Laura Chick's LAPD Headquarters Audit: Read it here

Public Notice: No Los Angeles City Council meeting on Friday April 4, 2008. Sorry Van Nuys, you don't get your once a month meeting you were promised (again) cause City Council will be attending the funeral for the fire fighter who died tragically because DWP needs a rate increase. (Or something like that.) Ask Bill Rosendahl.

SHADY ALERT?

ZD NOT LIKING THIS ABOUT THE CHICK AUDIT OF NEW LAPD CENTER? Anything to my sha-dar?

SCOPE

The scope of this audit focused on the overall project management practices of the Police Headquarters Facility project as performed by BOE.

Two consultant contracts were also included in the audit scope.

THE GENERAL CONTRACTOR ON THE POLICE FACILITY HQ PROJECT WAS NOT INCLUDED IN OUR SCOPE. (However we considered City project management practices related to the construction contract.)

EXCUSE ME...Didn't audit the general contractor!!! Isn't that like saying you are inspecting the hen house for missing chickens but you didn't look at Foghorn Leghorn?

BACKGROUND

On February 25, 2003 the Los Angeles City Council (City Council) approved a report from the Municipal Facilities Committee, consisting of the Chief Administrative Officer, Chief Legislative Analyst and the Office of the Mayor, for the construction of a new Police Headquarters Facility on City-owned property. The need for a new facility to replace the existing Parker Center building had been identified for a long time as it was considered outdated, in need of expensive seismic retrofits and too small to accommodate the present needs or projected growth of the Los Angeles Police Department. The new Police Headquarters Facility is expected to bring much needed facility improvements to support Los Angeles Police Department’s mission to enhance public safety.

The construction of the new Police Headquarters Facility is one of the most expensive and visible projects the City of Los Angeles (City) has undertaken in recent years.

To date, the Police Headquarters Facility project has faced schedule delays and budget increases due to land acquisition issues, construction cost escalation, local construction market conditions, and changes to project scope. In June 2004, the Police Headquarters Facility project was originally budgeted at $303 million with a scheduled completion date of March 2009. Currently, the project is budgeted at $437 million with a scheduled construction completion date of May 2009 for the Police Administration Building and Main Street Parking / Motor Transport Division Facility, and June 2010 for the Aiso Street Parking structure. It is also worth noting that various aspects of the project are also funded from the City General Fund and not reflected in the $437 million dollar project budget. In 2007, $725 thousand was budgeted against the General Fund for Fiber-optic and Copper communication connections to the Police Administration Building. Additionally, there is a 2008 budget request for $16 million from the General Fund for the purchase of freestanding furniture, radio systems, microwave systems, MATV distribution system, audio/visual systems, voice and date network components and computer servers.

The Department of Public Works Bureau of Engineering (BOE) is responsible for delivering the Police Headquarters Facility according to directives from the Municipal Facilities Committee. BOE is working in partnership with Los Angeles Police Department and other City departments on project planning, development and design to deliver a facility that meets the current and future needs of Los Angeles Police Department.

As of December 2007 construction of the Police Administration Building was approximately 47% complete with less than 2% change orders. Construction of the Main Street Parking / Motor Transport Division Facility and Aiso Street Parking structure parking facilities had not yet begun. Of the $437 million total project budget, approximately $130 million had been expended.

SEE COMMENT SECTION OF THIS THREAD FOR "READ MORE"

The enitre Chick audit can be found here courtesy of Zuma Times' LA Daily Blog.

(Maybe Citywatch, Daily News and L.A. Times will have it tomorrow for you, after you've already seen it all for yourself on the LA Daily Blog, today.)

ZumaTimes.com