Grand Jury: Duval County Taxpayers Lose Again - Courthouse Debacle

[stjr]

Grand Jury: Duval County taxpayers lose again
The sealed report finds no criminal wrongdoing but $64.6 million spent with nothing to show for it.
By Paul Pinkham Story updated at 6:09 AM on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009

http://www.jacksonville.com/news/metro/2009-01-14/story/grand_jury_duval_county_taxpayers_lose_again

Read this and weep, fellow taxpayers.  Gross incompetence.  Another Skyway fiasco.  You have to work hard to pull off this level of issues and waste this much money doing it.  I start the blame with the Delaney administration and continue it to the current one.  Another example of over reliance on incompetent and unquestioned "experts".  Where, again, is the COMMON SENSE?  Doesn't anyone ask questions in this City?

It's real simple folks.  You take JUST ONE BLOCK, determine the APPROPRIATE square feet needed to get the job done, divide by the floor size, and build up accordingly.  Eliminate the thrills.  Create some revenue and make the building occupant friendly by putting some retail and convenience services (newstand, a Kinko's, food establishments, etc.) on the ground floor.

Private enterprise builds billions and billions of dollars worth of buildings without these issues, why can't the taxpayers?

Give me this project today and I will have it coming out of the ground in a few months at or below any current projections.  Take your plan to three qualified architects/general or design/build contractors for design concepts, estimates, and quotes, determine the best value proposition, make your selection, negotiate a final contract with standard "not to exceed" price guarantees, and BUILD.  Could probably complete the whole thing in less than 24 to 30  months (Didn't they build the stadium in less than 18 months?! - It's amazing what happens with MOTIVATION.).

Another example of trying to "save" what we have already done to avoid admitting a mistake.  Not worth the trouble.  Only thing we need to salvage from what's been done is one city block and the square footages and functional uses/needs of the space to incorporate in a vertical design.

The now current design is another big mistake in the making for efficiency, costs, architectural, and fit-in-the-urban-fabric reasons.  So frustrating that no one can or will STOP IT and let us come to our senses as a community. 

Where are the voices and outcry in the community of the self professed downtown lovers, architects, urban planners, developers, contractors, and "experts" in these matters that supposedly lurk on these boards?

[BridgeTroll]

Private enterprise builds billions and billions of dollars worth of buildings without these issues, why can't the taxpayers?

The key sentence in the entire posting...

[JaxNative68]

When you surround yourself with friends whose pockets you've been padding with taxpayer dollars, and they know it, who is going to talk?  Not many people want to rat themselves out.  The good ol' boy network is still alive and well in Jacksonville no matter how much we deign it.

If we quit voting old city money into position, maybe it will stop.

[Lunican]

Email from the mayor:

Dear Friends:

Following the court’s Jan. 14, release of a Duval County grand jury’s final report regarding the courthouse project, I issued the following statement. 
   

STATEMENT FROM MAYOR JOHN PEYTON

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Jan. 14, 2009 â€" Mayor John Peyton issued the following statement today in response to a Duval County grand jury’s release of its final report regarding the courthouse project.

“I am very appreciative of the time and effort the members of the grand jury spent examining all elements of the courthouse construction project and their recognition that the city needs to continue on its current path toward completion of the courthouse construction. They noted specifically the unquestionable need for a new facility, urgency to proceed with the project and their confidence in the current team. 

“However, this report clearly demonstrates their frustration that after eight years and millions of dollars, construction has not started on the Duval County Courthouse.  I share that same frustration and understand the disappointment expressed by the grand jury.  We must do better, and with the team now in place, we will. 

“Since the approval of the Better Jacksonville Plan in 2000, four factors have changed the cost assumptions associated with the courthouse.  Those include:

The acquisition of land and the relocation of utilities associated with moving the courthouse from the riverfront location to LaVilla,

Increased security requirements following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001,

Increased size requirements for the courthouse as a result of 2000 census data, and

Rising prices of commodities worldwide.


“Looking back on this history, I recognize that the city could not control all of those factors. However, with the benefit of hindsight, we should have terminated the original construction and design team contracts earlier than we did.  I believed at the time that completing the project with that team would have been less costly than starting over. However, we ultimately made the right decision to terminate these contracts and proceed with a new team. 

“The team now in place has my confidence, the confidence of the city council, the council auditor and the grand jury. Their work will earn the confidence of the taxpayers. In fact, I would note that both the April 2008 council auditor’s report and this report from the grand jury strongly recommend moving forward with the team that is in place.

“Moving forward at this time will allow the city to take advantage of the competitive environment that exists in the construction market, resulting in better costs. In addition, this will create thousands of jobs in our community at a time when our unemployment rate is nearing 7 percent, the highest we’ve seen since the early 1990s.

“My hope is that this community can focus on moving forward with the construction of the courthouse. As such, my team will be working to address all of the recommendations put forth in the grand jury’s report.  It is imperative that we have a transparent process as we work to bring this project to completion.”   

As part of that process, Mayor Peyton offered the following in response to the conclusions and recommendations outlined in the grand jury report.


Recommendation 1 - A consistent and periodic public monitoring of the city’s actions and plans in regard to the courthouse project.


City’s Commitment:

·       The city will provide regular updates to the three oversight committees created as part of The Better Jacksonville Plan. Those committees are Finance Advisory Committee (FAC), Project Advisory Committee (PAC) and the Citizen Oversight Committee. 

·       FAC/PAC meets quarterly and will continue to meet and be updated on the courthouse and other BJP projects until the program is completed.

·       The Citizen Oversight Committee will be convened on a regular basis to discuss significant benchmarks (such as acceptance of a guaranteed maximum price from the design/build team) in the courthouse project.


Recommendation 2 â€" That city policy/ procedure be enforced on all contracts out of compliance and “change orders” procured.


City’s Commitment:

The city will ensure that the procurement office evaluates and brings all bid evaluations and change orders to the appropriate committees (Professional Services Evaluation Committee and General Government Awards committee) as established by the city’s municipal code.

The city’s Inspector General and the Procurement Ombudsman will work to ensure that governmental policies and procedures are followed with an emphasis on contract management.


Recommendation 3 â€" The city needs to re-negotiate the contract with JEA for the Chilled Water Facility to reduce the payment until the actual courthouse is built.


City Commitment:

The city intends to discuss the restructuring of the chilled water service agreements with JEA as part of the discussions related to the 2009/2010 fiscal year.


Recommendation 4 â€" The city should pursue every legal means to reduce the losses associated with the parking garage. Expedite the purchase of the parking garages as early as possible.


City Commitment:

The city will explore an option in our contract that would allow us to purchase the garage in fiscal year 2011. The budget office is currently working within the city’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) in an attempt to make the necessary funding available. It is important to note that the parking garage is currently being operated in compliance with an operating agreement executed in 2004. 


Recommendation 5 â€" Every effort should be made to get back money from Skanska that may have been paid above its contract fee.  Under no circumstances should Skanska be paid additional monies.

City Commitment:

No additional money will be paid to Skanska for this project. It is important to note that the contract with Skanska was terminated and no money has been paid to them since 2005.


Recommendation 6 â€" The commitment to hire any vendor, contractor or consultant should be preceded with by a financial background check to insure the solvency of those businesses, especially in this time of economic uncertainty.

City Commitment:

The current city review process includes a review of the financial viability of companies that offer to provide the city contractual services. 

This process is continually refined and subject to oversight by the Professional Services Evaluation committee (PSEC), General Government Awards committee (GGAC), Competitive Sealed Proposal Evaluation committee (CSPEC) and the Office of the Inspector General.


Recommendation 7 â€" Committees involved with construction projects, should have a balance of construction experts and users of the facility for vendor and design selection.  Committee involvement should be carried through from inception to completion.


City Commitment:

The city utilized three types of evaluation committees for the procurement of all goods and services. Those committees are PSEC, GGAC, and CSPEC. Standing members of those committees include finance, engineering, procurement, and construction professionals. Subject matter experts and user groups are added depending upon the matter before the committee. 

These committees are involved in the evaluation of the proposals and significant benchmarks (contract execution and change order application) as the project moves to completion.


Recommendation 8 â€" An immediate, and thereafter periodic audit, should be performed and reported to the Chief Administrator and the Project Manager and, of course, be available to the public.


City Commitment:

In the past eight months, the courthouse has been the subject of an extensive city council auditor report and an expansive grand jury review.

As discussed above, FAC/PAC and the Citizens Oversight Committee regularly receive updates on the project. Those reports will continue. 

The courthouse project reports will be prepared by the Project Manager and the city’s Chief Administrative Officer serves as the chair of the BJP Finance Advisory Committee.


Recommendation 9 â€" Creation of a citizen’s board or ombudsman selected for and from the lay community to facilitate community involvement and knowledge of major projects is strongly suggested.


City Commitment:

The BJP did go to great lengths to ensure community involvement as demonstrated by the FAC/PAC and Oversight committees that have been mentioned above.  As noted by the grand jury this may be an appropriate model for future large scale construction projects.

The city has previously created an Office of Inspector General and Procurement Ombudsman in an effort to ensure that the community has many points of access to this local government.

[stjr]

Mayor's Letter:

In fact, I would note that both the April 2008 council auditor’s report and this report from the grand jury strongly recommend moving forward with the team that is in place.

Council Auditor's Report, Finding #2:

The City’s decision to build out instead of up increased the cost of the project significantly. The Federal Government built its courthouse as a 14 story tower on one block in downtown Jacksonville. In contrast, the City opted for a courthouse campus of 7 blocks, with one block being the site of the old federal courthouse and one block being used for a parking garage......The decision to build out also increased costs by closing streets and incorporating their former footprint in the footprint of the new courthouse. This decision caused the City to incur millions of dollars of expense to relocate the utilities that ran within the right of way of the former streets.

Is Mayor Peyton really paying attention here?!!!  Build UP, not OUT!  Mayor, for the good of downtown for the next 50 years.... for the taxpayers....to spare you further embarrassment and.....to enhance your own legacy....let's build it UP on ONE block! Listen to YOUR AUDITORS!

Thank you!!


Mayor's Letter:

Recommendation 4 – The city should pursue every legal means to reduce the losses associated with the parking garage. Expedite the purchase of the parking garages as early as possible.

City Commitment:

The city will explore an option in our contract that would allow us to purchase the garage in fiscal year 2011. The budget office is currently working within the city’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) in an attempt to make the necessary funding available. It is important to note that the parking garage is currently being operated in compliance with an operating agreement executed in 2004.

This original deal to GUARANTEE a developer a wonderful return on their investment with absolutely no risk because the taxpayers absorbed it was absurd.  Who's friend do you have to be to get deals like this?  If you didn't have sideshows like the Courthouse, this would be a center-stage story in itself. 

P.S. Wasn't the Arena garage and maybe one other garage part of this deal?  I wonder if they will also buy those back as well.

[urbanlibertarian]

I'm no fan of the federal government but they do seem to know how to build a courthouse.

[stjr]

It just shows how easy it is to do it right!  Even the Feds can do it!

What is our problem here?!  It seems most see the benefits to going UP, not OUT, except the decision makers.  What will it take to get them to come to their senses?!  I just don't get their blindness to something so obvious to most everyone else.

[JaxNative68]

One problem is that Peyton had to pull the original project team off the job and give the project to his lifelong friend's construction company "Auchter" even though the writing was on the wall for over a year about their finical difficulties, but what better way to help out a friend than give him a huge city funded project.  How many of the $65 million dollars went into his pocket as his company went belly up?  If we would have built the original project as designed, we would probably have more building for the dollar.  The city is by far going to exceed the original budget overage when this project is finished.  Presently the $65 million dollars wasted to this point in time is being offset by reducing the new courthouse’s program.  It’s funny how a building’s program can get smaller while the footprint of the building keeps getting larger.  I think Peyton’s view is, “if I build it large, nobody will notice it has gotten smaller and more expensive”.

[stjr]

Florida T-U:

Peyton said he is looking forward to building a project within the current budget. Turner Construction Co., the new construction manager, is expected to provide an updated guaranteed maximum price this spring. Once the city and Turner come to an agreement, the foundation will be poured.

“I have complete confidence in the current team, and by the way the grand jury expressed complete confidence,” Peyton said.

City General Counsel Rick Mullaney said the grand jury report captured the sentiment of the residents of Jacksonville, but it also makes it clear the project is necessary.

“I think the ultimate message from this grand jury is it’s time to move forward,” he said.

Mullaney also pointed out that the panel took no issues with the way the courthouse contracts were written, vindicating him and his staff. Mullaney also said he appreciated the way State Attorney Bill Cervone of Gainesville handled the investigation.

A community in DENIAL.  How can we say that "complete confidence" exists in any aspect of this project, past, present, or future?  The debacle lives on as we prepare to move forward with what is still a third rate project in design and execution.  I expect another Grand Jury will be castigating the City in another year on this basis. Where is our City Council?  The community?    Want my confidence?  Scrap the 7 block complex and build vertically like most courthouses displayed elsewhere on MJ!

Financial Daily News:

At least two busy Downtown thoroughfares will be converted from one-way traffic to two-way traffic this year, including Bay Street between Ocean and Newnan as soon as April. That was the report from Jacksonville Economic Development Commission Deputy Executive Director Paul Crawford at Wednesday’s quarterly meeting of Downtown Vision, Inc. (DVI).

Does anyone here know if Downtown Vision is involved in the courthouse design process?  Downtown will be the biggest loser with the current design.  Have they stepped up to participate?