Palmerton board hears proposals from engineers

The three companies in the running to be Palmerton Area School District’s next engineer of record made their pitch to the school board last week.

Keystone Consulting Engineers, EI Associates and Palmerton’s current engineer, Barry Isett and Associates, all answered the district’s request for proposals last month.

Palmerton voted in June to shop around, citing a desire to see if it was getting the best rate and service possible.

Each firm was allotted a half-hour Tuesday to make a presentation and answer any questions from directors and district officials.

KCE touted several of its projects including a new fitness center for Lehigh University in downtown Bethlehem and site work for a 40,000-square-foot high school expansion in Northwestern Lehigh School District.

The firm is also the engineer for projects in Palmerton borough.

“We would come in and meet with the board to make sure we’re doing what you guys want,” Al Kortze, KCE president, said. “Every client has different needs and we would be here for whatever those may be for the district.”

With a fuel oil tank replacement project looming at Towamensing Elementary, KCE officials also said it would be feasible to have a new, aboveground tank installed by the end of the calendar year depending on how quickly the board acts.

EI Associates is also no stranger to the area, having done architectural work for many Lehighton Area School District projects including its new K-5 elementary center.

Peter Ortiz, EI Associates vice president, said the team is made up of six firms, each independent consultants and experts in their discipline and each having decades of experience with public school design and construction.

“All we do is schools,” Ortiz said. “We’ve been designing them since 1990.”

Discussion with EI Associates officials also centered on how change orders, or addendums to a project contract after bids are awarded, work. They happen, Ortiz said, for one of three reasons, including architect or engineer error, unforeseen circumstances after walls or other structures are opened, and owner requests. A 4 to 5% contingency cost, however, is normally budgeted for any major project.

“We’re human and we will make mistakes,” Ortiz said of his firm, “but our average for contingency fund use is only 0.5%, which is much less than what you’ll budget for.”

Barry Isett and Associates, the district’s engineer of record since 2010, is also hoping to maintain its employment in Palmerton.

Tim Sisock, who has worked with the district on a number of projects over the years, spoke of the firm’s unparalleled knowledge of the district and its facilities.

“We’ve done 30 successful bid projects totaling over $30 million here in Palmerton,” Sisock said. “Nobody knows the district better than us.”

On the financial end, each firm submitted a list of rates for positions within its company. KCE listed its cost for a principal/professional engineer at $132 per hour and a senior engineer/project manager at $114.50 per hour. EI Associates listed a project manager/engineer at $145 per hour and a project architect at $195 per hour. Barry Isett and Associates listed a project manager at $125 per hour and an engineering manager at $170 per hour.

Palmerton is expected to vote on an engineer of record at its Sept. 17 board meeting.