Public Works comes under fire

Tuesday, May 1, 2001 | 10:27 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Hoping to avoid problems similar to those that plagued the construction of the Lied Library at UNLV, state legislators told the state Public Works Board Monday to tighten its regulations before a new $200 million state building program is approved.

Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, questioned the agency's ability to supervise more than $200 million in construction during the next two years, while Assemblyman Morse Arberry, D-Las Vegas, said he did not want the Legislature to "micromanage" state departments.

Arberry, chairman of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, told Daniel O'Brien, manager of the Public Works Board, that the budget committees need to ensure these upgraded policies are in place before more money is approved for construction.

A Senate-Assembly budget subcommittee Monday reviewed a legislative audit critical of the Public Works Board, which was in charge of the construction of UNLV's new library.

The library was not finished by its scheduled completion date and cost more than expected. Auditors said $58 million had been spent on the project by the end of February.

O'Brien said his staff is working on improving the procedures to ensure a more thorough review and approval process is in place before changes are made on a project.

The problems at the Lied Library were not the fault of the inspectors on the job, O'Brien said.

"It's management's fault. It starts at the top," said O'Brien, who was hired in recent months to replace Eric Raecke, who was the director of the agency during the library construction.

The audit found the Public Works Board did not follow the law in evaluating the qualification of the contractor -- Tibesar Construction Co. of Las Vegas. The board failed to check on the company's finances, the top personnel of the firm, its history on recent projects, whether there had been any breach of contracts, the safety record and whether the company was ever disqualified from being awarded a contract.

Arberry said there were some "reputable firms" that did not submit the low bid. In this case, he said, it may have been better to award the contract to another firm that had more experience on major projects.

O'Brien agreed that the past performance of Tibesar should have been evaluated before the contract was awarded. Claims totaling $5.9 million have been filed against the state by the general contractor and subcontractors. The architect has submitted an invoice for more than $600,000 for additional services.

In referring to the total project, Arberry said it appears as if "everybody was working by the seat of their pants, and we're stuck with a white elephant."