Civic Center’s Cost Could Soar by $11 Million : Beverly Hills: The developer departed in a dispute with the City Council. Now the council has allocated extra money for a new builder to finish the police station and library.

It may cost up to $11 million more than originally planned to finish building the police headquarters and public library at the Beverly Hills Civic Center, city officials say.

The extra cost was blamed on the recent departure, amid general ill feeling, of general contractor J. A. Jones Inc., which claims that the city owes it about $10 million.

Jones, the second-largest construction contractor in the United States, had done about 90% of the job before its workers left the job in mid-January.

The City Council then voted to fire the North Carolina-based firm, and the $53-million project at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Rexford Drive has been quiet ever since.

Gaping holes remain in the ornate tile that decorates the walls and arches of the police station and library, and piles of steel are strewn on the unpaved stretch that was once Rexford Drive.

But work goes on at the 58-year-old City Hall across the street, which is being renovated under the supervision of another contractor, and city workers are expected to leave their temporary quarters and move in later this month.

The dispute came as a blow to the council, whose members had vowed to see the 5-year-old project finished by this spring.

When he became mayor last April, City Councilman Max Salter declared: “I solemnly swear, take an oath, commit, pledge that the Civic Center will be finished before I leave office, even if I have to pour cement, paint and plaster it myself.”

Now he will say only, “It isn’t pretty, and the lawyers will have a field day.”

But Salter may not have to get his hands dirty, because a new contractor is likely to take over as early as next week, according to Howard Rattner, economic development manager for the city.

At a session held behind closed doors Tuesday afternoon, the council considered several candidates for the job and also discussed possible legal action in its dispute with the Jones firm, Rattner said.

“It’s not a question of not having the money to pay them. It has to do with their view of what is owed and the city’s view of what is owed,” Vice Mayor Allan L. Alexander said.

Although both sides said they hope to avoid going to court, each insisted that the other was out of line. Jones contends that the job expanded beyond what it had agreed to do because of problems including asbestos and ground water; the city said the work was covered in its contract.

“We wouldn’t pay them money that we don’t think they deserved,” Rattner said. “We met with them several times to try to resolve the dispute, but we have to go on with the project.”

Jefferson Welch, senior business development manager for Jones’ western regional office, said the company had been paying its subcontractors out of its own pocket and fruitlessly billing the city for three months.

“You can only go so many months before you have to get paid,” he said. “We were floating somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 million, and it’s just not prudent.”

Clients and contractors often fall out over money, but Welch said it is “extremely rare” for a major firm such as his to walk off the job or be fired. “Ordinarily, negotiations resolve it,” he said.

Construction costs for the police station and library had been estimated at $53 million, but the council voted last week to set aside another $11 million to finish the job with a new contractor.

Intended to replace cramped quarters dating back to the early years of Beverly Hills cityhood, the Civic Center complex includes a modern fire station that has been in use for more than two years.

The new police station is similarly up to date, bringing reality closer to the slick headquarters depicted in the “Beverly Hills Cop” movies. The gritty old station was more like a set from a 1940s detective thriller.

The library will include an automated circulation system that will allow librarians and patrons to quickly determine whether books are available.

Holly Millard, library staffer in charge of the move, said the new quarters are “quite close to completion,” with stacks and some carpets in place but “a lot of finish work” remaining.

“We’re not sure when we’re moving in, so operations will continue uninterrupted until we have some more definite word from the city,” she said.

The library, police station and City Hall offices are housed in temporary quarters within walking distance of the Civic Center site.