commentary

Even IF, by some miracle, the bathrooms HAD been built for 285k and on time (another miracle), the costs would have been over $250 a square foot- TWICE the usual and customary costs! It clearly should have been rebid at that point. The bathrooms were NEW construction, not a repair. New construction doesnt include hookups usually? I find THAT hard to believe. Skip Reed is a General Contractor and an employee of the City. He regularly uses $125 a square foot in his calculations for construction projects here in the city that he inspects and approves. The numbers I have presented here are the usual and customary costs for new construction here in S Fla., as indicated by my insurance company and some local General Contractors. Dr. Mel P. Johnson

stupid is as stupid does

It seems the junior high kids are up early this morning! It occurs to me that we have a General Contractor, Skip Reed, on staff with many years of experience. Why wasnt he consulted in ANY of these construction projects? He could have easily told them that the usual and customary rate for new construction in Dade is $125 a square foot- NOT $400 the square foot the bathrooms turned out, OR $600 a square foot for the CC enclosure! He has a license and years of experience! WHY wasnt Skip consulted? Makes you wonder, doesnt it? Lets see, we have a licensed guy with years of experience, but we dont use him at all. Instead, we use a City Manager with NO license or building experience to oversee the projects. Why would they NOT use the expertise that is already available? More stupidity. Dr. Mel Johnson

accountibility?

Apparently there will be three licensed people in charge of overseeing the new gym project- an architect, Manny Perez-Vichot is the front runner; an engineer, my vote goes to Pistorino, and a contractor to be determined later. Approximately 150k has been allocated for them. They will oversee the day-to-day operations in that construction process, and be accountable. Skip Reed will do the final inspections.

construction frustrations

I could be wrong, but I thought the contractors main frustration with the Building Dept is their overall lack of construction code knowledge and response times for inspections. Those issues should be investigated and steps put into place to remedy those situations (more qualified staff, more training). At the same time I would NOT encourage those staff to hurry thru the inspection process and possibly miss something important. Occasional reasonable construction delays in inspections seems to be a part of the time-honored construction process, but repeated long delays could be indicative of a bigger problem and needs to be addressed. Is Skip Reed a part of the problem, or the solution? He is the qualified and licensed person there, and the logical construction resource. That WAS the reason for which he was hired, no? BEING a contractor, we would hope he knows how to talk with other contractors, in a language they will both understand.

consultant?

The City Manager has access to Skip Reed, a general Contractor. Why doesnt he consult with him on all these construction projects? Skip knows what things cost to build in Dade County. Obviously the City Manager has no clue. Or maybe it is that he has no concern, as long as the bucks stop at his desk on payday, and he wont be held accountable for wasting our taxes anyway. Its not like its HIS money thats being wasted!

mismanagement

Education does not GUARANTEE success any more than experience does, of course. It DOES provide a theoretical foundation from which to build and increase the liklihood of success. Smart managers ask those in the field for answers to fill in their gaps in their experience. Why hasnt the City Manager consulted with Skip Reed, who is a licensed contractor, on these construction projects? He knows that the usual and customary new construction costs in Dade County are $125 a square foot. Why doesnt the City Manager? Assistance in determining those appropriate costs are a phone call away. No calls on the CC project? the bathrooms? Why not? Ineptitude has lost the number? Why would he allow us to be charged $400 a square foot? $600 a square foot? To have that resource available and not use it is criminal/incredulous.

Other "managers" hide, disguise, misrepresent, and delay information that might embarass them with its ineptitude and outrageoous costs. It seems we have one of the OTHERS.