Beverly Hills : Civic Center Study Ordered

Mayor Allan L. Alexander has directed the city manager and finance administrator to prepare a report on the history of the Civic Center construction project and its escalating costs, “so that the public can become as knowledgeable as we are.” If possible, Alexander said, the report should be submitted within 30 days.

He emphasized at Tuesday’s City Council meeting that a second report and independent audit on the Civic Center--which has fallen behind schedule and whose cost has soared millions of dollars above budget--is being prepared under the supervision of Gibbs, Giden, Locher & Fleming, a law firm specializing in construction. That report will take longer to produce, Alexander said.

At the meeting, the council approved 17 construction change orders on the Civic Center to hasten completion and to save costs. Changes ranged from the elimination of a trophy display case in the police headquarters to the substitution of wall-hung storage units from the old library for mill-work cabinets estimated at $186,413. The amount the city will be credited by the contractor for some of the money-saving changes must still be negotiated.

A report from the city’s economic development manager showed that for the week ending April 13, payments of $692,006.83 were made to J.A. Jones Construction Co., general contractor on the project.