Check withheld Walker
DATE:
July 13, 1984
t.J TO:
FROM:
Mayor & Counc1l
W1lliam P. Cra1g, Clty Manager
SUBJECT
Check Wlthheld from Walker, Inc.:
The quest10n arose at the last Councll meetlng whether the prev10us payment
to the Walker flrm had been represented as "payment 1n full." The tape
shows that the prevlous blll was represented (In response to Councll
lnqulry) as payment "up to the present time." The Councll member who ra1sed
the questlon repeated the phrase "up to the present tlme" and then moved on
to another subject. The tape 1S avallable for reVlew.
The Walker people were, by contract, to be pald 6% of the construct1on cost
for the1r eng1neer1ng serV1ces, 75% of that perta1ned to deslgn, and 25% to
construct1on supervis10n and lnspect1on. When the1r last blll arrlved, I
gave 1t to John Schedler to calculate and ver1fy the amount. He found thelr
calculat10ns to be accurate.
ObVlously, 1t 1S dlff1cult to walk away from the expense. Two alternate
& courses of act10n are ava1lable, short of completely beglnn1ng allover.
~F1rst, the V1ce presldent of the Walker f1rm, Blll Arons, 1S personally
concerned w1th the loss of the account, and has offered to remove Terry
Hakkola from the Job and do 1t hlmself. Arons 1S known as a competent
eng1neer, and 1S a "listener" - much more respons1ve to Councll concerns and
dlrect1on. Second, we have been approached by an englneer named Vedl, a
former employee of the Walker f1rm, who founded h1S own f1rm on June 1st and
who feels the park1ng structure, 1f redes1gned as a post-tensloned
structure, could be bU1lt for $500,000 or less.
Part of the orlglnal confus1on on the cost overrun can be traced to the
est1mate document furnlshed by Walker Just pr10r to bldd1ng, wherein their
estlmate of the total Job went from $486,700 to $520,700. That lncluded a
$25,100 ltem marked "archltectural," Wh1Ch I (among others) took to be thelr
fee. Apparently lt was not. Consequently, the actual b1d of $535,000 was
$14,300 over the est1mate, or 2.7% over.
Respectfully submitted,
......
~(3;fQ ~
aW1lllam P. Cralg
"C1ty Manager