State hopes to keep lid on cost of construction

Monday, May 24, 2004 | 9:15 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- State Public Works Manager Dan O'Brien says full-time inspectors will be hired on major projects to prevent a repeat of the problems that plagued the construction of the Lied Library at University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"I don't want another Lied Library under my watch," O'Brien told the state Board of Examiners, which on Friday approved a $2.6 million settlement to pay contractors and subcontractors on that project.

Gov. Kenny Guinn, one of the three members of the board, said the state must hire full-time inspectors to make sure construction goes well at any major public project. He said he wanted a "grumpy, crusty old guy with 30 years' experience" to oversee contractors working on state projects.

Tibesar Construction Co. of Las Vegas was the low bidder on the Lied Library job in 1998 and was awarded the $40.5 million contract. With change orders, the cost rose to about $44 million. After the project was completed Tibesar and subcontractors said they were owed an additional $10.5 million.

State officials, however, said there were defects in the building that could cost as much as $8 million to rectify.

Under the settlement, the state will get back about $600,000 from the $2.6 million. The state will use the $600,000 to fix the roof against potential leaks and mold, the electrical system and the windows. There were complaints that the floors sloped but officials said they are structurally sound.

The repairs that were needed, however, needed "to be made to protect the patrons," O'Brien said.

The recommendation of the Examiners Board, made Friday, goes to the June 16 meeting of the Interim Finance Committee that must allocate the money from an emergency fund. Under the settlement, the payment must be made by June 30.

Tibesar started the work in 1998 and the project was to be completed by October 1999. Change orders extended the completion time by 193 days. The library did not open to the public until January 2001.

Legal action followed. The state spent more than $800,000 to employ PinnacleOne to gather the experts to back up its case that there were still more repairs that needed to be made. Attorney General Brian Sandoval said the state also spent more than $500,000 for fees for private attorneys for the case that dragged on for more than three years.

After mediation, the settlement was reached.

Kirk Williams, a Las Vegas attorney hired to represent the state, said it would have cost another $1.2 million to prepare and go to trial. And if the state lost, it would have had to pay the attorney fees for the general contractor and an estimated 30 subcontractors.

O'Brien, who was not the public works manager during construction of the Lied Library, said the office has hired a team of inspectors to oversee the construction of the science and engineering building at UNLV that should cost $74 million to $75 million.

He said the inspectors will be on the job throughout the construction period to try to make sure everything is done properly.

O'Brien said he wants to resolve problems early in future projects and not have them fester and still being argued three to four years later.

Williams said the final language of the settlement was being hammered out as late as Thursday evening.

Secretary of State Dean Heller, a member of the Examiners Board, complained he got all the details late and never had a chance to study the settlement and the issues. He said the other two board members -- Guinn and Sandoval -- were kept up to date on the progress.