The Tanner Street reconstruction project is still hitting the borough in its wallet, as the commissioners agreed to several change orders for various roadway projects in the borough last week.
The Tanner Street project was increased by about $47,000 over its original agreed upon amount of $553,831. Borough Administrator Sharon McCullough said the increase in the project was due to electrical conduits that had to be replaced along the trees of Tanner Street. The conduits were used in the past to power the holiday lights for the various celebrations along the street and at the library.
It was assumed that the original conduits could still be used for the street, but this was not the case, McCullough explained. The conduits must be replaced and installed along the trees, which will add to the cost of the overall project.
Also, the Haddon, Euclid, and Tanner Street intersection will have to have its street signals improved due to the crosswalks being installed near library point, McCullough said. The lights have to be modified to make the intersection handicapped accessible for anyone trying to cross the street at that point.
The total cost of the project is now about $590,144, McCullough said.
Additionally, the commissioners had to approve a change order for the Woodland Avenue reconstruction project that was just completed. When the street was torn up, McCullough said the underlying topsoil wasn’t sufficient to support a new mill and overlay, she said.
The soil had to be replaced with a new material that could support the work and it was let to sit for six weeks to repair.
Overall it cost about $49,000 to complete, she said, raising the overall cost of the street project to about $567,217.
It was a massive project, Mayor Tish Colombi said, with the five-block road being completely rebuilt. It took just under a year for the entire project to be completed.
The commissioners also approved a change order that reduced the Station Avenue Sanitary Sewer Replacement project by about $11,000, McCullough reported.
“It’s a shame this isn’t in the six-digits,” Colombi said.
In other borough news:
Commissioner Ed Borden congratulated Borough Solicitor Mario Iavicolli for his work in a lawsuit that was just settled recently. Iavicolli works for the borough under a fixed rate, Borden said, which saves the borough money each year in legal fees.
Iavicolli recently brought an end to a lawsuit that was levied against the borough, of with Haddonfield had to pay $10,000 to Midlantic Construction, LLC. The company could have gotten much more out of the borough if it wasn’t for Iavicolli, Borden said.
“Mario represents us in a wide variety of manners at a fixed price,” Borden said. “It is far more fair than any other agreement I’ve seen in local government.”
The lawsuit could have potentially cost the borough much more than $10,000, Borden said, and without Iavicolli’s experience it could have been much more of an impact.
