They're 'mad as hell'
Middletown parents, athletes frustrated by stalled turf field
BY JAMIE ROMM Staff Writer
Parent Jim Guerrieri took the microphone from the podium in the Middletown High School North auditorium and proceeded to repeat a line made famous in the movie "Network."

"We're mad as hell and we're not going to take this anymore," Guerrieri shouted at the Board of Education members sitting on the stage in the auditorium about the district's turf field problems. "Everyone say it with me, 'We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore.' "

The call was taken up by the parents and student athletes in attendance, who shouted with Guerrieri as board President Laura Agin attempted to restore order in the auditorium.

Aretired lieutenant colonel and former physical education instructor in the district, Guerrieri, as well with Booster Club President JerryWexelberg, concerned parent Bill Heaney and senior athlete Brendan Flanagan spoke during the public portion about the field.

Before the public was permitted to speak, Agin had Board Attorney Christopher Parton give a full update on the turf field.

"It is a process and it is a process that is going to advance as best as we can make it advance," Parton said. "At the outset, I want to note that there are a couple of ways that the board is looking at this. The board will be pursuing this matter three ways simultaneously."

He said that the primary goal is to get the sport field finished pursuant to specifications to get it up and running for students as soon as possible.

"That is number one of the goals," Parton said. "It is the most important aspect of what we are doing."

He said the second issue is for the board to look at any state laws and resolutions that might slow and delay the construction of the field.

"There is nothing we can do about that except to try as hard as we can to get this done as quickly as possible," Parton said. "With that being said, on May 12 the board notified [the turf contractor] Mondo on their continuing refusal to come back and finish the [work] such as the grating and the percolation of the fill stone, as it is not percolating as it should be."

He said the board "fired" Pennsylvaniabased turf installer Mondo USA.

Parton said that the board previously told Mondo to stop work so the board could present the company with a list of improvements needed to the work already done on the field.

According to Parton, the artificial turf installer never came back to work.

OnMay 20,Mondo released a statement charging the board with breach of contract.

In total, $355,000 of the $768,710 contract has been paid toMondo for work done on the field.

Parton said that he contacted the bonding company, Westchester Fire Insurance Co., which is now in charge of the field and fixing the field.

"Insurance companies dot i's and cross t's before they take action, and they don't move fast," Parton said. "I have been bothering them every day, which is not completely true because I did not call them on Memorial Day. But I will continue to do that until they hang up on me."

He said that on May 27 his office received a packet fromthe insurance company informing the district that the company is in the process of investigating the situation and what the next step is.

The letter, Parton said, consisted of numerous pieces of paper.

"It was returned to them this afternoon [May 27], as the business office and the construction manager and I got it done immediately," Parton said. "They asked for it within a week and they got it back in a day. That's not saying we're going above and beyond, it's just that we are trying to get things [done] as quickly as possible."

He said that assuming thatWestchester Fire Insurance Co. takes ownership of the field, as it is contractually obligated to do, that it would have the option of using Mondo as the primary contractor or another contractor.

"The questionwas posed if the boardwill have input on the situation," Parton said. "Input is an interesting word. We can tell them what we've done around here. They knowthatMondo is currently the contractor and we have told them the beautiful job IC Improvements has done at High School South, but we cannot tell them what to do because they will not ask us who to use."

He went on to say that there is no timetable at this point of when a decision will be made.

JimCody, aMiddletown parent and representative of IC Improvements, was not at themeeting but wasmentioned by name by Parton,who acknowledged Cody's plan to fix the field, which he had explained at the workshop meeting the week before.

The "Mr. Cody Plan," according to Parton, involves the board going to the bonding company and telling it that Mondo is not getting the job done.

By doing so, a different company would be retained to complete work on the field with the insurance company paying for the overages.

"Yes, that sounds like a very simple plan and we agree that sounds fine on the other side of the table," Parton said. "But the answer, of course, is that this is New Jersey. There would have to be a lengthy bidding process and legal matters. It's not that simple."

The third step Parton said would be to re-establish contact with Mondo if that would be the quickest option for completion of the field.

The first person to speak during the public portion was Heaney, who as a concerned parent could not believe that the board would even approachMondo.

"Why are we even thinking about bringing Mondo back?" Heaney asked Parton. "The proof is in the pudding. They screwed up and we should be done with them."

Parton said that if going back to Mondo would make the process go quicker, then it would be an option that would be pursued.

Heaney suggested bringing in a new company since the specifications of the field would remain the same.

Parton said that taking up the current turf carpet is part of a brand-new specification for the field and would have to be redone.

Wexelberg presented the board with a packet that included two scenarios on how to get the field done.

"We didn't bring our pitchforks and torches tonight,"Wexelberg said. "But what has been done to this field is shameful. What we have done is come up with two plans to get this job done."

The two plans provide a timetable for completion of the field, something that Parton could not guarantee.

The first scenario termed "Best Case Scenario" has the bond company taking control and things going in favor of the district with a probability of success of 50/50 at best.

This scenario begins on May 12 when the board sent notice of default and termination to Mondo and continues to May 28 when the bond company could hire a general contractor with experience in turf installation and soil remediation.

"The contractor rewrites soil remediation and turf installation specifications to include concrete curbing, jump pit and cryogenic rubber," the plan states.

In the plan presented by Wexelberg, of the Boosters, the bond companywould order Mondo to resume work and finish the field by Sept. 3 before students return.

The alternate scenario suggested is for the board to file suit against Mondo and all other involved parties and to award a contract to another company by July 16.

Under that scenario, the field would still be finished by Sept. 8, but the probability of success listed by the Booster Club is 40/60 at best.

Parton said that while both plans are interesting, legally they would not work.

"I know that you are here for the kids," Wexelberg said to the board. "But we have to push this company or get another company to get this field done. We all want the same thing."

Parton said that the board is moving as quickly as possible.

"We have these three points of attack thatwe are investigating," Parton said. "We are doing all we legally can."

Flanagan, a senior and track athlete at High School North, said the plan needs deadlines so that the students can have a field.

"Next year for homecoming, I want all of us to have somewhere beautiful for us to come back to," Flanagan said. "I don't want to be standing on the field at High School South again. That's not my field."

Speaking next was Guerrieri, who started off by pointing out the 30 student athletes who came to hear about the field.

Guerrieri said that the "three points of attack" sounded like amilitary termand he had somemilitary terms of his own to counteract it.

"Your three-pronged attack is set up for failure," saidGuerrieri, the parent of aHigh SchoolNorth student. "There is noway that your three-pronged attack will even 'cross the line of departure' and 'successfully complete the mission'without a timeline."

With that,Guerrieri proceeded to tell the board how mad he and the rest of the residents are, and board member Joan Minnuies agreed.

"I am embarrassed by all of this," Minnuies said. "I can't believewe still don't have this field done. I will be on the phone with our legislators and get some action fromour government."

Minnuies said that she has had a bad feeling about this for months.

"We just sat around,"Minnuies said. "We should have pulled the bond months ago from this company."

When one resident told the board members that all they have done is talk and have taken no action to fix the field, Superintendent of Schools Karen Bilbao took offense.

"We are not talking about talk, we are talking about action," Bilbao said. "We will get this done."

Without a set timetable, the parents and athletes left with a feeling of uncertainty but hope that the field will get done.

"Look,"Guerrieri said, still "mad as hell," "if we don't get started soon, we are doomed to fail."