Times Chronicle & Public Spirit
Commissioners OK $11.5M in justice center contracts
NORRISTOWN >> Contract awards and amendments totaling more than $11.5 million for the ongoing Montgomery County Justice Center were approved during Thursday’s Montgomery County Board of Commissioners meeting.
A majority of the funds were allocated toward the $9,406,675 construction services agreement for the following general, mechanical, plumbing and electrical contractors:
• $8,252,675 to P.J. Dick Inc., of Pittsburgh, for general contracting services,
• $90,000 to Guy M. Cooper Inc., of Willow Grove, for mechanical contracting services,
• $104,000 to Guy M. Cooper Inc., of Willow Grove, for plumbing contracting services, and
• $960,000 to ElectriTech Inc. of Folsom, New Jersey for electrical contracting services.
County officials posted bid specifications for the project’s first phase of construction online via the Bonfire public portal, according to the contract agreement.
The general contractor was viewed by 152 providers, and five firms submitted a response, according to the contract award. Sixty firms viewed the mechanical contracting specifications, and one company bid on the job. The plumbing contract was viewed by 55 firms, but only one firm bid on the option. Fifty-two companies viewed the electrical contractor specifications and three bid on it.
Additionally, the Montgomery County Department of Assets and Infrastructure and David Blackmore & Associates, of Pottstown, entered into an agreement not exceeding $344,262.
The department had requested the Pottstownbased firm, which had been given approval for a separate request for proposal for “material testing and special inspections for the justice center project.”
County leaders also opted to amend a previously approved $5,184,796 construction
management services contract with Skanska USA, of Blue Bell.
The contract has been revised two times before. A total of $798,008 was authorized for design, construction and “fabrication services related to the temporary courtroom design,” according to the contract agreement.
Another $6,040,756 was granted for “completion of services through the full construction of the project
in 2026, reflecting the increased size of the justice center project as compared to the original estimate and including additional cost estimation, third party review, and surveying services,” the contract agreement states.
With roughly $2.57 million invested in the existing contract, the county’s asset and infrastructure requested $1,780,655 as the most recent addition “for administration of an ownercontrolled
insurance program for the full duration of the project and through the twelve year statute of repose, including claims management, policy marketing and placement, loss control programs, and on-site medical services, and development of asset management specifications for inclusion in bid documents.”
The revised total contract figure now stands at $13,804,215.
County human resources
personnel required another $30,000 for an existing contract with KMRD Partners, Inc., of Warrington, for “owner controlled insurance program ... risk management services for the county’s justice center project,” the contract states.
County officials initially approved a one-year $135,000 contract with the Bucks County-based company to procure “commercial Insurance Broker for
the county’s property, casualty, fidelity bond, general liability, umbrella and other insurance coverages,” according to the agreement.
The revised contract now stands at $165,000.
The aforementioned items were approved by the county’s elected officials in a 2-1 vote with Commissioner Joe Gale as the sole dissenter. Gale has consistently voted against spending for the Justice Center project.