The Lehighton Area School District held discussion about whether it should hire an independent construction manager for a proposed building project or have the contractor overlook the work.

No official action was taken, but for the district it should be a no-brainer.The district should hire a construction manager.Quandel Construction Group of Harrisburg made a pitch to Lehighton's school board claiming it could save the district around $2 million on $52 million worth of work."Corners are cut when nobody is watching," said John Koury, Quandel vice president."The architect drives the car during the preconstruction process, but when the construction starts, we would really be the only ones watching out for the district. The contractor is going to look out for the contractor."Quandel would charge $850,000 of the total cost for the three projects.During such a project, the district should have an independent, qualified party serve not as construction manager, but as a clerk of the works.A municipal construction project occurred in Summit Hill a few years ago in which an architectural firm served as the clerk of the works, convincing the borough it was a way to save money.When the project was completed, it was obvious nobody had kept a keen eye on the flow of the project.A lot of things were wrong and had to be corrected.There was a lawsuit against one contractor for its shoddy work. Some issues had to be remedied at the expense of the borough.When the Lehighton Area High School was built, problems had to be resolved after the fact.A project of this magnitude needs an employee of the district overseeing the work at all phases.It needs someone who can identify if the concrete is the proper mix, if the right pipes are used, if the work is being done as specified, and if taxpayers are getting what they paid for.Yes, we think a construction manager is need.We're sure Quandel would do the job properly, but we urge the district to look for someone locally to oversee the project.By RON GOWERrgower@tnonline.com