When ¾ Of A Million Dollars is Supplemental
I just learned that Commissioners Court has had to approve a $705,000 supplemental budget increase for insurance costs due to the new Justice Center.
For those newcomers, the justice center was originally conceived as a $77,000,000 project. By the time Judge Yarbrough had it put on the ballot it was an $85,100,000 project with a 10% contingency for a total of $93,100,000. The project has now overspent to about $145,000,000.
The worst part is that surprises like this little insurance doozy keep rolling in. As I understand it, the first round of “changes and redesigns” due to the Architects inexperience. Now these architects just happen to be among Jim Yarbrough’s LARGEST contributors.
As I have always said, I respect Jim and I believe he wants to serve the County. I just feel he has totally lost touch with working families and what it costs them to bear these incredible tax burdens. I also feel he is far too predisposed to use and allocate county resources in a way that is beneficial to himself, his party and his campaign... It’s just not right.
For those newcomers, the justice center was originally conceived as a $77,000,000 project. By the time Judge Yarbrough had it put on the ballot it was an $85,100,000 project with a 10% contingency for a total of $93,100,000. The project has now overspent to about $145,000,000.
The worst part is that surprises like this little insurance doozy keep rolling in. As I understand it, the first round of “changes and redesigns” due to the Architects inexperience. Now these architects just happen to be among Jim Yarbrough’s LARGEST contributors.
As I have always said, I respect Jim and I believe he wants to serve the County. I just feel he has totally lost touch with working families and what it costs them to bear these incredible tax burdens. I also feel he is far too predisposed to use and allocate county resources in a way that is beneficial to himself, his party and his campaign... It’s just not right.
posted by Chris Stevens @ 5/17/2006 08:19:00 PM
9 Comments:
At Thursday, June 01, 2006 1:12:00 PM,
Dudley Anderson said…
Mr. Stevens,
Please define "inexperienced" as you have used it in referencing the Architect in this posting. Also please provide specific examples of "changes and redesign" the inexperience caused. I am curious how you arrived at this inaccurate opinion.
At Wednesday, June 07, 2006 7:30:00 AM,
Chris Stevens said…
Mr. Anderson,
The center is $50,000,000+ over budget.
The power plant was forgotten in the original layout.
The Sheriff had to push through major changes to keep the jail layout in compliance.
There are no security cameras in the parking lots.
There appear to be cracked windows from settling.
The Courtrooms are out of State Compliance because of unisex bathrooms for the jurors.
The facility failed its first inspection (admittedly easy to do on first pass but we will see what happens next).
The new jail with more technology requires a higher guard to inmate ratio than the old jail.
Neither Gilbane/Kelso nor Bay Area Architects ever worked on a facility like this and they were not the low bidders. They are both BIG campaign contributors to Jim Yarbrough.
The low bid company had SUCCESSFUL experience with just this type of facility and they were contractors.
Now I am pretty much your typical right-to-work Republican but even I can see the benefit of hiring a union contractor if all other things are equal and CERTAINLY if they have the low bid.
Why do you think Commissioner Clark(R) and Commissioner Janek(D) voted for the low bid contractor in the first place?
At Wednesday, June 07, 2006 7:59:00 AM,
Chris Stevens said…
Please allow me to add this, Mr. Anderson,
I have no doubts as to your capability or general architectural experience. I am quite sure you are as capable and adept of an architect as can be found and you have a wide array of experience. The point above, was not meant as a derogatory of you or your company but rather to point to the fact that Jim Yarbrough's contributors have a consistently been successful when bidding county contracts. This seems to be true, even when others are out there with track records in the service required.
So, please answer me this, prior to this one, how many jail/justice facilities have you laid out? How about the designers and draftsmen who worked under you? Did they have experience to supplement yours? What distinguished your firm over others who HAD experience in this type of facility?
Also, in the two years before this facility contract and up until today, how much have you and/or the Partners and Associates of Bay Architects donated to Jim Yarbrough's campaign?
At Thursday, June 08, 2006 10:12:00 AM,
Dudley Anderson said…
Mr. Stevens,
You didn’t answer my question. I read your post and it said exactly what you intended. It was an insult to the design team that provided professional services to Galveston County.
You said the architect was “inexperienced” and that inexperience caused Galveston County taxpayers money. Either substantiate the accusation or withdraw it.
Instead of answering that question you take off and make other baseless accusations. This is “politics” at its worst.
If, as you say, you had no doubts about our “capability or general architectural experience” then you shouldn’t have said it. That is nothing but political bull---- and hopefully voters are tired of that behavior from “politicians”.
The design team, including architects, is and was experienced. County officials toured facilities in El Paso and Santa Fe, New Mexico designed by members of our team. They have been in the correctional design business for decades, nationwide. The correctional component of our design team was just one of several groups that brought specific knowledge and experience to the project.
I do, and have, supported James D. Yarbrough for County Judge. The first time was over ten years ago when he was first running. I canvassed for him and talked to people about him. That was because I believed him to be a good and honest man, pragmatic and business minded, not a ”politician”.
I have donated maybe $400 over these last ten years. If that puts me in the “large” contributor range then his campaign is in for hard times. I don’t know how much other members of the design team have contributed. I never asked them. You should know the exact number since you have access to his campaign finance records.
James D. Yarbrough has supported me more than I have supported him. Maybe he knew more about what we brought to the table and the benefits of contracting with a qualified and experienced local business to Galveston County than you do.
As to your list above, I respond in order as follows:
The Galveston County Justice Center is not $50,000,000 over budget now, in the past, or in the future. The final cost should actually be less than the 2002 budget.
The original plan was to have the central plants built and operated by a third party vendor. This had proved economic for several area entities. However, the business climate changed radically prior to implementing the plan and that option ceased to be viable economically. The County wisely chose to change course, take advantage of lower interest rates, and build the facility themselves. This required capital outlay not originally anticipated but reduced annual cost.
You might ask the Sheriff what “major changes he had to push through”. My guess is he doesn’t know either because the accusation is baseless.
There are security cameras in parking and drive areas where they need to be. If they were everywhere it would require additional staff to monitor them with that annual expense, and to what purpose? That could be considered a waste of taxpayer money. Why do you want them? Who benefits?
Several panes of glass were broken during the last phases of construction by construction activity and have been replaced. The building is not “settling” and will not. This is a baseless accusation and rumor mongering at its worst.
“The courtrooms are out of state compliance because of unisex toilets for jurors.” Give us a break. How many toilets do 12 people need? Talk about wasting taxpayer money. What state requirement?
The Texas Commission on Jail Standards approved the facility design during all phases of their review. They review all Texas jail designs for compliance with standards 3 times prior to construction. The first construction review by the Jail Commission found items that need to be corrected. The construction was not complete at this time and they will return shortly and hopefully the items that need correction will be finished then.
How do you come by the belief that the officer/inmate ratio will be worse in the new facility than the old? It will operate as close to the 1/48 ratio as is possible. Anything less is against Jail Standards.
Both Kelso/Gilbane, Construction Manager and Bay Architects design team have worked on facilities for correctional, judicial, and office buildings before. Neither was low bidder because neither “bid” the project. Both provide professional services which are based upon qualification not price. It is illegal in the State of Texas for us to quote price in our proposal. After selection based upon qualification the County negotiates price. If they don’t like the price they go with the next most qualified proposal. I can’t speak for Kelso/Gilbane but in Bay Architects case their final fee is considerably below comparable cost for the same scope of work in Harris County.
“The low bid company had SUCCESSFUL experience”. What “low bid company”?
It is magnanimous of you to see the benefit of hiring a union contractor. I’m sure they are all thrilled at your approval.
Commissioner Ken Clark did not vote for Bay Architects, Inc. That was his decision and I can’t conjecture why he voted as he did. You might ask him. He isn’t shy with his opinions or beliefs and I respect him for it. He also did not vote for Kelso/Gilbane as Construction Manager. He did what he thought was proper and I respect him for it. I can’t vote for him because I don’t live in his precinct. I would consider it if I did just as he respectfully considered us.
Commissioner Eddie Janek did vote for both Bay Architects, Inc and Kelso/Gilbane Construction Managers. Your information is incorrect.
Commissioner Steve Holmes did not vote for Kelso/Gilbane and that might be what your informant is thinking about. You might ask him why he voted as he did, I don’t know. He is my Commissioner. I support him with my vote and word of mouth. He will not take money from me for his campaign.
Bottom line is that you made accusations and spout innuendo with flawed information. Is that the way you would lead the County if you should get elected? You are running against a good man who has done a great job for Galveston County.
I understand your frustration at running against an entrenched Democratic opponent. My father ran for Commissioner in Brazos County as a Republican in 1972 against entrenched Democrats. He didn’t win either but he didn’t spout off about things he knew little about. I don’t think he would recognize the current Republican Party.
At Friday, June 09, 2006 4:01:00 PM,
Chris Stevens said…
No Mr. Anderson,
There is nothing to retract. Your firm STILL looks to have been in over their head as compared to other projects on your company's references through out the website.
Whether you believe it or not, even a Justice Center must be built in compliance with the law and the bathroom situation is going to cost a lot of money. You asked for an example and that is example number one but it is just one. It doesn't make it go away if you think it is trivial. There are others coming.
The center IS $50,000,000 more than voters approved and it seems to climb every week.
Things could have been done to mitigate:
The steel could have been purchased on advance contract.
The construction bid could have been let as hard money.
Window dressing like MOST of the landscaping and the blasted $300,000 fountains could have been delayed until later out of respect to the incredible degree of extra burden heaped on working families by this thing.
Some of the opulent points could have been reconsidered i.e. Do the Judges really need GRANITE countertops etc.? There is nothing wrong with it when everything is going smoothly and according to plan, but when your $50,000,000 dollars over the original budget some sort of belt tightening has to happen.
The road added cost, the power plant added cost etc. etc. These are all contingency items. Contingencies are supposed to be figured in the original budget and when something of this magnitude is 50%+ over the original budget with contingencies included SOMEONE has to stand up and admit to doing a very poor job planning, controlling costs, understanding the requirements, understanding the economic variables, etc. etc. .
Your whole argument seems to be, "The judge is nice and you’re mean so leave us alone."
It's just not that simple. I admire the Judge on many fronts. If he had not had the foresight to work the county's credit rating over and drive it up ahead of time this whole fiasco would have been much worse. However I feel it is time for him to go. This, primarily because he is TOO nice to anyone who comes along and wants a piece of the public’s money instead of being nice to the public who have to pay that money.
This is politics and the Justice Center represents a colossal financial failure on the Judge's watch. There is nothing wrong with pointing it out or in stating my opinion as to what some of the root causes are. There is nothing wrong with probing the question of whether your personal friendship with the judge, your long running support of his candidacy or your companies various donations made your selection more likely.
I feel bad for you and the Judge to have to defend this albatross but I feel worse for the people of Galveston County who will have to pay for it and I am not going to just sit down and be quiet because you think I’m mean or petty. I don’t think the single mom who has to pay extra taxes on a home thinks I’m mean or petty for trying to get her a lower tax bill.
At Saturday, June 10, 2006 11:26:00 AM,
Dudley Anderson said…
Mr. Stevens,
You still didn’t answer my question. Once again you went off on a tirade spouting inaccurate information. I still don’t know where you are getting your information or who is feeding it to you but it is still seriously flawed.
You seem to be getting a little testy to have your pronouncements questioned. After all who am I to question you? That seems to be your job. Don’t like the competition?
Now you say I think you are “mean and petty”. Well if the shoe fits wear it. It doesn’t seem to matter that I never said that. I went back and read what I said. That isn’t even intimated. Do you see a psychiatrist?
You tell me my whole argument is that the “Judge is nice and you are mean so leave us alone.” Bull- - - -. My whole argument is that you make preposterous claims with no factual information and will not answer a simple question. If you can spout it, you should be able to back it up Bubba!
The newest one is that the Judge’s have granite countertops. Which ones? There are none for the judges that I know of in the Galveston County Justice Center. If they did it might have been a good choice of material because it is permanent and cheaper than faux stone at the moment.
You say the Justice Center is a “colossal financial failure”? You say it is $50,000,000 over budget. You are plain and simply wrong.
The fountains were expensive but no where near $300,000. The building that houses our courts is our forum for justice. It is our seat of Law and important enough to warrant some special treatment. The fountains are an important part of that image. There are no apologies for the cost, relative to the value of providing that image to our community.
There is a Galveston County company with patents on the fountain heads. Another Galveston County company built them. This project could be the catalyst that propels the growth of this company and creates more jobs and value to the community.
There is another new successful business created in Texas City as a direct result of this project. They took the wood from the old warehouses on site and recycled it into high end flooring and specialty wood products. New business = new tax money that does not come from single moms. Without new business that single Mom you refer to will have higher taxes. With new business she may have lower taxes and better opportunities for work to support her family.
The Commissioners Court decided to build the Justice Center with a Construction Manager instead of a “hard bid” to allow smaller local companies the opportunity to work on the project. If it had been hard bid there is NO local company large enough to have handled the project. And the big boys from out of state wouldn't have used local suppliers or labor. It would have been guaranteed that our tax money would have gone out of the area very quickly. As it is the dollars stayed around and have the opportunity to benefit second and third tier businesses in the community. That’s good use of tax money. Being tight fisted is not always the least expensive method of getting what you need.
Is there any point in trying to continue this conversation? You obviously can’t admit to being poorly informed. You might actually get some respect for admitting you don’t know what’s going on. Run on your beliefs not on bogus claims that someone else has done something wrong.
At Monday, June 12, 2006 6:16:00 AM,
Chris Stevens said…
Mr. Anderson,
No I am not seeing a psychiatrist but thanks for asking. Do you feel it appropriate it to use that as a derogatory? If someone was seeing a psychiatrist do you think they would feel better or worse about their plight after your unfortunate gaff?
No I really don't feel that government overspending is an appropriate form of local economic stimulus.
What does the Woodshop have to do with any of this? I know the owner too. He would have bought that wood as long as it was for sale and this project didn't create his business. He has been in business for a few years already now.
The original bond approved by the citizens was a generous $93,600,000 we are at approximately $145,000,000. ($145,000,000-$93,600,000=$51,400,000) At last census count that would mean $200 EXTRA money spent for every man, woman and child. Now that may not be much to a big time architect or Jim Yarbrough... but to us peons down here at the bottom, it's a lot!
I am not the one getting testy. I like talking about your and Judge Yarbrough's massive expenditure of the PEOPLE's money.
It just makes my campaign point all the better.
At Tuesday, June 13, 2006 6:09:00 PM,
Anonymous said…
Just as you don't have a real estate license, you are not an engineer either. You state the cracked windows "appear" to be a result of settling. Appear in what, your crytal ball or your wild imagination? I don't see any broken windows, only a couple of glass doors that are cracked and not broken. Seems reasonable to me that those things would be expected during the move or as a result of construction.
Also, and answer honestly, if that company sent you a sizeable contribution are you suggesting that you would return it?
At Tuesday, January 16, 2007 7:04:00 PM,
P. Moratto said…
Chris, if I may, allow me to recall your attention to perhaps Mr Anderson's finest point, to wit:
"The fountains were expensive but no where near $300,000. The building that houses 'our' courts is 'our' forum for justice. It is 'our' seat of Law and important enough to warrant some special treatment. The fountains are an important part of that image. There are no apologies for the cost, relative to the value of providing that image to 'our' community."
Now keep in mind that didn't come from some slick politician trying to sell the taxpayers a high dollar load of manure. It came from the firm that was merely hired to build what the county ostensibly said it needed and wanted.
The county did provide its own specifications, right? I mean, before the building went up.
Anyway, this was profoundly spoken and confoundedly unexpected. Gee whiz, Chris, I have to tell you I'm choked up here. That paragraph alone surely ought to be worth 50-grand. I'd say the good judge ought to give Mr Anderson an office in there, rent free, to keep this white ele... er project on track. How often do you find such personal and emotional dedication to "our" opulen... er, I mean image, from such an unlikely place? We mustn't let this guy get away from us!
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