Quick Comments on the "ADDED COSTS" being asked for by Corporation for Better Housing.
FIRST: THEY are the professionals who wrote the original quotation and failed to provide sufficient planning professional expertise and construction estimates. So any additional cost should be their Burden, not the Taxpayer's.
The "Fund" is a DEBT that Taxpayers will have to repay. There is no FREE MONEY HERE even if Steve Berry wants to suggest that to be the case.
IF the City is going to pay for this added cost the funds to pay for it should come from the City Manager, Assistant City Manager, Planning Department Head's Income. Perhaps they should have a 10 percent per year reduction in their income until the cost over run is paid for. They contributed to the contractual, design, and management falure which caused the "Delay" and Cost Overruns.
IF the Bid had been Competitive, If the Location had been where it was in the City's General Plan, IF the Contractor and City had done a EIR and IF the City and Contractor had done their design work in conjunction with citizen input being included in the planning and IF the Financial Plan was clear and explained to the public prior to the signing of the DEAL, one may be more willing to say it was a Materials Cost Increase that caused the price over run and delay.
Inflation or the cost of money is a part of any contract bid. IF the Center for Better Housing failed in their estimate the City of Grand Terrace should not have to pay for their failures. The Center for Better Housing is not a Charity. This will just lower the income of their Board of Directors who may have to drive their sports car for one more year if the Citizens of GT don't pay the price mark up.
SAY NO: DON'T Pay Extra
Delays increase cost of senior housing project
Stephen Wall, Staff Writer Article Launched: 08/21/2008 08:11:52 PM PDT
GRAND TERRACE - The price tag for the city's first senior housing project is rising.
The city may have to spend another $740,000 in redevelopment funds to complete the $21 million project.
The City Council is expected to discuss the issue at its Sept. 9 meeting.
If approved, the added expense would bring the city's share of the cost to about $10 million, said City Manager Pro Tem Steve Berry. The developer partnering with the city is paying the rest.
Berry said the city's contribution is coming from a special fund that can only be used to build low- and moderate-income housing. City services such as police and fire protection won't be affected by the additional cost, he said.
The 120-unit apartment project, known as the Blue Mountain Senior Villas, has been in the works for several years. It is under construction on Grand Terrace Road, just east of Mount Vernon Avenue.
After it was approved by the council in 2005, a group of residents filed a lawsuit, claiming the city did not adequately address potential environmental impacts such as traffic, noise and air pollution.
The group, known as Citizens for Responsible and Open Government, prevailed in court and the city had to complete an environmental-impact report.
The city agreed to reduce the height of the apartment complex and adjacent senior center from three stories to two to appease neighbors concerned about losing their views.
The price of wood, copper, cement, tile, carpeting and other building materials has gone up dramatically since the original cost estimates for the project were produced, Berry said.
"This is an example of what happens when a project gets delayed," Berry said.
The one- and two-bedroom apartment units are expected to open in January. The project also will include a 7,000-square-foot senior center and a 2.5-acre park for passive uses.
More than 200 people are on a waiting list to move in. One-bedroom apartments will range from $600 to $1,000 per month and two-bedroom units will range from $750 to $1,200, utilities included.
JoAnn Johnson, who runs the Grand Terrace Senior Center, called the project "absolutely essential." "When you stop and think, we have been talking about this for about seven years," Johnson said. "I used to jokingly say that if I should live so long, I would move there. But the fact is we've had seniors who intended to move there that died. It's gone so far past the expected date. It's really been a hardship."
stephen.wall@ inlandnewspapers.com (909) 386-3916
