Jefferson Parish close to final deal to finish Performing Arts Center ...

We're not interested in going change order by change order. We're interested in a global resolution." Jefferson Parish President John Young

Jefferson Parish is nearing a final agreement with the builder of its troubled Performing Arts Center, in a deal that could add roughly $7 million to $9 million to the tab and at least nine more months of work. That would put the center's final cost more than $25 million over budget and its timeline four years behind schedule.

Jefferson Parish President John Young and two Parish Council members confirmed Friday that the parish and LaPlace contractor Joe Caldarera are nearing a deal that would set a drop-dead date to finish the building in late 2013. Under the deal, which both sides are still negotiating, Caldarera would have to pay "substantial" fines for every day late after the deadline, officials said.

The agreement, which would require Parish Council approval, would also spell out a final payment to Caldarera to settle pending invoices for work already completed and other "justified" items still to be done. The amount of that payment, however, is still in flux.

Young declined to comment on specifics of the possible agreement. Councilmen Chris Roberts and Paul Johnston, who have been briefed on the negotiations, said Caldarera is asking for a final payment of more than $13 million dollars. But Johnston, whose district includes the Metarie location of the arts center, and Roberts both insisted the parish intends to pay less than $10 million.

"We don't want to have an almost-done facility," Roberts said. "But we're also not going to pay for unjustified charges."

"We're not going to go to $10 million," Johnston said.

Contractor wants $13 million more

Caldarera and his attorney, Joel Chaisson, were not available for comment Friday.

Roberts said the $13 million Caldarera is seeking includes a large amount in charges for delays in the project, which has been plagued by design errors and construction problems. The parish officials made it clear, however, that they don't want to pay delay costs.

When construction of the arts center began in early 2007, the project was supposed to cost $26 million and be completed by late 2009. Design errors soon complicated things, and construction problems compounded the problems. Caldarera began billing the parish for extra charges almost from the start. During early excavation to build the center's foundation, Caldarera billed the parish an extra $655,000 to clear unforeseen "underground obstructions."

The cost additions skyrocketed from there, with the administration of then-Parish President Aaron Broussard endorsing most of the extra charges and the Parish Council approving them. All along, parish officials groused about the project's rising costs and expressed hopes that no more extra charges would be added -- only to face yet another cost addition down the road. That has brought the total payments for the project to about $44 million.

Young replaced Broussard in 2010, after the former president resigned in an unrelated corruption scandal. Young said Friday that his goal is to stop the parade of cost additions, or so-called change orders, in the project. That's why, he said, his administration has not brought any new change order to the council, even as Caldarera's bills continued to pile up.

"We're not interested in going change order by change order. We're interested in a global resolution," Young said.

Parish may be short of money, again?

A key issue is how the parish will pay for that final resolution. The state last year approved $6 million in additional money for the center. The parish also recently settled its suit against designer Wisznia and Associates for $1.3 million.

But it's unclear where the parish would find the extra money if the final agreement is higher than the $7.3 million Jefferson has on hand. Roberts and Johnston said they're waiting to see any proposals from Young's administration on that issue. Young declined to discuss details, citing the ongoing negotiations.

But Young added: "Any resolution would be conditioned upon the availability of funds."

Time is pressing, also. Officials said the building doesn't have electricity and as such lacks air conditioning. That may not be a problem in winter, but could quickly damage installed sheetrock and other materials once the weather warms up in spring and summer.

"We have to get this thing behind us and get that building finished and open this year," Johnston said.

Source: http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/01/jefferson_parish_close_to_fina.html

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