Critics want accounting of $41 million in Buffalo school construction costs

[WNYresident]

Critics want accounting of $41 million in Buffalo school construction costs

bout a quarter of the $175 million intended to rebuild Buffalo’s crumbling schools during the fifth phase of a massive renovation project cannot be publicly accounted for, leaving some members of the project’s oversight board to wonder how much money developer LPCiminelli took as profit.

And the $41 million in question is just for the final phase of the $1.4 billion decade-long project to rebuild the city’s schools, leaving some Joint Schools Construction Board members demanding an audit of the entire project.

Read the full story in the Buffalo News

[leftWNYbecauseofBS]

They are not going to get it.


The contract is a flat fee contract. LPCiminelli is paid $1.4B in exchange for doing all of the work outlined. It does not matter if LPCiminelli it costs them $500M with $900M in profits or costs them $2B. That's the deal.


It's a sh*tty deal but it's the deal.

[NY The Vampire State]

CRiminelli donates too much to political campaigns. One hand washes the other, the critics should know that by now

[Save Us]

Yeah, just like dealing with the school engineers that get to keep whatever they don't spend on the school physical plant. It's a law from the 1800's.

[leftWNYbecauseofBS]

It's a sh*tty deal but it's the deal.

Want to clarify a point here.
I think the numbers on the deal is what makes it such a bad deal. I doubt Ciminelli waited till the 5th phase to bring in profits so I am assuming similar a % over each of the phases...so about 25% of $1.4B. That's the sh*tty part.

However, I do like the idea of using "design-build agreements" on large projects if the price is right.

[WNYresident]

They are not going to get it.


The contract is a flat fee contract. LPCiminelli is paid $1.4B in exchange for doing all of the work outlined. It does not matter if LPCiminelli it costs them $500M with $900M in profits or costs them $2B. That's the deal.


It's a sh*tty deal but it's the deal.

You have to be completely mistaken on this.

There is no way a group of people sat in a room and handed over a "flat fee" type contract to a company.

[nogods]

You have to be completely mistaken on this.

There is no way a group of people sat in a room and handed over a "flat fee" type contract to a company.

According to the News, that is exactly what happened, and for good reason:

Buffalo’s “design build” agreement, which required special state legislation in 2000, required the project manager to meet all of the district’s school design and reconstruction requirements and timetables, and assume all construction-related risks, such as cost overruns, in exchange for a fixed payment amount.

This type of arrangement is not common locally for large privately or publicly funded construction projects. It eliminated the traditional requirement for a lengthy and elaborate bidding process with multiple contractors in favor of hiring a single project manager who assumed control of all construction with oversight from the Joint Schools Construction Board and the state.

If that is true, then the headlines should have read "Developer tries to use his school board seat to get proprietary information from competitor."

[WNYresident]

If that is true, then the headlines should have read "Developer tries to use his school board seat to get proprietary information from competitor."

Or

"Local Developer tries to use his school board seat to show the community another developer may have screwed them"

[nogods]

Or


"Local Developer tries to use his school board seat to show the community another developer may have screwed them"

Go back and read the article. if it was a flat rate contract, then the only proper inquiry would be whether the contract was performed as required. How the much the contractor made is irrelevant. From the story it seems Paladino is trying to delve into another developers internal books and records. That is irrelevant if itr was a flat rate contract.

If i hire you to install a network in my office for a flat rate of $5k, it is none of my business whether your expenses are $4k or $1k, as long as you properly install the network I'm obligated to pay the 5K. If you screw it up, then we have an issue about performance, not price.

[WNYresident]

Go back and read the article. if it was a flat rate contract, then the only proper inquiry would be whether the contract was performed as required. How the much the contractor made is irrelevant. From the story it seems Paladino is trying to delve into another developers internal books and records. That is irrelevant if itr was a flat rate contract.

If i hire you to install a network in my office for a flat rate of $5k, it is none of my business whether your expenses are $4k or $1k, as long as you properly install the network I'm obligated to pay the 5K. If you screw it up, then we have an issue about performance, not price.

Read what I said.



I am not disagreeing with your definition of a flat fee contract.

What I said was...

There is no way a group of people sat in a room and handed over a "flat fee" type contract to a company. I mean in this scenario we are discussing.

[nogods]

Read what I said.



I am not disagreeing with your definition of a flat fee contract.

What I said was...



There is no way a group of people sat in a room and handed over a "flat fee" type contract to a company. I mean in this scenario we are discussing.

But according to the news report they did do just that and for the purpose of not having to worry about overruns and negotiating numerous contractors for each individual aspect of the project. why do we keep saying they did not when the news says they did? Do you have information that the news was wrong?

[leftWNYbecauseofBS]

If that is true, then the headlines should have read "Developer tries to use his school board seat to get proprietary information from competitor."

Or the headline could be previous school boards were morons and entered into a horrible contract....

Not saying your comment is wrong. There are many correct headlines to be had here

[WNYresident]

Attorney hired to probe Buffalo schools project

The Buffalo School Board voted on Wednesday to hire an attorney to investigate spending on the Joint Schools Construction Project, following the release of information that suggests developer LPCiminelli may have received an unusually large payout.

The Harter Secrest law firm will review the $1.4 billion contract to see if there was any potential breach of the agreement, and could recommend potential recourse for the district or Joint Schools Construction Board.

A Buffalo News story Wednesday raised questions about how roughly $549 million of the $1.4 billion in funding for the project was spent.

Read more in the Buffalo News

There seems to be another issues besides this one...

One part of a comment from that article.

Deluge

A new state audit is very critical of the time when Sampson was president and CEO of the child welfare agency Gateway-Longview before he retired. He left in 2013 around the time when he was elected to the school board.

During the public comment period on the usually bad sound system, Michael Ziolkowski was gaveled down by Sampson.

Among his references, Ziolkowski asked Sampson, "$64,000 for a social club?"
Sampson soon responded, "You're done. You're not talking about school board issues."
Ziolkowski was ushered away by two district security officers.

Asked about the audit, Sampson declined comment.

I find that interesting.

[WNYresident]

State audit criticizes $2.4 million given to special-education services provider

Some contracts flagged as showing preference

State auditors have flagged $2.4 million in public money given to Gateway-Longview Inc. to provide special-education services to students with disabilities, saying the organization awarded contracts to companies with ties to its board members and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on questionable expenses.

Those expenses included food, flowers, cellphones and a $600-a-month car allowance for former Chief Executive Officer James Sampson, who is now president of the Buffalo Board of Education. Sampson also received other perks, including memberships at local social clubs.

The audit of Gateway-Longview does not suggest that any of the transactions were illegal or warrant criminal investigation.

http://www.buffalonews.com/city-regi...vider-20150112