New Pay Dispute Could Delay Work at Airport

More than 100 workers were pulled off the John Wayne Airport terminal construction project Tuesday in a pay dispute that threatens to delay a key part of the project, airport officials said.

Kettering-Kruseman of Artesia, the subcontractor building the elevated roadway in front of the new terminal, told its workers not to return to the site because the general contractor failed to honor a new payment schedule mutually agreed upon only a week ago, according to Kettering-Kruseman attorney James McGee.

The new schedule was part of a settlement of a previous pay dispute that had also led Kettering-Kruseman to pull workers off the job.

McGee said Kettering-Kruseman also removed a key piece of equipment from the site--the machine that lays concrete on the new roadbed.

The general contractor is Taylor Woodrow Construction California Ltd. Company officials did not return phone calls Tuesday, but previously acknowledged that they have been late in paying several subcontractors.

Airport officials said Tuesday that there could be delays in the roadway project if Taylor Woodrow has to recruit another work force to complete the job. But the officials cautioned that they have not been informed that Kettering-Kruseman has quit entirely.

The Kettering-Kruseman firm has completed about 80% of the upper-level roadway.

Last week, the Taylor Woodrow firm delivered a $300,000 partial payment as agreed in the new schedule, out of $1.7 million owed, McGee said. But he said that Taylor Woodrow missed the next installment of $179,000, which was due Friday under the new schedule. It was for work on a new airport parking garage and the elevated roadway.

In addition, McGee said that Taylor Woodrow still owes Kettering-Kruseman another $379,000 for work on the elevated roadway that was due on May 15.

McGee, a former Taylor Woodrow official who helped incorporate the firm in California, said he has challenged Taylor Woodrow to provide evidence that it is still “solvent” but has received no response.

Last week, another subcontractor, Structural Beton Inc. of Rancho Palos Verdes, filed a lawsuit alleging that Taylor Woodrow has failed to pay it more than $400,000 owed for concrete foundation work. The lawsuit also accuses the county of failing to secure payments on Structural Beton’s behalf.

Taylor Woodrow has blamed the county for delaying payment on construction change orders through “nit-picking” on paper work sent to county officials.

County officials, meanwhile, have said the problem is the result of Taylor Woodrow’s failure to adequately document its bills.