Fired contractor settles suit concerning ARHS project
By Ken Powers Contributing Writer
Northborough/Southborough - The Northborough- Southborough Regional School District will receive about $3.35 million after the suit with Eastern Contractors Inc. (ECI), the construction contractor hired to do the work on the $61 million Algonquin Regional High School renovation and expansion project, and the surety company was settled.

Paul Gaff ney, chair of the Regional School Committee, said he was notified of the settlement July 11. He said the money will come back to the district in two forms. It will receive a $2.35 million payment as settlement of the suit, as well as the unpaid balance of the contract with ECI, which is believed to be about $1 million.

"The settlement allows us to do two things," Gaff ney said. "First of all, we don't have to settle for something less than what we wanted when we started the process to renovate and expand the building. In addition, it allows us to not have to approach the taxpayers and ask for additional money to compete the project the way we had hoped to."

Another part of the settlement between the school district, ECI and USF&G, the surety company, was the agreement to dismiss all litigation that arose during the project.

The school district fired ECI in December 2005 after the company failed to meet the original completion date - March 2005.

The district's firing of ECI came three months after the contractor filed suit against the district because the district withheld payments for the project. ECI's suit sought about $8.6 million for work performed under the contract, plus damages, interest and additional costs.

When ECI filed its suit, the school district had paid $40.5 million, but ECI claimed it had completed $45.2 million worth of work.

Gaff ney said work on the building continued during the suit and the negotiation of the settlement, but delays definitely occurred as a result of all the legal machinations.

"Some of the parts of the project, based on a midproject agreement with the surety company, were able to continue," Gaff ney said. "There were lots of others, though, that needed this settlement to be in place before they could be completed."

According to Gaff ney, the school committee is please with the outcome.

"We are very happy to have this dispute resolved and to have a financial outcome that allows us to finish a great high school renovation and expansion. "On behalf of the school committee, I want to thank the building committee and our advisors for their hard work, diligence and tenacity in bringing this to a successful conclusion."

As a result of the apparent finality of the suit, Gaff ney expects work to resume and conclude very quickly.

"We are working really hard, as are the contractor and subcontractors," Gaff - ney said, "to have everything finished when school re-opens at the end of next month."