Loring Arena and the contractor delays.

If my memory serves me... Town Meeting debated this subject to death... lots of personal stories were heard about how Loring was so much in need of a rehab.  And like many other projects we have taken on, there's always some issue with the contractors. I wonder if the same will hold true for the new Fuller school project. Question: Are the workers to blame or the architects/engineers? Is there enough professional oversight, is it a non union or union thing? Are we asking for to much when we approve of these major projects to have them done right the first time?

From the MWDN:

City officials say construction errors and poor workmanship by subcontractors is to blame for delays in the grand reopening of Loring Arena, which is in the final stages of a roughly $6 million renovation and expansion project.
The facility — which serves as home ice to skaters and school hockey teams — remains partially closed to the public as crews continue work on the project, which began in summer 2017.
While the rink is open, crews are still finishing a new addition in the front of the building, which will offer locker rooms, additional seats for spectators and an elevator, making the facility fully handicap accessible.
City officials say they’re putting pressure on general contractor Lupachino/Salvatore to finish the work, which was due to be substantially complete by mid-August, with a Sept. 1 end date.
“It has been a challenging project working with the contractor trying to get this project completed,” said Thatcher Kezer, the city’s chief operating officer.
Kezer said delays arose within the last few months as the city’s facilities director, Jim Paolini, and inspectional services staff reviewed individual components of the project and raised concerns about the quality of the work.
“Jim’s posture is to make sure we’re getting our money’s worth for this project,” he said. “And so there were a number of just basic construction project issues where things are done and our folks, our building inspectors and Jim go in and look at the work and require certain parts to be redone.”
In an interview Friday, Paolini said he rejected several construction list items that were submitted by the contractor for final approval because they didn’t meet state building codes or the proper specifications.
“The city is not accepting inferior work, and I’m making the contractor accountable,” Paolini said. “If he installs something that’s not to specifications, or not to Mass. code or Mass. standards, then it’s getting rejected.”

In one example, Paolini said work was delayed by more than one week as crews tore up and rebuilt a concrete sidewalk outside the rink that did not meet federal accessibility standards. Paolini said the material used was inferior, and the sidewalk was installed at too steep a grade, requiring the contractor to purchase new steel rebar and materials and redo it.
The city is now waiting for the contractor to fix a variety of punch list items, Paolini said, from painting and cleaning to repairing metal siding on the sidewalk that was damaged by a jackhammer.
“At this point ... the stage of construction we’re at shouldn’t be where we are,” Paolini said. “We should be a little further along. As we continue to identify stuff that has not met the bid specifications, it’s a process to get the [subcontractors] back to correct” it.
Framingham built the Edward F. Loring Arena at 165 Fountain St. in 1963 to honor Framingham High School’s 1961 state championship hockey team.
Town Meeting members voted in 2015 to spend $5.66 million for an overhaul, which is intended to improve handicapped accessibility, better separate boys’ and girls’ dressing rooms and correct other deficiencies in the more-than-50-year-old skating arena.
Residents then increased the budget for the project to about $6 million in 2016 after proposals from contractors came back higher than expected.
Of seven contractors who bid on the project, the lowest proposal came from Lupachino/Salvatore, a Bloomfield, Connecticut company, which offered to complete the renovations for $5.63 million.

Work began last summer with demolition of the front of the building. A new addition that took its place includes locker rooms, concessions, skate shop offices, community rooms, a small conference room and a second-floor viewing area.
The skating season typically lasts from late August through April or May. The city put temporary measures in place last winter to allow teams to continue using the rink while construction was underway.
The rink opened for the fall hockey season once again in September, though teams are still limited to using the back looker rooms, and the addition remains closed.
“We have to go through the punch list items and make sure that everything is in order before we can open it up to the public,” said James Snyder, director of parks, recreation and cultural affairs.
While construction is behind, Paolini said costs have not exceeded the original budget. The city also has some leverage to control finances, such as filing a claim with the company that holds a construction bond on the project — an amount of money the contractor was required to post before it could proceed with the work.
Filing a claim could trigger the bond-holder to take over management of the project, ensuring the city isn’t on the hook for additional expenses, Paolini said.
“I’ve made it clear one way or the other the city is going to get what they paid for,” Paolini said.