The SDA sent a notice of contract award to the Morristown firm of Schenck, Price, Smith & King, LLP, on April 23, 2008 after its selection in a competitive process. The firm has extensive experience in the area of construction litigation, currently serving as special construction counsel to five New Jersey school districts as well as The College of New Jersey and Sussex County Community College. The firm also serves as general counsel to various New Jersey school districts, including Paterson, Teaneck, Morris Hills Regional, South Orange/Maplewood and Rockaway Borough. Schenck, Price, Smith & King was chosen from among nine firms that were interviewed and evaluated by the SDA in response to a request for proposals. The firms were judged based on qualifications and price.

The SDA sent Gilbane a notice of termination on February 21, 2008 after a lengthy formal mediation process regarding recovery of costs for errors by it and two other companies, which contributed to the delayed opening of the Neptune school.

The mediation was facilitated by the SDA to enable the responsible parties to allocate liability among them. At the conclusion of the mediation proceedings, the SDA board accepted settlement offers totaling $6.5 million from Turner Construction, the general contractor, and SSP Architectural Group, which designed the project. No settlement was reached with Gilbane, which served as Project Management Firm (PMF).

The SDA subsequently terminated Gilbane from all Authority projects because fundamental differences became apparent during the mediation regarding the role and responsibilities of a PMF.

"Gilbane has taken the position in mediation that it had no responsibility for the mistakes that led to the development of mold in Midtown Community,” said Scott Weiner, CEO of the Authority. “It defies logic to say Gilbane was hired and paid to manage the project, from its inception through construction, but had no responsibility when things went wrong. There is simply no role at the SDA for a company that believes it can be paid to manage but is free from responsibility for its errors. With our litigation counsel, we will aggressively pursue the interests of New Jersey taxpayers. We are fully confident that a court of law will agree with our position."

The SDA learned of the presence of mold in the exterior walls of Midtown Community in January 2007. The SDA hired experts to assess the conditions and to advise SDA concerning correction of the problem; work was undertaken with the guidance of the Department of Health. The brick façade had to be taken down and the exterior walls replaced to remove the mold. The walls and façade have been rebuilt. Opening is now scheduled for September 2008 after a year’s delay.

Gilbane was terminated from contracts involving 23 school projects. The contracts involved projects in Neptune, Barnegat, Long Branch, Asbury Park, Vineland and East Orange.