Mark Grigsby's Involvement in 209

I’ve been involved in this industry for over 30 years now and have interfaced with a lot of owners as a contractor/design-builder; I’ve represented a lot of owners and been an owner myself. Clearly, one of the dirty words from an owner’s point of view is the two words “change order”.

That’s understandable. I’ve seen very few owners that have an open check book. Money is always an issue. The goal of course is to go through the design/construction process and stay within the boundaries of tolerance for the deal. And, it is only good business that all parties in a transaction are rewarded fairly.

Most of the aspects of this project were relatively simple to project. However, one area that was quite difficult was the process and associated compensation for the demolition scope of work. So, we elected to perform this scope of work on a cost of the work basis. In effect, Pray Construction Company would not be at risk for the unknown, have no opportunity to disproportionately enrich themselves, and the owner assumes more risk.

Along the way, we discovered several structural defects with the building’s flooring system that required extensive repairs. Similarly this work moved forward on a cost of the work basis, plus a markup for the work. This put some pressure on the deal and made the administration of the contract (particularly from a financial point of view), heightened.

As clear as this all sounds now as I write them, there were different points of view of what the contract said and how it was or should be administered.

So…how to resolve this dispute? This is when character makes a difference and one of the great things for me is observing the leadership and character Mark Grigsby (Pray’s president and my successor) brings to the table. Mark steps up, gets involved, and helps craft a resolution to a brewing dispute that is fair for all.

I’ve told Mark this privately and now say it publicly; Pray Construction has a great leader with Mark Grigsby.