Doubts Fly Over Airport-Terminal Timetable : Construction: The manpower--or lack of it--at the John Wayne site has appalled two airport commissioners. A Sept. 15 completion date is questionable.

Delays and financial disputes over the new $60-million terminal at John Wayne Airport have created so much frustration among Orange County officials that several say privately they have little faith the project can be completed on schedule.

Several members of the county Airport Commission cite a memo from the contractor, Taylor Woodrow Construction California Ltd., late last year indicating that unless payments from the county were speeded up, the company could not guarantee completion of the terminal by Sept. 15.

The commission members also said the London-based construction company has failed to provide the county with documentation on the deployment of its labor force on the project. Without such a work plan in writing, the county is forced to rely on the company’s oral assurances that the terminal will be ready for an opening ceremony scheduled for Sept. 15, the commission members said.

However, Taylor Woodrow Senior Vice President William Ostfeld said through a spokeswoman Tuesday that the terminal will be completed by Sept. 15. Ostfeld also said he believes that his firm has provided the county with sufficient work schedule information but conceded that this is “a matter of perspective.”

Nevertheless, two airport commissioners said they recently visited the construction site and were appalled by what they saw. Although much work has been accomplished in recent months, they said, there were far too few workers on the site.

“I had been assured that I’d be seeing more than a hundred people at work on the building that day, but when I arrived, there were only about six people doing anything,” said one commission member, who requested anonymity.

“Quite frankly, Taylor Woodrow officials knew less about was going on inside the building than the county officials who I talked to the same day,” said another commissioner, who also declined to be named.

Deputy Airport Manager Jan Mittermeir and other airport officials declined to comment on Taylor Woodrow’s allegedly missing work-force plan other than to reiterate previous memos to the company that expressed concern about inadequate staffing.

“I don’t want us to argue our cases through the newspapers,” Mittermeir said.

Since the start of the project in 1987, the county and Taylor Woodrow have accused each other of dealing in bad faith, often trading insults through hundreds of public documents.

Late last year officials postponed an April 1 opening date to Sept. 15 after Taylor Woodrow said it could not finish the project on time without massive infusions of labor and money.

County officials came within five days of firing Taylor Woodrow last spring because of construction delays, subcontractor complaints and insufficient staffing, officials acknowledged.

Supervisor Thomas F. Riley said he was recently assured by Taylor Woodrow officials that the terminal would be completed by late August. He said it has been the county’s position “throughout the project” to “review all options available to the county to ensure contract performance and project completion. One of the options available is termination of a contract.”

Riley added: “I remain concerned with Taylor Woodrow’s performance. . . . At this point, the county reserves all of its options with regards to performance and terminal completion.”