January 6, 2003Teresa Ruiz
973-621-4404
Anthony Puglisi
973-621-2542
COUNTY EXECUTIVE JOSEPH DIVINCENZO JR. VISITS JAIL CONSTRUCTION SITE, PROMISES MORE OVERSIGHT BY COUNTY TO REIGN IN COSTS, HAVE PROJECT COMPLETED ON TIME.
Faced with cost overruns and a projected two-year delay, Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. said his administration will have greater oversight of the construction of the Essex County correctional facility being built on Doremus Avenue in Newark.
DiVincenzo met with representatives of Gilbane Construction Company and 21 subcontractors Monday morning at the construction site. During the one-hour meeting, DiVincenzo and his staff said they regularly would visit the site to monitor construction progress as well as listen to concerns of subcontractors so work could proceed more quickly. DiVincenzo said he would conduct the meetings every Tuesday at 10 a.m.
“We need everyone’s help to complete this job. Every day this jail is not open, we don’t save the money we’re supposed to. We are now 50 percent over budget and we’re getting 20 percent less of a building,” the county executive said. “The reason we are having these meetings is because I have no confidence in the ECIA. You are going to have direct accountability to this government, not to the ECIA.” The Essex County Improvement Authority is acting as the developer for the project.
According to figures from County Counsel Francis Giantomasi, it costs the county $30,000 each day the project is delayed. This translates into a $1 million cost overrun for each month. Last month, while DiVincenzo was transitioning from being freeholder president to county executive, it was learned the jail project would cost at least another $14.5 million and be delayed at least one more year. This means the projected cost of the facility will be $297 million, up from the original estimate of $200 million, and is anticipated to be open in December 2004, two years later than the original date.
“Because of the size of this facility, doesn’t mean it has to be out of control,” Giantomasi said, referring to the 2,400-unit state-of-the-art correctional facility that will replace the Essex County Jail in Newark and the Jail Annex in North Caldwell. “You guys are in the trenches and know a lot about this project,” he said to the group of about 30 contractors who sat in a conference room in a temporary office at the construction site. “Five days after we took over we’re here and we will be here for as long as it takes. We know we may have to spend more money, but we’re not happy about it.”
“We cannot accept May 2004” as the anticipated completion date, he added.
Federal special masters have monitored the Essex County correctional system since a federal lawsuit was filed against it. Brought by inmates, the lawsuit complains of substandard conditions and overcrowding, among other things. Essex County decided to build the new facility to improve conditions and satisfy improvements mandated by the special masters. When initially proposed, bonds to fund the construction would be repaid by the savings achieved from the efficiency of the new building. Problems with the jail project first were discovered in 2001 when DiVincenzo was president of the freeholder board. Since then he has taken a personal interest in ensuring the project is completed without having the final cost skyrocket.
DiVincenzo pushed for the project to be completed by December 2003 and asked the subcontractors to work “cooperatively” to meet the deadline. “These meetings are not to pit you against one another. It’s to create more cooperation and to expedite this project,” he said.