05/25/2006 By William J. Kemble , Correspondent Daily Freeman Artcile Cost of jail report soars to $1.16
million KINGSTON - A report commissioned by Ulster County in June
2004 to document what went wrong in the planning and
construction of the county Law Enforcement Center has
ballooned in cost from the originally approved $150,000 to
$1.16 million. The full 46-page report by consultant Hill International
has been withheld from the public under the justification
that it will be used in future litigation over construction
delays and cost overruns. But about 6,000 pages in
documentation intended to bolster the report were released
by the county following a Freedom of Information Law request
by the Freeman. Those pages appear to consist entirely of
daily construction reports printed directly from a Web site
operated by construction manager Bovis Lend Lease. In other words, Ulster County taxpayers first paid Bovis
Lend Lease to create the 6,000 pages of written records,
then paid again to have Hill International copy those
records, which were presented as the underpinning of the
46-page report. A senior county official says the body of work produced
by Hill International for the $1.16 million consists
entirely of the 46-page report and the 6,000 pages of copied
documents. Hill International officials deny their fees skyrocketed
from $150,000 to $1.16 million largely for the copying of
material from the Web site, but they decline to explain the
cost run-up. Hill Senior Vice President Frank J. Giunta said it was
unfair to characterize the body of work as being produced
under the resolution that authorized payment of only
$150,000, but he declined to elaborate. "I can tell you, on the record, that (the resolution's)
fee arrangement is not correct," he said. "The real fee
arrangement is a matter that is more appropriately discussed
between us and our client." The $1.16 million in payments apparently included time
spent by Hill International in developing the 46-page
report, which was presented to Ulster County legislators
behind closed doors on April 25. But County Attorney Joshua
Koplovitz said a detailed explanation of the costs has not
been provided during the four months he has been in
office. "I don't know how much time they spent conducting their
analysis," he said. "That (46-page presentation and the
Bovis Lend Lease reports) is the entirety of the papers that
have been generated." Richard Parete, chairman of the county Legislature's Law
Enforcement Center Project Committee, has been critical of
Hill International recommendations that he says would keep
that company as a consultant to the county with steep fees
and little effort involved. He said his suspicions about
Hill's performance were supported by the firm's presentation
to the county of supporting papers that merely were copies
obtained from another company's Web site. "That's all Bovis' documents," said Parete, D-Accord. "I think that's a waste of taxpayer money," he said.
"It's an embarrassment." County officials have released about half of a computer
presentation of the 46-page report given by Hill
International during a special county meeting April 25. The
county was billed $3,500 for that presentation alone, which
followed 22 months of work by Hill. And though the presentation was scheduled to be given in
the Legislature's chamber, the 33 county lawmakers were
forced into a corner conference room when the company's
laptop computer failed. Legislature Chairman David Donaldson said it was not
clear why the background material for the presentation was
printed directly from Bovis Lend Lease's Web site. "What they advised us is the information they used was
from the contractors themselves," Donaldson said, adding
that lawmakers were told by Hill that the company it "did
not use information from Bovis to make their
determination." Donaldson, D-Kingston, blamed Republicans - who
controlled the county Legislature until the end of 2005 -
for allowing the problems that have caused the Law
Enforcement Center's cost to balloon from an original
estimate of $53 million to more than $86 million, with the
final cost predicted to top $100 million. The project also
is more than two years behind schedule and still has no
target completion date. "We inherited this mess, and we're trying to clean it
up," he said. County officials have intended to use the Hill
International report to settle claims filed with the county
by contractors who are seeking money related to the
project's delays. Among the amounts being sought: * $722,499 by Eastern Heating & Cooling for
temperature controls. * $4.79 million by Rotondo Weirich for precast cells. * $2.57 million by C.B. Strain & Sons for mechanical,
heating, ventilation and air conditioning work. * $158,069 by S&S Fire Suppression for sprinkler
installations. * $113,479 by STS Steel for structural steel. * $25,745 by Reallife Landscaping for grounds work. Koplovitz said the county is considering suing some of
the contractors based on the 25 pages being withheld from
the public from Hill's 46-page report. Hill International, a contractor hired under the original
bidding for the project, had its first budget line set at
$250,000 to be a consultant for the review of administrative
expenses, an expenditure justified by the county as "legal
fees" for "sheriff's expenses." A county payment sheet shows
the firm had been paid $333,118.47 on that budget line as of
April 25. A second budget line for Hill was established on June 10,
2004, through a county Legislature resolution approving
$150,000 for "claims review and management," which was
intended to provide legislators with recommendations for
cost savings on the project and provide technical assistance
to the county's legal counsel for the project. But that
budget line has been increased to $1.16 million, of which
$1.06 million has been paid to date to Hill International.
After the public availability of the 6,000 pages in
background documents was announced on April 26, the
information was delayed until May 8 while the Bovis Lend
Lease log was bound in three-ring binders. Information in the log includes the daily weather
conditions, names of contractors at the job site on Albert
Street in Kingston and special notes about problems found at
the site. These begin with an Oct. 11, 2002, entry written
by Bovis Lend Lease Site Manager Mike Martin, who reported
on a page marked "First Day" that it was 55 degrees upon
arrival at 6:45 a.m. and 69 degrees at 4 p.m. The entry further notes: "Perralla trailer #1 and #2
delivered and setting up. 2 men first day of
mobilization." In a preliminary review of items from the log, called
"Daily Details" by the Bovis Lend Lease Web site, there were
issues of control over the site addressed in a Nov. 2, 2002,
entry stating concern when a carpenters' union
representative came to the Albert Street property. "Asked rep to announce that we do not want soliciting on
job site and that visitors must sign at the Bovis field
office," Martin wrote. Routine problems at the site also are in the journals,
with a major safety issue appearing in a Feb. 19, 2003,
entry stating that David Christa Construction has "third
unprotected rebar (steel reinforcement bar) violation. Next
violation, fines of $100 will be levied on each unprotected
bar." On Feb 20, 2003, the log reports that "Bovis made a
inspection of site at end of day - all rebar was
covered." As the project proceeded, the Bovis Lend Lease log shows
a steady list of safety issues with individual contractors
was addressed through David Christa Construction. Among the
earliest extended lists was one on June 30, 2003, with an
entry noting: "Rebar being cleaned up slowly - tripping
hazard, many rebar caps missing/removed, poor safety around
elevator foundation in area D, told mason to add protection
to scaffold over ramp at back of E area (6/26/03), received
complaints regarding water on floor in area F poses a safety
hazard." The Law Enforcement Center, when complete, will house the
county's jail and sheriff's office. The jail currently is on
Golden Hill Drive in Kingston, not far from the new
facility. The sheriff's office is in a rented building on
Schwenk Drive in Kingston.