PTC plans to sue police HQ architect

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PTC plans to sue police HQ architect

Tue, 05/06/2008

The Citizen.com - Fayetteville,GA*

By: Munford

http://www.thecitizen.com/~citizen0/node/28066

Facing a multitude of repair problems with its 7-year-old police

headquarters, the Peachtree City Council voted Wednesday night to

pursue legal action against the project's architect: Don Cobb and

Associates of Peachtree City.

Council also accepted a " settlement " with the contractor on the

project: Construction of Fayetteville. As part of the

settlement, the city will pay $177,000 for work with an

estimated value of $345,000; the additional work will be provided

free of charge.

As for the suit against Cobb and Associates, Mayor Harold Logsdon

said he had a conversation with company principal Don Cobb in hopes

of getting a settlement from the company, " but that didn't go

anywhere. "

Logsdon said he felt the decision to sue Cobb and Associates was

taken to make sure the city seeks every opportunity " to recover from

this bad situation. "

" We're making sure we do everything the city can do, " Logsdon said.

Among the many problems with the project were significant

deficiencies with the exterior walls, which allowed water vapor to

enter into the building's heating, ventilation and cooling system.

Cobb and Associates have worked on several other projects for

Peachtree City over the years including:

• The Gathering Place;

• The expansion of the city's public works building;

• The city's recreation administration building;

• The reconstruction of the city's amphitheater; and

• The new Leach fire station.

will perform all its new work on the project under the

supervision of Leo A. Daly, the architecture firm that discovered

and tallied the construction deficiencies after the police

department was moved to its temporary headquarters, which is being

leased by the city on Commerce Drive near Ga. Highway 74 and

Aberdeen Parkway.

The HQ structure cost $1.8 million originally when it opened more

than a year ago. It has also undergone $538,000 in repairs to the

heating, ventilation and cooling system in recent months in a bid to

further stem the problem with moisture and mold accumulation.

A number of groundwater monitoring wells that have been installed on

the site, including some as late as 2006 that were continuously

monitored since then, showed that groundwater was not the problem

with the moisture entering the building, said City Engineer

Borkowski.

Council member Don Haddix disagreed, saying there were " other

experts " that have spoken to council members who said they didn't

think the proposed repairs would fix the problems.

Councilman Doug Sturbaum, who ultimately voted with Haddix against

proceeding with the repairs, had asked for a delay to find a better

housing solution for the police department. But Councilwoman Cyndi

Plunkett noted that the police can't stay in their current rented

facility forever.

Haddix said he believes that the presence of some groundwater in the

wells when they were tested in 2006 indicates that groundwater is a

problem. Borkowski said those results happened because of the poor

grading around the building, which caused water to enter the wells

instead of moving away from the facility.

As part of the separate 3-2 motion to approve the building repair,

the council dictated that a mold inspection be performed before the

police department moves back in, and that re-inspections be done at

the most intense interval recommended by experts.

The scope of the work includes the removal of drywall and the

remediation of mold inside the building.

In a news release issued by the city, CEO Wayne said

his company wanted to " assist the city in in resolving this issue, "

though the company denies its legal liability in the matter.

Under the agreement, will perform four tasks free of charge:

— Remove existing metal trellis and stone walls along walkway to

entrance on right side of building;

— Replace coping;

— Replace the top EIFS (stucco) band to include proper removal of

old material and painting of EFIS as specified by Leo A. Daly; and

— Seal bottom track of all outside walls as specified by Leo A. Daly.

The $177,000 is charging for includes:

— Demolition and replacement of all exterior wall finishes (from

plywood out) with EIFS to include proper removal of old material

from site and painting of new EIFS and specified by Leo A. Daly; and

— Replacing all exterior glass block with aluminum storefront

windows with insulated glass, seal and flash.