It wasn’t pretty, but the board in charge of a Syracuse school reconstruction effort voted this morning to tighten the financial screws on the firm managing the project. The joint city-school district construction board voted 6-2 to cut Gilbane Building Co.’s pay by $600,000 and take away another $400,000 if Gilbane fails to complete major renovations of four schools....
At a January meeting of the Joint Schools Construction board at city hall, Sam Tuzza, of Gilbane Building, answers a question form Superintendent Daniel Lowengard. The joint city-school district construction board voted 6-2 to cut Gilbane Building Co.’s pay by $600,000 and take away another $400,000 if Gilbane fails to complete major renovations of four schools. Gilbane has a $16.6 million contract.
Mayor Stephanie Miner negotiated the contract amendment with Gilbane and brought it to the joint board, which she chairs. She is a nonvoting member.
The no votes came from Syracuse Superintendent Daniel Lowengard and school board Vice President Ned Deuel. Lowengard and Deuel said they thought Gilbane’s fee reduction should be higher. A performance review of Gilbane was “scathing,” Lowengard said.
The mayor “went on her own” to negotiate a decrease that should have been greater, Lowengard said.
Deuel said he didn’t think the mayor had the authority to negotiate the change on behalf of the Joint Schools Construction Board. But Joseph Barry, board secretary and the city’s first assistant corporation counsel, said she does have the authority in her role as mayor and board head.
The negotiated change was fair, said Common Councilor Pat Hogan, who serves on the joint board.
Hogan said Gilbane had to do a lot of work it had not planned to because information provided by the district was wrong.
The meeting included plenty of finger-pointing, especially about the slow progress of the project. The joint board had its first official meeting in June 2006. The project has been in the works longer than that. So far, no major construction has begun and the project’s scope has dwindled from roughly $225 million and seven schools to $138 million and four schools.
Miner called the joint board's situation “a morass” and “an embarrassment to the community.” She came on the joint board in January when she took office as mayor, and has said she would make it a priority to jump-start the school renovation.
“How long have you been on the board, Dan?” she asked.
At the end of the meeting Lowengard countered by saying that the joint board has been controlled since the beginning by the city side of the partnership.
Contact Maureen Nolan at 470-2185 or mnolan@syracuse.com.