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December 2, 2005Plant repairs at issueCounty officials, design/builder debate warrantyTRAVERSE CITY - Grand Traverse County officials and the design/builder of its septage treatment facility are at odds again over a contract amendment to cover repairs to the failed facility.The design/builder, Gourdie-Fraser/Christman LLC, offered a three-year warranty on repairs while the county wants a five-year renewable warranty secured by a bond. "We need a long warranty, especially after what we've been through," said East Bay Township supervisor Glen Lile, a member of a county committee that oversees the facility. The plant has three sets of tanks. Membrane tanks where a wall collapsed in June will be completely rebuilt under the supervision of NTH Consultants, an independent engineering firm. The other two sets of tanks need structural steel added to concrete walls, reinforcement that had been omitted by a subcontractor. The tanks also hadn't been designed to the industry standard of ACI 350 to reduce cracking and leaks. Gourdie-Fraser/Christman proposed to cut the concrete walls vertically, creating more expansion joints to obtain the same result as ACI 350. County attorney Michael Houlihan said NTH and Gourdie-Fraser/Christman can't show where similar fixes have been attempted. "It's uncharted ground, and somebody needs to stand behind it," Lile said. Gourdie-Fraser/Christman has not responded to repeated calls for comment. Under Houlihan's proposed warranty, the tanks will be leak-tested and inspected in five years. If they don't pass inspection, the design/builder will make repairs, the warranty is extended for another five years and the whole process starts over and continues until the tanks perform as they should. The expected life of the tanks is 50 years. County officials, however, say they are willing to discuss some changes to the warranty. "We want and expect five years with a renewal, but would that be indefinite for 30 or 40 years? I don't know if that's feasible," county administrator Dennis Aloia said. Gourdie-Fraser/Christman requested clarification of some other issues but so far is no longer balking at promising - in writing - to cover all costs of repairs along with the county's administrative, engineering and legal costs. The firm has paid the county's first bill for lost revenue and legal costs, Houlihan said.
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