Publisher's Note: This article originally appeared in the Beaufort Observer.
They vote to spend nearly two million dollars on plans that may never be used
In spite of the fact that they
don't have the money to do the project they're planning, the Commissioner Jail Committee proceeded Wednesday (8-20-14) with the planning to build a project they don't have the money to pay for. Clearly there is a rush to spend as much as they can before the new board takes over.
At their meeting Wednesday the three members of the Jail Committee, Jerry Langley, Al Klemm and Robert Belcher heard technical planning reports from various contractors they have working on the various pieces of the project. They heard reports from electrical contractors and architects about renovations to the existing courthouse. They spent some time listening to how they could redesign the main facility to produce some "cost savings." The significance of this discussion is that it is all based on an assumption that they will obtain permanent financing for the project at the Chocowinity site.
The County Manager then told the Committee what they already knew...that the Local Government Commission will not consider a financing application until after the new board is seated. He advised the Committee that they should therefore stop spending on the main project, vis-à-vis the site improvements and steel cells. The Committee then decided to continue with the design work, which they were told is about 95% complete.
The effect of that decision, made by consensus but with little discussion, is to spend an additional $700,000 or so for design and plans that may just collect dust after November. We were asked after the meeting: "why are they doing this?" Our response: "Because they think they can."
For those who are interested in the fine print, here are the numbers.
The Commission by a 4-3 majority on all votes, has appropriated $1,988.750 of the unencumbered fund balance for planning and design work on a new "public safety facility" (jail, sheriff's office, 911 dispatch, Emergency Management Office and additions to the courthouse. As of 8-21-14 the taxpayers have paid out $934,181.24 for these services, leaving a balance of $1,054,568. > Click here to review the details.
The architects reported 8-21-14 that they are "about 95% finished." Thus, one must presume they mean they have done a substantial amount of work they have not been paid for. But if they are paid the full budgeted amount that leave an unencumbered balance of approximately $700,000 neither spent or encumbered. That amount would be save if the Commission stopped work on the project at this point.
If the full board approves the recommendation of the Jail Committee it will mean that they will spend an additional $700,000 to $800,000 for plans that may never be used. Alternatively they could simply put the project on hold until after a new board is elected and then let that board decide whether to continue with the project, finish developing the plans but put the project on hold or to scrap the entire thing.
The interesting thing is that there is no need to rush ahead. The timeline that the LGC explained to the board on Monday would mean that they probably could not have all the paper work done to submit a permanent financing application before the election.
What was significant in the Jail Committee meeting Tuesday was that Randell Woodruff, the County Manager advised the Committee that they cannot proceed with the M. B. Kahn Construction Management until they have permanent financing approved and they cannot break out the Guaranteed Maximum Agreed Price contract with Kahn into phases or pieces but must, by law, keep the contract as a whole. But even that did not phase the Committee. They just agreed to drop the purchase of steel cells and site improvements, but continue with the rest of the planning and design work.
Commissioner candidate Keith Kidwell has done some legal research and reports that it appears that even if the current board or the new board were to agree to continue with the project and seek Limited Obligation Bonds that a petition of 10% of the registered voters can force a referendum even on those bonds. That is still in the tentative research stage but if it turns out to be the case then the Gang of Four will have spent a lot of money trying to keep the people out of the process when it may have been futile in the first place.
What a mess.
