Wednesday, April 20, 2005 | 11:08 a.m.
Citing a laundry list of shoddy construction including a chronically leaky roof and sub-par electrical work, the Clark County Commission on Tuesday unanimously voted to remove the contractor in charge of building the Regional Justice Center.
The 6-0 vote to declare AF Construction in full default, the Las Vegas firm contracted to build the $185 million structure, came after a presentation by county Aviation Director Randy Walker, who has overseen construction of the 17-story complex at South Casino Center and Clark Avenue. Walker detailed what he said was a pattern of ineptitude by the company.
Tuesday's action gives the company seven days to stop any work being done at the construction site, he said.
The building, designed to house city and county courts on lower floors and the Nevada Supreme Court on its top level, was supposed to open in 2002. Walker and other county officials now say they hope to move into the complex by Oct. 1.
"The project is over three years past due," Walker said. "... Every issue has been a war of words (between county officials and the construction company)."
County officials had already declared AF Construction in default on portions of the project including the roof, where Walker said there were 38 separate leaks. Removing the firm entirely will allow inspectors to proceed with a battery of tests needed before it can receive its temporary certificate of occupancy, he said.
The county stopped paying the company in March 2003 and has assessed $12,000-a-day damages on the firm, fines that now total more than $13.9 million. The move will likely extend the lengthy litigation between the county and the company, which has been criticized in the past for not being qualified for the large-scale project.
The company in turn claimed county design flaws were responsible for the delays, charging the county with mismanagement, breach of contract and defamation in connection with the justice center and related plans to expand the Clark County Detention Center.
Paul Faulkner, owner of AF Construction, declined to comment on the commission's action Tuesday other than to say he was unaware the matter was expected to come before the board. A notice at the end of the commission's posted agenda states commissioners are expected to receive a "status report (on the project and) take any action deemed appropriate."
"We weren't really notified of this," Faulkner, who did not attend the meeting, said. "This sort of came out of left field."
In the more than two years since the county ceased payments to AF Construction, the firm has reduced its workforce at the construction site to less than 13 people, Walker said.
County officials were waiting on a go-ahead from lawyers reviewing the contract before they officially asked the commission to declare AF Construction in default, he said. Attorneys later found the company in "material breach" of its contract, saying it had refused to correct more than $10 million in defects.
"We had a faint hope that the contractor would do something to rectify the situation," Walker said.
Commission Chairman Rory Reid acknowledged the vote would likely lead to more litigation but said he also held out no more hope for future talks with the construction firm.
"It's obvious the time for constructive behavior with this contractor is over," he said.
Commissioner Lynette Boggs McDonald said removing AF Construction was a necessary step to opening the long-awaited county complex.
"The Taj Mahal was built by hand in 17 years but we can't get a justice center built," Boggs McDonald said before the votes were cast. " ... If we don't take action we could be sitting here in 17 years wondering why we don't have a justice center."
Commissioner Myrna Williams was absent from the meeting.
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