City Hall costs to be reviewed

Largo commissioners tonight will study about $26,000 in new costs for the project.

By SHARON TUBBS

© St. Petersburg Times, published March 21, 2000

LARGO -- Officials are likely to approve more changes tonight for the new City Hall complex, a project mired in delays and modifications that have driven up the cost $500,000 more than budgeted.

It was clear two weeks ago that the new complex on Highland Avenue was ill-prepared for city workers and police officers scheduled to move in March 10.

City officials delayed the move, saying it would take another month or two before problems with the sprinkler and fire alarm systems would be repaired. At the time, City Manager Steven Stanton estimated the project cost at $7.9-million, a significant boost from the $7.5-million officials had planned to spend in 1999.

Expenses to be discussed this evening are relatively minor, at a total cost of $26,339.

More significantly, though, detailed reports available this week show the project will cost Largo residents about $8-million, Assistant City Manager Henry Schubert said Monday.

"These numbers move around a little bit," Schubert said.

And the contractor handling the project says the architect and the city are to blame for the project's higher price tag.

Joseph Kokolakis, vice president of J. Kokolakis Contracting in Tarpon Springs, said the city has requested myriad changes. Some -- for the sprinkler system, the fire alarm system, air conditioning units and generators -- were needed to meet code requirements or to properly equip the building.

Others were aesthetic, such as three modifications to the dais, as city officials changed their minds on what depth the desks should be and where the monitors should be, for example, Kokolakis said.

"There was significant redesign on this project to address code violations and to address issues," Kokolakis said.

Largo officials have said a number of factors caused the delay, like unforeseen events and needs, as well as the contractor's inability to find subcontractors to do the work.

But Kokolakis said Monday that wasn't true. "We have no problem with subcontractors," he said.

Kevin Ratigan, vice president for Architects Design Group, the Winter Park firm designing the renovations, said Monday that the alterations in the Largo project are not unusual.

The project design was prone to mistakes from the start because the city is renovating three existing buildings, rather than building anew. It's difficult to know the intricacies of a building already standing.

"There's always going to be conditions that are unforeseen, that are unanticipated," Ratigan said.

For instance, a portion of the project calls for a state-of-the-art police dispatch center. Ratigan said the city did not know the county, which Ratigan said is providing funding for some equipment, would place additional requirements on the center.

But Ratigan doesn't see a problem with the project's delay. "The project is going along very successfully."

Both Ratigan and Kokolakis said they expect the project can be completed by April 14, which would delay the move by a month.

As for costs, Ratigan said he recommends that project budgets include a contingency line of about 6 percent of the total budget to accommodate situations like those that have occurred in Largo.

Largo originally included a contingency of only $150,000, about 2 percent of the budget. Commissioners wanted to keep the fund low so that changes over $150,000 would have to come before them for approval.

If Largo had budgeted for what the total project changes and unanticipated expenses for furnishings and equipment have turned out to be, the $8-million budget would have included a $650,000 contingency, about 8 percent.

During the meeting tonight, commissioners will decide whether to spend $6,950 to pay off the remainder of a $16,581 storage bill for furniture that was shipped a few months ago, but could not yet be placed in the three buildings on site.

They will decide whether to spend $13,100 to extend the lease to rent two generators to power equipment at the current City Hall and police station. Largo already has moved its own units to the new complex. Also, $6,289 is needed for repair work to elevators the city learned was needed earlier this month.

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