Northeastern High School's renovation hits a new snag: Missing insulation
Meredith WillseThe long-delayed Northeastern High School renovations hit a new snag as district officials noted that a thermal scan of the building showed that insulation was "not staying in place or missing completely."
Board President Mike Redding said the scan was requested following an incident in which a burst pipe flooded the high school's common area this winter. As it turned out, the scan turned up more significant issues.
“These folks need to be held accountable for the less than high-quality work that they were paid to do,” Redding said, at a school board meeting Monday.
Brian Geller, the district's director of operations, said the project's contractor of the Dillsburg-based Lobar Inc., has not been responsive.
"This is something that needs to be paid for by the contracts, not the district,” Geller said.
Messages left with Lobar from The York Dispatch were not returned Thursday.
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Geller said the next steps would involve sending a technician to check the walls to verify the information — that insulation was missing from some portions of the renovated building — found via the thermal scan.
That exploratory work would be destructive, Geller said, but is necessary to ensure the contractor's work was done correctly.
Redding said the board would hold off on final approval of Lobar's portion of the renovation until the verification work is completed and the district's legal counsel gives the contract a final review.
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The project has hit multiple roadblocks, ranging from supply chain issues to COVID cases. That's taken a toll on faculty and students alike.
When asked about the construction late last year, student representative Grace Riek said: “I just want to go to high school. I don’t want to go to a construction zone, though.”
Board Vice President Tyler Kramlick said in February that the costs reached $29.4 million, he said, versus the estimated $35 million budget.
In November, Kramlick said his patience was wearing thin. He was told the contractor was still completing various parts of the project, including a portion that was delayed because the wrong type of cement was delivered.
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In February, Quandel Construction representative Doug Mullican told the board he thought the punch list was about 70% complete, with the interior at about 98% complete. Mullican said the project had hit the substantial completion milestone, adding that the exterior work would be completed in the spring.
— Reach Meredith Willse at mwillse@yorkdispatch.com or on Twitter at @MeredithWillse.
