Bering Strait School District  Testimonial

Dear Gerald:

In response to your request for this letter we are pleased to take this opportunity to review your performance on the Unalakleet Elementary School Project.

The project was a design/build contract for design and construction of a single story wood frame building, The building consisted of 10,000 square feet of floor area divided into nine classrooms with toilets, corridors and miscellaneous support spaces, Also included were a new sloped roof, new exterior wails, with windows and doors, and structural reinforcement of the old existing B.I.A, Elementary wing. The total project budget was just under $2.5 million dollars.

Your project team was selected after an in depth investigation of previous performance, resumes of key personnel, and financial stability. Your reputation within the construction industry and your competitive price bolstered our high expectations for a successful project, I am pleased to inform you that our expectations were met or exceeded in most areas, Some of the strong points of our relationship and experience include;

1.Shop drawing approval and expediting of material was excellent. All major materials were procured within tight constraints of barge sailing dates and delivered to site efficiently for incorporation into the work.

2. The superintendent, Sam Adams, and his crew were hard working,dedicated to a quality product and polite, We experienced only one minor instance of misbehavior and the man that caused the problem was a subcontractors employee. Sam had him on the next plane out of town and responded to the instance without hesitation. The Neeser crew was supplemented by local tradesmen and you met the 50% entry level for local hire bonus participation.

3. Your joint venture with the Unaiakleet Native Corporation insured good integration into the local community and several local subcontractors participated in the construction process.

4. Kumin and Associates did an excellent job with the architectural design and Sam worked well with them in resolving construction details on a fast track basis.

5. Cost and schedule goals were both exceeded, Atone point the project was behind schedule but the crew was able to make up the lost time and deliver the project two months ahead of schedule. Change orders were minimal and they were program or schedule enhancements requested by the owner

6. Subcontractor coordination and supervision was excellent. Sequencing and scheduling were efficient and no disputes between subs were allowed to develop.

7. Coordination with other contractors on site, District maintenance personnel, and school activities were very good. This is particularly remarkable because of the complex interfaces required by the nature of the work.

8. Payment to subcontractors, tradesmen, and suppliers was good. No complaints have been received.

9. Punch list items were minimal and the response time was very good. Then the door supplier provided the wrong doors for the exterior your agreement to replace them at your expense was timely and appreciated.

10.The overall quality of your work was excellent.

Areas that could be improved on future projects;

1. Mechanical and electrical engineering for the design portion of the work was average. Improvement in this area would bring it up to the same high standards exhibited by the architectural team.

2. Formal updating of project schedules could be improved.

3. Local hire goals established in your proposal ran as high as 80%, The 50% level achieved is much better than we have experienced on previous projects but not as high as we had hoped. We would be interested in working with you to improve local participation in future projects.

In summary, we are very pleased with your work on this project and look forward to working with you in the future. Feel free to use me as a reference for similar projects with other school districts.

Sincerely,

Tim Towarak
Director of Maintenance And Facilities

Bering Strait School District