No decision near on fate of Wayne County Jail project

The Wayne County Jail project is costing the county about $1.4 million monthly in interest and storage fees as the project sits stale at Gratiot and St. Antoine in Detroit, with no decision on its fate coming in the foreseeable future.

Wayne County Executive Warren Evans, making the rounds with various news media last week to discuss the county's finances, also said he has gotten one offer for the property since he took office in January — from Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert, to purchase the site for $20 million.

"We don't see any plan that doesn't add to this mess," Evans told the Free Press on Thursday. "Whatever we do makes it worse. It's just what will make it the least troublesome. We've got $130 million in the ground, and the standing offer is $20 million. But who's going to eat $110 million?"

Evans has placed the matter into the hands of retired Wayne County Circuit Judge Rick Kaufman, who Evans recently announced will become his deputy county executive. Information on the administration's position could come this month, Evans said.

Construction at the site was halted in June 2013 with officials from then-Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano's administration saying cost overruns had pushed the planned $300-million, state-of-the-art facility's cost close to $400 million. About $175 million has been spent on the project, including construction, purchasing the site, construction closeout and storage for precast cells that were going to be destroyed because of said costs — but never were — last year.

Wayne County Commissioner Raymond Basham, D-Taylor, said he felt data crucial to continuing the project — including an internal audit that led to criminal charges in September against former Chief Financial Officer Carla Sledge, assistant corporation counsel Steven Collins and jail project adviser Anthony Parlovecchio — still needed to be seen.

"I think I have a right to see it, as do other commissioners and the media and the public," Basham said. "They should understand and respect the role we have. We're being asked to make multimillion deals on this with little information."

Collins, Parlovecchio and Sledge were charged with deceiving the Wayne County Commission and the Wayne County Building Authority — the body overseeing the project's construction. Sledge's and Collins' cases are being held in Wayne County Circuit Court. Parlovecchio's case is being handled in 36th District Court. Future court dates were unavailable.

The Wayne County Commission eliminated an option in the fall to build a justice complex at the site of the state-shuttered Mound Correctional Facility, leaving plans to either finish building at the Gratiot site or renovate the current jails.

According to court documents, county officials said the firms responsible for construction — AECOM, Ghafari and Associates and the Walbridge-dck joint venture — agreed to a $220-million guaranteed maximum price for construction. The remaining $80 million was for furnishings and other costs associated with the jail. Scope changes also were to be pre-approved by the Wayne County Building Authority or its representative.

Instead, the county says, the firms failed to keep costs below $220 million, perform contractual obligations in a timely manner and design and construct the new jail at the lowest possible cost.

An independent investigation by consulting firm Hubbell, Roth & Clark — commenced after construction stopped — found bids received for work on the project made it apparent that the $220 million would be exceeded. Based on the contract, AECOM was to work with construction manager Walbridge to redesign or scale back elements to bring the cost in under $220 million. Hubbell, Roth & Clark said they did not find evidence that such efforts occurred.

In September 2013, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy convinced Wayne County Circuit Judge Timothy Kenny to establish a one-person grand jury to look into any misconduct by public officials in the planning and construction process. Kenny also ordered the audit from the Office of the Auditor General kept secret.

In early September, the county agreed to pay a $6.7-million settlement with Walbridge-dck for work completed on the project. Mark McAlpine, an attorney representing the company, said the settlement leads the way for the company to exit the lawsuit the county filed against them, AECOM and others for exceeding contractural cost.

Contact Marlon A. Walker: 313-223-4531 or mwalker@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @marlonawalker.