Timing bad for county buildings
Three new offices come online in recession

BY TIMOTHY O'HARA
Citizen Staff

When Monroe County officials first discussed building a new courthouse, no one imagined the price would balloon by $14 million.

The Freeman Justice Center in Key West is one of three new government buildings the county will open this summer. While the new medical examiner's office in Marathon is $1.1 million over budget, the Murray Nelson Government Center in Key Largo is $500,000 under budget.

The cash-strapped county also will face almost $1 million in annual maintenance costs for the new buildings.

Construction of the new four-story courthouse, which is scheduled to open July 30, was projected to cost $4 million when it was proposed more than a decade ago. The final cost is $18.1 million.
The price ballooned to $8 million in the late 1990s, county Engineering Division Director Dave Koppel said. The cost rose again, to $13.8, when the county approved the contractor's bid. Cost overruns stemming from problems with the original architect and security concerns pushed the price tag to $15.9 million. The cost of brickwork and stonework also increased, from $1.9 million to $2.2 million, partially because the contractor had to make more sidewalks and curbs than initially planned, said Jerry Barnett, director of facilities development.

Today, the Freeman Justice Center is much larger than the building the county initially planned, and is being equipped with post-Sept. 11 security technology that was not necessary when the project first was conceived, Koppel said.

Architect Jose Gonzalez's initial design plans called for a brick-and-stone exterior, but he later suggested switching to a stucco finish to save the county money. The county fired Gonzalez in October 2005 for cost overruns, mismanagement and safety issues. His firm eventually was replaced by Currie, Sowards, Aguila Architects of Delray Beach. The county eventually decided to use the more expensive brick and stone.

Adding to the costs, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office and 16th Judicial Circuit officials requested design changes and for more security cameras to be installed. The county planned to have 14 security cameras, but the number jumped to 24 at the request of law enforcement officials.

The county also blocked some of the exits and added control gates, Barnett said. The county also had to integrate two different security systems into one. The 16th Judicial Circuit kicked in $500,000 for the project, Barnett said.

"It's quite a big deal," Barnett said. "There were changes the sheriff requested. We had to meet new building codes and there were problems with the original architect. That was a big cost increase, the changes we made to make his design work. There were a lot of changes to these buildings. ... It is a gorgeous building."

Costs for the new Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office building in Marathon, which will open at the end of the month, originally were estimated at $2.9 million, but that's increased to $4 million because the project was postponed for nearly 16 months due to a delay in permitting from the South Florida Water Management District, Army Corps of Engineers and state Department of Environmental Protection. The county will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday.

The Murray Nelson Government Center in Key Largo is the only project coming on line this year that came in under budget. The project was slated to cost $10.8 million, but the cost was reduced to $10.3 million after several aspects were removed from the plans, Barnett said.

With the new buildings also come added maintenance, including $603,000 in annual costs for the new courthouse, $293,423 for the Nelson Government Center, and $72,900 for the medical examiner's office, county records show.

Monroe County had to use $8 million in reserve funds to balance this year's general fund budget and is looking for $12.2 million to balance next year's budget and replenish its reserve funds. The shortfall could mean a property tax increase and further cuts in county jobs, library hours and social service programs. The county already eliminated 37 positions this year, which resulted in more than two dozen layoffs.

"The county was comfortable when these projects started. There was no recession," said County Commissioner Sonny McCoy, who is a trained architect and has worked on several multimillion-dollar projects. "The timing is not good, but the projects are absolutely necessary."

tohara@keysnews.com