Fired contractor gathers evidence at veterans home

Jeffrey Libby

Monday, Oct. 22, 2001 | 9:38 a.m.

Representatives from Addison Construction, the first general contractor in recent memory to be fired while overseeing a state job, returned Friday to the state veterans home in Boulder City to photograph their unfinished business.

State Public Works Director Dan O'Brien and a deputy from the state attorney general's office accompanied them.

The visit, part of evidence-gathering for an ongoing lawsuit by Addison against the state, was just one of several precedent-setting tasks O'Brien has taken on in hopes of opening the state's first veterans nursing home by January, about a year late.

Despite hiring new general contractor Metcalf Builders Inc. of Carson City in September to oversee completion of the project, however, the state Public Works Board still plans to review the payment records for each of about 32 subcontractors before asking them to resume work.

O'Brien wants to determine how much each subcontractor has been paid, how much they're owed and how much the state has actually paid Addison. He could not say when he would finish that process.

Subcontractors have filed claims for unpaid work ranging from $200 to $500,000, O'Brien said. Some of those claims will have to be settled with Addison, he said.

O'Brien said the issue with Addison is a first for him. He said he has never heard of a contractor being fired by the state.

Construction has been at a near standstill since mid-June when the state fired Addison for mounting delays. Addison claims in its lawsuit that the state owes it $1 million for completed work.

The $19 million project is about $1 million over budget. But O'Brien said he expects no further costs.