By Richard Rainey
The Times-Picayune
JEFFERSON, La. — With partnerships, disagreements arise. Such is the case in Old Metairie with the building of a new fire station now just days away from opening.
Jefferson Parish officials are worried the $2.5 million project’s sprinkler system doesn’t work, that its emergency doors don’t open properly, that its fire alarm isn’t up to code.
The builder, MDI Construction of Elmwood, is worried it won’t get paid $74,000 in additional costs accrued through design changes that the parish demanded.
The hand-wringing has reached a point where the Parish Council is scheduled today to consider canceling the construction contract and collecting the insurance money that MDI promised when it signed on for the project on Edinburgh Street. Meanwhile, firefighters with the East Bank Consolidated Fire Department continue racing to blazes from a makeshift Station 14, a trailer on nearby Stroelitz Street.
Parish officials said the threat of legal action was more a means to get both parties to the negotiating table. The sides met Monday and reached some semblance of an accord. Both sides said they expect the council to postpone any ultimate decision.
“I think we’re just trying to get to the next stage,” Councilwoman Cynthia Lee-Sheng said.
The original Fire Station 14 was inundated when floodwater rushed into Old Metairie after Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. For two years, little happened. In March 2007, parish officials hired MDI to complete what they expected would be a 20-month project.
Inclement weather, including Hurricane Gustav’s strike in August, coupled with design flaws, kept tacking on days to the schedule, said Chris Darkshani, MDI’s owner.
After making changes requested by the parish, he said he hasn’t been paid the money he needs to pay his electricians and drywall installers.
“They just released . . . my March pay request” on Monday, Darkshani said of Parish President Aaron Broussard’s administration. “We’ve never had a problem with Jefferson Parish until these fire stations.”
His subcontractors filed liens against his company, prompting the parish to threaten to pull the plug, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Bert Smith said. Should that happen today, MDI’s performance bond would cover the total cost of the project, including any debts to subcontractors, Assistant Parish Attorney David Fos said.
“We’re not going to be paying out of pocket, and we’ll have a finished product one way or the other,” he said.
Monday’s meeting resolved some of MDI’s debt to its subcontractors, as well as assuring the parish that some of the design flaws would be corrected, Smith said.
After a fire marshal’s inspection, firefighters could move in as early as this weekend. That could go a long way to allaying the frustration of some residents living along Edinburgh.
“We’re anxious to see it finished, too, believe me,” Smith said.
Copyright 2009 The Times-Picayune Publishing Company