A new facility that will place multiple Española Valley health agencies under one roof will open this month, nearly a year behind schedule, only partially finished and well over-budget.
The new Health Commons’ lobby and two administrative office wings will be ready for occupants sometime in July, Rio Arriba County Grants and Contracts Administrator Phillip Morfin said. Completion of the interior of the building’s central section, which is currently an empty shell, will be started later this year, he said. But Morfin refused to speculate Tuesday when it may be completed or exactly how much it will cost, because he is currently negotiating those details with Blue Sky Builders.
Envisioned as a one-stop health services facility for County residents at the top of Industrial Park Road in Española, construction of the long-anticipated, 18,500 square-foot Health Commons has been beset by cost over-runs and delays.
The Health Commons was originally planned as a multi-building complex, but there is no funding for additional buildings at this point, Morfin said.
“The master plan is eventually to build additional facilities,” Morfin said. “But that’s down the road.”
The current building’s original $2.88 million budget has ballooned to $3.25 million, according to County documents.
The County gave Blue Sky the go-ahead to begin construction Jan. 25, 2008. According to the building contract, Blue Sky had 180 days from that date, or July 24, 2008, to achieve “substantial completion,” meaning the first phase of the building would be nearly ready for occupancy.
In January 2009, after delays related to hook-ups with the city of Española water system, Morfin predicted that the southeast wing of the facility would be ready for occupants by late February. But the County only signed a Certificate of Substantial Completion June 15, 2009.
The County’s contract with Blue Sky stipulates a $500 per day penalty for non-completion of the building after July 29, 2008. Even though the project is nearly a year behind schedule, Blue Sky will pay no penalties, Morfin confirmed. That is because the contract also states that penalties don’t apply so long as delays are related to approved changes to construction plans, known as “change orders.”
Since construction began in February 2008, change orders have increased the cost of construction by $870,345, the application for payment shows.
The County originally planned to build the entire building under a single construction contract, but couldn’t come up with enough money to do so, Morfin said. Instead, the plan was “phased,” meaning it would be sent out to bid in three separate stages.
But then the County changed its mind and decided to have Blue Sky Builders go ahead and build the second phase, the north wing, as a change order to the first phase, Morfin said.
Now, Morfin said Blue Sky Builders will go ahead and complete the entire building.
“I’m still negotiating with Blue Sky Builders to do the (remaining) central part of the building as a change order on the original bid,” Morfin said Tuesday.
The County is negotiating completion of the building as another change order rather than inviting new bids, Morfin said.
Having another contractor bring their own equipment and work crews out to complete the building would be more expensive than having Blue Sky keep their construction equipment at the site, Morfin claimed.
“It makes more sense to have Blue Sky do it and save money on the mobilization costs,” Morfin said.
A $2 million general obligations bond for the Health Commons, passed by voters in 2008, will be used to complete the central section, but the County and Blue Sky have not yet agreed on the final price of the project, Morfin said.
Delays
Delays last year included a lack fire safety glass and sprinklers in parts of the building, and inadequate bathrooms for the office wings slated to open before the rest of the building, County documents show.
The state Construction Industry Division halted construction when it determined the building plan did not contain adequate bathrooms, Blue Sky Builders Project Manager Ryan Cordova said.
“The bathrooms were adequate for the whole building once it’s complete and had been approved by the (Division) but the County decided to build the Health Commons in stages,” NCA Architect Darlene Cabeza de Vaca said Monday. “If they’d built the whole building at once, there would’ve been no problem.”
But instead, the larger of two banks of bathrooms were situated in part of the building designated for phase two construction, Cabeza de Vaca said.
Covering the parking area in asphalt was approved as another $XXX,XXX change order, Morfin said Tuesday.
The latest delays were caused by a problem with keys and fiber optic communication lines, Morfin said.
“We just need to re-key one wing because the whole building had been keyed alike,” Morfin said. “Since they will provide different types of health care, there are HIPAA requirements.”
HIPAA, or the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, requires health care providers to protect patients’ medical privacy.
But keys are not the only hurdle to opening the facility, Morfin acknowledged.
Fiber optic cable for voice and data communications were installed Monday, Morfin said. But a voice and data switching system panel still needs to be installed, he said.
Until the panel is installed, the building will not have Internet access, Morfin acknowledged.
But the end of the fiscal year this week slowed such last-minute additions, Morfin said.
Change orders are supposed to be sent to the County Finance Department prior to approval, County Comptroller Mary Louise Martinez said. But Martinez said that did not happen with several Health Commons change orders, including fire suppression equipment and the bathrooms.
“We need to make sure that we can pay for the changes,” Martinez said. “What we require for budget control purposes is that every change order and additional cost for construction be submitted to Finance for issuance of a purchase order. This is the only control we have on determining budget balances. If Phillip (Morfin) does not comply, we are left in the dark.”
Morfin refused to comment Tuesday on Martinez’s comments, other than to say that the Finance Department is sent copies of change orders at the same time they are submitted to County Manager Lorenzo Valdez for approval.
“I’m not going to play she said, he said,” Morfin said.
Funding for Health Commons came from a federal Community Development Block Grant ($500,000), state legislative appropriations ($1 million), County general funds ($1 million) and the McCune Foundation ($50,000), County documents show.
The difference was made up by County general funds, Martinez said.