Ludington Library Plumbing Contract Terminated

The plumbing contractor on the Ludington Library project defaulted, and its contract with Lower Merion Township was terminated Feb. 13, Board of Commissioners President Liz Rogan said at Wednesday night's board meeting.

The township will complete the rest of the plumbing work to be done there.

The contractor, Altchem, had been given notice of default before in November. In December, Township Manager Doug Cleland reported to commissioners it had not been necessary to terminate their contract because they had begun work again on the sprinkler system.

Altchem was one of four prime contractors working on the project, which has been delayed several times and will not reopen until at least April.

Public projects like Ludington require four prime contractors, as opposed to a single prime contractor and subcontractors as in private projects—a requirement which Commissioner Scott Zelov has said places an unfair burden on municipalities like Lower Merion.