Quincy City Hall Project Cost Continues to Soar as Expected

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– News about Quincy MA from Quincy Quarry News
Quincy City Hall renovation and post fire renovation projects costs continue to soar as per the usual for a Koch Maladministration project.
As begrudgingly acknowledged before the City Council last night, the most recent cost figure to repair the damage from the devastating as well as could have been readily avoided September 30 2014 fire has reached $2.5 million, up just short of several-fold from city officials’ original estimate of only around a million but merely only significantly from the $1.5 million figure cited by the project’s contractor at a City Council meeting on November 17 2014 as likely to be close to the final fire damage and thus insurance claim figure.

Granted, the $2.5 million is expected to be largely covered by the contractor’s liability insurance or the contractor himself, costs so out of control can still only bait questions.
For example, as there continues to be no suspect in the alleged arson, was this fire perhaps instead perhaps more akin to certain category of fires purportedly infamous for certain types of financially struggling restaurants?
Regardless of not knowing what really happened on the night of September 30 2014, it is clear that the fire damages costs will likely continue to soar.

Granted, while these soaring costs do not (yet, ed.) total as much as the typical Koch project cost overruns in dollar amounts, the percentage cost overrun increases from prior now obvious poor guesstimates of 250% and 67%, respectively, are arguably the new second and third second place percentage cost overruns on major Koch maladministered projects to date.
Whether – or not – the also arguable near 400% cost overrun on the Koch Maladministration’s kept secret for a time purchase of “swampland” at 20 Furnace Avenue from a Koch lifelong friend and fellow grifter will continue to hold the number one spot remains to be seen.
After all, the minions of the mayor further begrudgingly acknowledged last night that the City Hall project would be going over its budget authorization by the City Council given work that the Koch Maladministration has done along the way on work that was not part of the original scope of the council’s funding authorization.

This also begrudged announcement of cost overruns, with these done without the usual statutorily mandatory approval of the City Council, comes as no great surprise to Quincy Quarry or any other savvy follower of the Mayor Thomas P. Koch’s free spending spending habits.
After all, his administration has long maintained an all but perfect record of overspending on major projects and initiatives, including spending taxpayers’ money on all sorts of projects that – surely but coincidentally – appear to have helped out his friends and political supporters.
While particulars were not provided, it was at least indicated that the costs so incurred included work needed in advance of his grand – and at last but general report $30 million – plans for a but acre and half park in front of City Hall for which he has not any substantive funding in place.

Also note that not noted were the anticipated cost of these various cost overruns even though the bulk of the work that gave rise to these cost overruns has already been completed.
Even so, Vegas has still set the over and under on the overruns at $2 million and the local smart money knows to always take the over.
At the same time, Vegas refused to take any bets as to when City Hall might actually be redone and then reopened as it has long taken a beating underestimating the Maladministration’s incompetence.
Assuming the unlikely likelihood that the project’s total costs can be held at the sum of the current figures acknowledged so far and the $2 million over/under point for cost yet to be acknowledged, the twice gut wall renovation of City Hall will run $12.5 million and thus just over 60% of the original promised $8 million maximum.

Granted, roughly half of the additional cost is expected to be covered by the insurance company, until the insurance company’s check clears at the bank, one can only properly worry that the City Hall project cost overruns could move up to first place on the dollar amount project cost overrun list.
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