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| Serving Callaway County communities since 1875. | www.fultonsun.com | Wednesday, November 19, 2008 |
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Ambulance board deals with construction challenges at Holts Summit station By KATHERINE CUMMINS The Fulton Sun
At its Sept. 16 meeting, the CCAD Board of Directors learned that a Missouri Department of Transportation permit was not obtained for work on the station's driveway. “Apparently a portion of the driveway is on MoDOT's right-of-way, and there is a permit required (to work on that segment) and apparently that permit was not acquired,” said CCAD Director Charlie Anderson. “We're not sure why that is.” He said the proper permit has been taken care of now, and that the situation would not have been a big deal if it were not for one thing. “The only thing is, the way the project was originally bid called for 6 inches of concrete, and MoDOT requires 7 inches,” Anderson said. “We ended up having to do a change order to accommodate that.” The additional concrete required to complete the project cost $4,035 and will add a predicted three days to the completion date. At question now is who was responsible for the paperwork problem - the contractor or the ambulance district - and who should have to foot the bill. At the meeting, the board directed Anderson to contact an attorney to help answer those questions. “The real issue is that the project should have been done sometime in July,” Anderson said. “Obviously there had to be some allowances for weather, but the board feels like there should have been more progress than there has been.” In August, the board had come to an agreement with the contractor for an Oct. 3 deadline, which members voted Sept. 16 to extend to Oct. 9 in allowance of the concrete change order. If the project still is not finished at that time, the ambulance district likely will levy a $100 penalty for each day it runs over. “We're close to 45 days behind schedule,” said board president Georgia Ladlie. “We have had to let the contractor know he has until a certain date before we begin assessing those penalties. “That was agreed upon. The contract he signed laid it out.” Also at the Sept. 16 meeting, the board reviewed and approved the district's 2009 health insurance plan. There were no major changes - the district still will continue to pay 100 percent of the employee coverage and 50 percent of dependent coverage. The new plan does have a $500 deductible - a drop from $1,000 under the previous contract - with employees' share of the increased premium set at $13.37. Anderson said it is important for the district to maintain good insurance as a way to draw in new employees and prevent turnover. “One of the things that helps us attract and keep employees is our benefits package,” he said. “Right now there's such a tight market - especially for paramedics - we have a hard time attracting employees. “Once we get them, we try to keep them with the benefits.” |
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