Representatives from owner’s project manager Vertex and the school district met with Brait Builders last week after discovering the contractor had workers on the Charleswood School site on a Saturday without proper supervision or notification given to Vertex.

Vertex project manager Chris Eberly told the Elementary School Building Committee (ESBC) at Tuesday’s meeting that the discovery was made by resident Steven Devine, construction site manager for the Charleswood School project. Devine, also of Vertex, happened to be driving by and saw the gate open. He found roofers and masons working on the site, “unbeknownst to us. We were not given notice, and Brait supervision had chosen not to show up on those days,” Eberly said.

Devine noticed unsafe conditions and, upon further investigation, learned that Brait had been working that way going back for seven of the last eight Saturdays, Eberly said.

“We alerted Brait that was unacceptable,” Eberly said, noting that this situation occurred “on the heels of several other things [by Brait] that had not risen to the level of actionable issues, but certainly frustrating issues from the town’s perspective.”

The project manager said bringing the matter to a meeting was appropriate at the 50% point of the rating process of the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance Contractor Certification (DCAMM).

He explained the contractor received a rating of 77, which is less than the 80 required by DCAMM to continue to be certified. If a contractor receives three ratings less than 80, the company does not receive recertification at its next renewal.

Eberly said the lack of supervision on site was “particularly concerning.”

He described the response from Brait’s management as “appropriate,” adding Brait expressed concern this was not up to its standard or how it wanted to do the job.

“They have a commitment to finish the job in a better place,” Eberly said.

ESBC chair Jon Graziano, Superintendent Evan Bishop and Assistant Superintendent/Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey LaBroad attended the meeting with Brait and Vertex representatives.

Graziano said he wanted to make it clear that the evaluation rating did not reflect on “the quality of the output of the work itself.”

He said the rating focuses more on construction management, and the public should not be concerned about the product itself.

Graziano added it was an appropriate time to let Brait Builders know its rating is not where it should be at this point.

LaBroad added the conversation reflected the “high standards for performance [and] for professionalism,” expected by the ESBC, the town and school district.

” I think the conversation was a fruitful one,” he added.

“We hope by bringing this to their attention at this point, we’ll be able to finish the job in a much stronger way,” Eberly said.

In other business, the budget update presented by Vertex showed commitments to date at $122,496,317, or 77% of the $158,422,394 total. Expenditures to date are $75,607,561 (62%).

The ESBC also approved payment of invoices totaling approximately $8.5 million, with the highest of those for Brait Builders ($7,896,035) and Lynch, the roadwork contractor, at $210,268.