Construction fraud impacts Peralta
NBC handled writing center, Bistro contracts
Ryan Villarreal
Issue date: 11/12/09 Last update: 11/12/09 at 11:11 AM PST
Section: News
When asked about the legal action taken by Moscowitz's firm, Peralta General Counsel Thuy Nguyen deferred her response to district spokesperson Jeff Heyman, who said, "We're unable to comment on pending cases, but let me just say that we are cooperating with the parties involved."
Peralta first employed NBC in February 2006 to complete the James Oliver Writing Center, awarding the bid in the amount of $328,000. The project was scheduled to finish in September 2006, but was not opened to students until March 2007 as work was still being done, according to writing center technician Terrence Fisher. The final cost was $361,936.
Following the storm on Oct. 13 last month, the center had to be closed for several days in order to fix leakage problems.
"The room was a mess after the storm," said Fisher. "We had to arrange buckets under the leaks, mop the floors, and soak up water on the tables. Luckily, we had tarps covering the computers where we knew the leaks were, otherwise they would have been ,rreparably damaged.
"Since we took possession of the room," he continued, "we've had problems with leaks in the roof, the air-conditioning, and flickering lights."
The a/c equipment requires consistent maintenance in order to properly regulate the room temperature. Robert Beckwith, Peralta director of facilities and operations, said he was unaware of these problems.
NBC was awarded a second bid of $5.7 million for the Laney Bistro in September 2007. The project carried on into March of this year with a final price tag of $7.1 million. The $1.4 million discrepancy was due to seven change orders, which repeatedly pushed back projected dates of completion.
The third bid for the renovation of CoA's administrative building (Building A) and sidewalk repairs in the amount of $9 million was awarded in March 2008.
NBC completed its contract with Peralta after finishing work on Building A in October. The final amount for the CoA projects was $9.4 million. The $400,000 discrepancy was due to change orders to the projects.
Peralta first employed NBC in February 2006 to complete the James Oliver Writing Center, awarding the bid in the amount of $328,000. The project was scheduled to finish in September 2006, but was not opened to students until March 2007 as work was still being done, according to writing center technician Terrence Fisher. The final cost was $361,936.
Following the storm on Oct. 13 last month, the center had to be closed for several days in order to fix leakage problems.
"The room was a mess after the storm," said Fisher. "We had to arrange buckets under the leaks, mop the floors, and soak up water on the tables. Luckily, we had tarps covering the computers where we knew the leaks were, otherwise they would have been ,rreparably damaged.
"Since we took possession of the room," he continued, "we've had problems with leaks in the roof, the air-conditioning, and flickering lights."
The a/c equipment requires consistent maintenance in order to properly regulate the room temperature. Robert Beckwith, Peralta director of facilities and operations, said he was unaware of these problems.
NBC was awarded a second bid of $5.7 million for the Laney Bistro in September 2007. The project carried on into March of this year with a final price tag of $7.1 million. The $1.4 million discrepancy was due to seven change orders, which repeatedly pushed back projected dates of completion.
The third bid for the renovation of CoA's administrative building (Building A) and sidewalk repairs in the amount of $9 million was awarded in March 2008.
NBC completed its contract with Peralta after finishing work on Building A in October. The final amount for the CoA projects was $9.4 million. The $400,000 discrepancy was due to change orders to the projects.
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buddy
posted 11/24/09 @ 9:37 AM PST
dishing the dirt!
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