New Port Richey expects $141,000 back for recreation project overruns

By Jodie Tillman, Times Staff Writer
In print: Friday, May 2, 2008

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NEW PORT RICHEY — New bathrooms at the recreation complex cost the city an extra $260,000. Now, the city is poised to recover more than half of that.

Under a proposed settlement for the project's overruns, the architectural firm that designed the complex would pay the city $141,032.

The agreement would mark an end to nearly a year of back-and-forth between city officials and Harper Aiken Donahue and Partners, a 50-year-old firm with offices in St. Petersburg.

City officials initially blamed the firm for as much as $500,000 in overruns due to what former City Manager Scott Miller called "numerous errors" and "excessive change orders."

One of those problems: The city had to pay an additional $260,000 to correct the bathroom designs. The firm had not designed the bathrooms close enough to the pool to meet state health codes.

Last year, Miller pushed for the City Council to pursue legal action. The council asked administrators to negotiate first.

City Attorney Tom Morrison said that as the two sides began talking, the city discarded some claims and found other things had gotten fixed.

Officials revised their claim down to something closer to $250,000, he said. Harper Aiken pushed back, and the two sides eventually agreed to the $141,032 figure.

"I think the architect recognized there was some merit to our arguments," he said, "and we recognized we were weak on some."

The settlement, which requires the approval of City Council, would allow the city to avoid a costly — and unpredictable — court case, said City Manager Tom O'Neill. He said he was also pleased that the amount covered much of the costs associated with the bathroom re-design.

"The settlement is something I believe we can live with," O'Neill said. "When we litigate, we don't know what's going to happen."

In the agreement, Harper Aiken admits no fault or liability, a typical stipulation of settlement agreements. The firm's insurance company would pay $116,032, and the firm would write a check for $15,172. Another nearly $10,000 would be credited to the city's outstanding balance.

The $14.1-million recreation complex opened last May to much fanfare, especially for its kid-friendly aquatics center. City officials, residents and others have praised the building's design, but the project's rising costs had also become a sore point in New Port Richey. A month after the new center opened last year, administrators began looking at trying to recoup some of the costs from Harper Aiken.

Jodie Tillman can be reached at jtillman@sptimes.com or (727) 869-6247.