$900,000 totals the construction blunders balance
Gilroy – Who will foot the bill for construction blunders on Gilroy’s new police department?
City officials say they won’t pay for a $100,000 roofing snafu, nor $800,000 to replace moldy sheet rock. Thus far, the city hasn’t paid a cent for the repairs.
But contractor SJ Amoroso isn’t eager to pay either, according to Assistant Chief and co-project manager Lanny Brown. Ongoing negotiations have yet to yield an agreement between Amoroso and construction manager Harris & Associates, which represents the city’s interests. Brown compared the situation to a marriage in crisis.
“The first step is we sit down, discuss, and try to work things out,” Brown said. “To extend the metaphor, this relationship can be saved.”
This week, Amoroso’s president, Paul Mason, and Bill Little of Harris & Associates will meet one-on-one to hash out their differences.
The pricey construction mishaps “are in that bundle of things we’re talking about,” said Brown, “but we’re not going to disclose all those issues – and there are many.”
Meanwhile, paint is drying on the 103,000-square-foot building, now almost complete. Police are eager to vacate their 41-year-old Rosanna Street building, nearly bursting at the seams, to move into their new $26-million digs.
But construction setbacks have marred its progress. In December, a $100,000 roofing error, covering a quarter of the building, stalled construction for a month; in May, inspectors discovered moldy, water-damaged paneling, which cost $800,000 to replace. Those blunders, along with last year’s winter rains, pushed its completion date back from March to November – an eight-month delay.
Co-project manager Bill Headley attributed the mold to improper wall sealing before workers took off for the winter holidays. Brown said Amoroso’s contract requires them to protect their work, making the contractor liable for the damaged panels.
City Council member Dion Bracco agreed.
“I don’t believe the city should pay for any repairs,” he said. “The contractor is responsible for his work until he delivers it.”
This week’s meeting is a standard step in reconciling contract disputes, said Headley.
“It’s a normal process in large projects,” he said. “Not one that we like, but we frequently do this.”
He cited the widening of Santa Teresa Boulevard as an example. In August, the city agreed to pay $115,000 out of $150,000 to fix its water-damaged western lanes, splitting the cost with Watsonville-based Granite Construction.
“When you have a big project, things happen,” said City Council member Craig Gartman. “What tells me the most about [a project] is how people correct them.”
Mayor Al Pinheiro expressed confidence in Harris & Associates, who he said were “looking out for the best interests of the city.”
“I’m not involved in the negotiations,” he said, “but it’s being handled by the appropriate staff … They’ll make sure we pay for what we should.”
Next week, the project’s executive team will meet, building on Little and Mason’s meeting this week. The team consists of Brown, Headley, city administrator Jay Baksa, police chief Gregg Giusiana and Wendie Rooney, director of the Community Development Department.
Gartman and Bracco said they anticipated an update on the project’s budget in November.
