| |
Posted Oct 23, 2009, 11:20 PM
|
 |
Only Mostly Dead
|
|
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Marin
Posts: 5,234
|
|
Pulled over from the SF Rundown thread:
Quote:
Originally Posted by BTinSF
|
Hmm, could be. Looking at the site yesterday, it's clear they haven't completely pulled the plug. There was a small crew working on odd jobs (sounded like they were restringing power or something) and small equipment can still be found all around. But the next major step -- foundation work -- is clearly not starting yet.
If bidding irregularities are part of the audit, it's very possible they can't finalize the construction contract right now even if the project is not otherwise on hold. One thing is sure, they have had some serious procedural breakdowns in the construction of other projects. So, it would stand to reason that they would want to get that in order before starting another one.
Here's the Chronicle article for anyone who doesn't want to follow the link above:
Quote:
Audit critical of CCSF's bond money spending
Nanette Asimov, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Millions of dollars in cost overruns have halted the construction of a stem cell training center and a performing arts building at City College of San Francisco, according to an audit critical of how the school has handled voter-approved bond money.
More than $12.5 million has already been spent on the stalled arts center, and nearly $1.2 million on the stem cell building - with no plans to complete them because the money has run out, says the state-mandated audit of two bond measures for capital improvements at City College.
The audit also points to bidding irregularities and reveals that nearly $40 million in contract changes were never approved by the trustees, as required by law, or were approved after the fact.
One bond measure, passed in 2001, was for $195 million. The other was a $246 million bond approved in 2005.
The audit covered a one-year period that ended in June 2008, when college facilities were run by Associate Vice Chancellor James Blomquist, who has been on paid leave since early July due to an unrelated criminal charge.
City College trustees were expected to decide in closed session tonight whether to fire Blomquist, The Chronicle has learned.
The trustees would not discuss the personnel decision, but acknowledged that costs soared in the department he managed.
It would cost an additional $49 million to complete projects authorized in the 2001 bond alone, City College officials told the auditors.
Trustee: Waste of millions
Oversight of the bond money "seems at best sloppy - but it's wasting potentially millions of dollars of taxpayers' money," said trustee John Rizzo, chairman of the facilities committee, referring to the cost overruns.
Rizzo said the staff often asked the board to shift money from the stem cell center in particular to cover the rising costs of other building projects. The $120 million arts center and $68 million stem cell center were supposed to be built at the main college campus on Phelan Avenue but are on indefinite hold.
The report blames those overruns on inflation, but Rizzo said he was never satisfied with that.
"My opinion is that it was inadequate control," he said. "They didn't do a good job of managing the projects and planning, which the audit shows."
The trustees plan to discuss the audit in the public portion of tonight's meeting.
The bond money has been used for building renovation, new campuses in the Mission and North Beach/Chinatown, and other capital improvements.
The auditors found numerous examples of sloppy practices, improper notifications, and poor tracking of contracts and compliance.
They discovered that in the 2007-08 fiscal year, the college twice skirted a state law requiring competitive bidding by handing out jobs to preferred contractors.
They also looked at 46 change orders by the facilities department in which original contracts were augmented by a total of $89 million to address unforeseen needs.
Change orders
State law requires board approval for each change order, but the facilities department executed nearly $26 million in change orders before going to the board, the auditors found. An additional $13.5 million in change orders were never approved. And nearly $918,000 in changes were attached to contracts approved for lesser amounts.
Attorney Tony Brass, who represents Blomquist in the criminal case, said the review essentially accuses Blomquist's department of not dealing well with bureaucracy.
"That may or may not be true," Brass said. "But he was very good at dealing with the business of building, which is what he was brought in to do."
Peter Goldstein, vice chancellor of finance and administration, said the college has accepted the audit's findings "and are moving with as much speed as possible to implement all of their recommendations."
Several have already been implemented, including staff training and ensuring that contracts are competitively bid, he told the auditors.
"Things have changed," said trustee Rizzo. "There's a willingness to look into this and try to fix it where before there wasn't."
Blomquist was charged on July 8 with one felony count of taking a $10,000 lease payment meant for the college and instead contributing it to the campaign for the 2005 bond measure that would benefit school facilities.
He pleaded not guilty, as did his co-defendants, former City College Chancellor Philip Day, who faces eight felony charges of misusing taxpayer money, and administrative services officer Stephen Herman, who was charged with seven felonies for allegedly helping Day misappropriate funds.
Day left City College in 2008. Herman is on paid leave.
|
|
|
|
Threaded Mode