, to house an estimated 800 students. The history-making part of the project is the energy-saving technology and the construction costs toppling over 42 million dollars.
According to officials, the Needs-based Public School Capital Fund from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has allowed 40 million dollars for the project, and the Bladen County Board of Commissioners approved an additional two million dollars for the project.
Licensed General Contractor Rusty Worley, former Director of Maintenance with Bladen County Schools, requested the school board to consider putting the septic system for the Tar Heel School construction out for bids and ordering septic tanks at the cost of $72,715 on November 29, 2021. Worley stated, “We are anticipating ground-breaking on March 1, and hoping to have the septic system in mid-February.” Although, Worley’s request was approved in November, and the request for bids went out in December 2021, only one bid was made for the septic system project.
The Tara Group of Lumberton, Inc., submitted the first bid for $425,000. Since only one bid was submitted, the school board requested bids to construct the septic field again. The new request for bids began on January 14, 2022, and ended on January 25, 2022.
When presenting the bids Dr. Jason Atkinson, Bladen County Schools Superintendent, referenced the engineer working for the Board of Education on the project, Doug Haggett. Dr. Atkinson said, “He (Doug Haggett) has verified that the low bid with Quality Septic systems has the necessary licenses and that they are able to do the level four installation… and it has met all the guidance in the RFP.”
After that, Dr. Atkinson stated, “So tonight we are requesting the board approve the bid for the Tar Heel Septic for installation for Quality Septic in the amount of $244,958.50.”
The recommended bid was about $190,000 under the other two proposals provided to the board for the project.
Callahan & Wells, located in Bladenboro, submitted a bid for the project for $435,000. The bids were not available to the public for review during the board meeting.
Board member Roger Carroll questioned the low bid, “I don’t understand how this bid is so low compared to the other two.”
Mr. Charles D. Andrews with The Tara Group of Lumberton, Inc., who was present at the board meeting, explained his bid price included:
- The performance bond.
- High levels of insurance.
- The shoring and design.
- Insurance for the pit that would be dug and maintained.
Board member Dennis Edwards made the motion to approve the $244,958.50 bid from Quality Septic Services, with board member Alan West giving the second for the action. The vote passed seven (7) to two (2), with board members voting Mr. Roger Carroll and Mr. Tim Benton voting against the motion.
The septic field relocation dates were postponed from mid-February to March 1, 2022, through June 15, 2022.
In other news about the bid process, Mr. Andrews with The Tara Group of Lumberton, INC., submitted a letter via email to the Bladen County Board of Education’s attorney, Gary Grady, on February 1, 2022. Mr. Andrews references proper licenses for the Onsite Wastewater System and law violations. The letter states, “Its my past experience that a License Classification of PU-Water & Sewer Sewer Lines “DOES NOT” meet the requirements needed to construct the system in discussion”
The letter ends with Mr. Andrews stating, “In North Carolina it is against 87-1 for an Entity to bid a project for which it is NOT licensed for and for a government board to award a project for the same. The violation of these actions constitutes a misdemeanor offense.”
View the letter below.
According to the North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors website, Quality Septic Services, Inc. does have a limited license with a PU (Water Lines and Sewer Lines) classification but does not have a PU (Water Purification and Sewage Disposal) license on file with the licensing board. The Tara Group of Lumberton, Inc. has an unlimited license for both PU (Water Lines and Sewer Lines) and PU (Water Purification and Sewage Disposal) on file with the state. No licenses for Callahan & Wells have been found on the state’s website.
According to the the North Carolina On-site Waste Water Contractor Certification Board website, Callahan & Wells and Quality Septic Services, Inc. have certifications on file. However, their site does not list the Tara Group under their credentials.
Next on the agenda was the action item for the Project Management Services for the Tar Heel construction project.
There were three contracts up for consideration, according to Dr. Atkinson. After reviewing, Dr. Atkinson recommended a 20-month contract with MBP out of Raleigh with Michael Burriss to act as the Project Management Services for the Tar Heel Construction Project for a total cost of $172,000.
The other two bids were submitted by Cunning Group of Raleigh and SfL+a, which holds the architectural contract for the Tar Heel construction project.
“We did not put out an RFP; we just requested proposals,” Dr. Atkinson stated.
The board passed the motion in a six to three vote, with Mr. Tim Benton, Mr. Roger Carrol, and Mr. Dennis Edwards voting against the action.
BladenOnline reached out to Dr. Atkinson with Bladen County Schools by email requesting copies of the bids. At the time of publication, Dr. Atkinson nor any party with Bladen County Schools has replied with the requested information.
The construction of the new school in Tar Heel is scheduled to be completed with closeout by June 23, 2023, and students attending classes in the new facility in August, 2023.
Before adjourning board member, Mr. Gary Rhoda asked to speak about the superintendent, but Chair Roizer denied the request and continued to adjourn the meeting.
Listen to the board meeting on the Bladen Livestream YouTube Channel linked below.
On Tuesday evening, board members present in-person at the meeting were Chair Vinston Rozier and Past Chair Roger Carroll. The other seven board members participated remotely by telephone or computer. Also, present in-person at the meeting were Bladen County Commissioners Charles Ray Peterson and Cameron McGill. At the last Bladen County Board of Commissioners’ meeting, concerns about the Tar Heel school construction project were discussed. The board of commissioners approved a motion unanimously to give the Board of Education a February 21 deadline to present an update on the Tar Heel construction to the Board of Commissioners.
Update- On February 3, 2022 at 11:50 a.m. Dr. Atkinson replied back to BladenOnline’s request for a copy of the approved contract for the project Management Services and the Septic System Installation Bid for Tar Heel Construction Project.
Dr. Atkinson stated in the email, “The Board’s action on February 1, 2022 effectively authorized the administration and the Board’s attorneys to finalize contracts with the selected vendors. The formal agreements will be presented to the Board for approval at the next meeting on February 15. They will be available for review in BoardDocs with the other meeting materials prior to the meeting.”
Related articles:
https://bladencounty.org/employees-recognized-agreements-approved-appointments-made-and-other-business-addressed-by-bladen-county-commissioners/
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