College of DuPage in another sign dispute
College of DuPage officials say a vendor they hired to install indoor and outdoor signs at the school's three regional centers didn't do the job properly.
The college's board of trustees voted last week to rescind a contract with Creo Industrial Arts, an Everett, Wash.-based contractor hired in April to replace signs at COD's campuses in Carol Stream, Naperville and Westmont.
“We have multiple issues with specification compliance and quality of products supplied by Creo which have resulted in the rejection of the majority of the signs manufactured by this contractor,” college officials wrote in a memo to the board.
Officials also said Creo didn't comply with a sign installation schedule.
COD spokesman Joe Moore said he couldn't discuss further details until the college's legal counsel finished reviewing the contract with Creo.
Creo officials didn't return calls seeking comment.
In April, the newly elected COD board approved the $200,376.66 contract.
According to the college's November board packet, Creo officials were notified they were in breach of contract and had until Nov. 11 to complete unfinished work — a deadline that wasn't met.
“We are terminating the contract for nonperformance,” the college's document reads.
Meanwhile, two of the college's current vendors will complete the sign work at the regional centers: Western Remac, for exterior signs; and Bell Signs, for interior signs.
The college said it would issue change orders to both contractors to pay for the work. The contract for Western Remac was being increased in an amount not-to-exceed $160,000. A change order amount for Bell Signs wasn't available.
Officials also said the college would “act upon Creo's performance bond to recover any additional costs incurred to complete this work.”
It's not the first time COD has been involved in a dispute related to signs.
Last summer, the college began to install $2.3 million worth of signage around its Glen Ellyn campus. Village officials issued citations and stop work orders to the college and Western Remac because the signs didn't comply with village code.
COD and Glen Ellyn have been locked in an intergovernmental battle over jurisdiction ever since, and college officials say they're pursuing plans to deannex from the village.