Equipment owned by Hagar Enterprises Inc. sits on the side of Egypt Road in Damariscotta on Tuesday, April 25. (Elizabeth Walztoni photo)
(This story has been updated to include comment from Hagar Enterprises received after print deadline on Wednesday, April 26).
Repaving work on Egypt Road in Damariscotta changed form in a quick turn this week, leading to a special select board meeting on Monday, April 24 to discuss the possibility of a change order for the work contracted to Hagar Enterprises Inc.
Discussion centered on concerns of communication from the Damariscotta-based contractor to the town about changes to work plans, which in this case were made and acted on in 24 hours without coming before the select board. The town manager and project engineer said changes to contracted needs made in the field are to be expected on large road projects, especially ones without advance engineering studies to determine conditions.
“In the future we hope that the town of Damariscotta can resolve the internal confusion in their processes to work with projects, be consistent in their approach, and clearly define what change, to what degree and to what extent the board of selectmen want to be involved over the coordination of town staff, contractors, and engineers,” co-owner Seth Hagar said in an email on April 26.
The change is not expected to affect the timeline or cost on Egypt Road, according to Andrew Hedrich, a senior project engineer at Gartley and Dorsky Engineering and Surveying Inc., who attended the meeting virtually. If the change in process requires more shoulder work, he said later, the town will be responsible for the cost. Contractors were not in attendance.
Hagar Enterprises was contracted last fall for $1,222,154.75 of work on Belvedere and Egypt roads as a combined project. The entire length of Egypt Road, 15,100 feet, is contracted to be repaved.
Bid documents state the project “includes but is not limited to” milling, or grinding down, existing pavement and placing new pavement.
Damariscotta voters authorized a $2.255 million bond for these repairs on Egypt-Belvedere roads and Church Street, along with an extension of the Church Street sidewalk, in February 2022.
Town Manager Andy Dorr said he was on site at Egypt Road on Thursday, April 20 and asked if the road was going to be milled as specified in the contract. Contractors spoke with Hedrich the same day and began shimming on April 21, he said. Milling is removing the top layer of pavement before adding an overlay. Shim is a thin layer of asphalt added on the existing road layer.
Hedrich said the original plan was to mill the entire road and add shim to fill in areas of poor elevation.
According to Hedrich, project decisions need to be made in the field to keep projects moving and avoid higher costs from delays. He said he believed there may have been a miscommunication following the April 20 conversation that led to the change in work the next day.
Previous approved change orders to the Egypt Road project have been made mostly for culvert specifications without coming before the board, according to Dorr, with the involvement of himself and the engineer.
“We have followed all guidance from the town on who and when to communicate with in regards to the projects and that communication process was followed and acknowledged by the town and the engineer. We have been utilizing this process for months now without any issues or concerns, navigating multiple issues, budget implications, project complications, and have been successful in navigating them all,” Hagar said.
In January, $69,454.22 of change orders had been approved; others since have not yet been submitted for payment, Dorr said.
Hedrich said his firm advised the bid specifications but the project did not include an engineering study, meaning the details were likely to need adjustment. Those decisions are typically made in the field to save time and money.
“I’ve never gone before a select board multiple times in a construction process,” he said.
Adding more paving would be more beneficial to the road service than removing it by milling, Hedrich said. If milling was done, it would be irregular, and some areas would be untouched.
He said it could still be milled rather than shimmed, if the town desired.
“We talked about this on the public works committee for five years, and were assured milling would work,” select board member Josh Pinkham, also a member of that committee, said, asking about the sudden change.
Board member Tom Anderson asked if the contractor or engineer had come back to the town for authorization.
“No,” Hedrich said. “Unfortunately, that’s on Hagar.”
There will be no change in material cost from the swap, according to Hedrich, and the contractor will keep receipts from purchases to track expenses.
“It’s a dollar-per-dollar transition,” he said.
Later in the meeting, Anderson asked if the town would be responsible for the new cost of adding gravel to newly raised road shoulders. Hedrich said it is.
Select board members said they were most concerned about the lack of communication on a major change to contracted work, which they felt was a major change compared to culvert adjustments.
Anderson, Fraser, and Pinkham said they felt backed into a corner by the fact that shimming has already begun.
Pinkham separately said he had seen cars driving over tack coat on the road, a pavement bonding layer which the contract specified should be protected from traffic.
Hedrich said this should not happen, and he would contact Hagar.
Hagar said his business has complied with all Maine Department of Transportation standards for tack coat, traffic control, temperature, and pavement.
“Hagar Enterprises Inc. has not forgotten any aspect of the work, we have not omitted or failed to schedule any aspect of the work … we are taxpayers and residents of the town of Damariscotta and want nothing but the very best for the community in which we reside,” he said.
Dorr asked the board how to proceed with suggested changes in the future to avoid a repeat. Board members said smaller changes, such as adjustments to culvert plans, would not need to come back to the town.
A major change to the scope of a contract should allow for more time, members said.
A change-of-work order was not made at the meeting, as the contracted dollar amount is not expected to change.
“The engineer and I remain in constant communication with the contractor and we will work with the contractor to ensure we get the best quality of work for the town,” Dorr said by email on Wednesday, April 26.
The Damariscotta Select Board’s next regularly scheduled meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 3 in the town office.
