In the rush to win federal stimulus tax credits for an environmental innovation center, the city of San Jose handed the project to a poor performing contractor, Applegate Johnston, that submitted the low bid. Now the Modesto-based contractor is bankrupt and the city and contractor's surety, Liberty Mutual, must find a way to finish the job.
The innovation center is to be the heart of the city's ambitious initiative to create a nucleus of environmental innovation and bring 25,000 "clean tech" jobs with it.
6月，该市的公共工程总监在一份备忘录中写道，他一直在敦促承包商在今年年底之前完成。现在，这个目标可能是无法实现的。
The project is currently six months late and $1.6 million over budget, say city officials. Workers for Applegate Johnston, the contractor, stopped going to the jobsite last month.
打电话给Applegate Johnston的电话列表，只有一条消息说该号码已断开连接。代表该公司破产的萨克拉曼多律师乔治·霍利斯特（George Hollister）说，这种情况是不幸的。
“They’re defunct,” he says.
The City's Perspective
它是怎么发生的?在ly San Jose's perspective can be learned.
Applegate Johnston submitted a low bid of $11.1-million and city officials awarded it the contract in May, 2011. The contract covered Phase II of work that involved renovation of 46,000 sq ft of warehouse space and construction of a roughly 10,000 sq ft household hazardous waste facility. A $1.3 million contingency fund was created for the project.
根据公共工程总监戴维·赛克斯（David Sykes）在6月撰写的一份备忘录，原始联系人要求在2012年12月完成。他写道：“该项目的延迟延迟归因于Applegate，它留下了结构性钢坐在仓库里，在管理分包商和遵守环境和安全规则方面做得很差。
At the time of the project award, Applegate Johnston was running late in completing two city fire stations.
赛克斯回忆说：“我们有一些保留，但没有发现[公司]不重要的地步。
Deadlines to qualify for the federalNew Markets Tax Credit, a feature of the federal economic stimulus,left San Jose a limited window of opportunity for the project's bidding and award.
市政府官员不得不在2011年6月的截止日期之前达到有资格获得450万美元的联邦融资。
Limited Choices
“I don’t think we had a lot of choices and options available to us,” Sykes says. “I think, even looking back, we did the right thing to get that funding.”
他补充说：“当时，我们勉强向Applegate Johnston授予了合同。”
在the fire station jobs, the contractor’s performance left something to be desired.
“Initially, what we saw from them on Fire Station 19 was poor subcontractor management," says Sykes. "We expect the general contractor to manage, coordinate and ensure subcontractors do the work… And they’re subs weren’t performing well."
The Environmental Innovation Center will house a household hazardous waste drop-off center, a Habitat for Humanity ReStore, which sells discounted new and surplus construction material, and a clean and renewable energy demonstration center.
