Airport Contractor Vows to Fight if Fired
Months behind schedule and facing potential fines of $2.5 million, the chief contractor in the John Wayne Airport expansion vowed Friday to fight any attempt by the county to fire it from building two parts of the beleaguered project.
Disappointed by the company’s performance, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will consider terminating a $25-million contract with Taylor Woodrow Construction California Ltd. to build a parking structure and an elevated roadway.
“Taylor Woodrow will use all available resources to challenge the recommendation to the Board of Supervisors, and we will ask for a reasonable amount of time in which to gather the facts and present our side of the story,” said William Ostfeld, a senior vice president for the firm.
In a two-page prepared statement, Ostfeld said there is no basis to terminate the contract since most of the work has been done on the two structures and completion is about four weeks away. He also said that Taylor Woodrow has not been informed in writing about the specific reasons for ending the contract.
County officials declined to comment on the potential dispute. However, Supervisor Thomas F. Riley acknowledged Friday that termination of the parking structure contract might involve litigation.
The 1,611-space parking garage northwest of the terminal and the elevated road that runs alongside the new facility are about eight months behind schedule. Taylor Woodrow already has been paid about $25.3 million for the work, which is almost completed.
Both structures are part of a $310-million expansion that will enable John Wayne Airport to handle almost 9 million passengers a year, more than double its current capacity. The project includes a new, $60-million terminal, which is also behind schedule.
In addition to deciding Taylor Woodrow’s fate concerning the parking garage and road, supervisors will consider asking the contractor to speed up work on the new terminal by implementing 19 recommendations. Among other things, the strict conditions call for a larger work force, six-day workweeks, 10-hour days and increased monitoring of the company’s performance.
“The action before the board Tuesday sends a clear message to all firms that do business with the county that we require performance,” Riley said in a prepared statement. “I remain disappointed with Taylor Woodrow’s performance.”
Under the current contract, the London-based contractor with offices in Irvine faces potential penalties of $2.5 million for the delays. But whether to assess damages has not been decided and the amount of the penalty might be negotiable, airport authorities said.
Riley said that, due to ongoing discussions between county staff and Taylor Woodrow, it is premature to speculate on what additional actions might be necessary to ensure completion of the terminal.
Taylor Woodrow blames the delays on differences with the county on issues that prevented the contract from being completed many months ago.
“We regret the fact there has not been more open communication and that we were not given an earlier opportunity to show to the board why the proposed action is unreasonable and not in the best interest of the citizens of Orange County,” Ostfeld said.
Taylor Woodrow assured the county that it is making progress toward completing the new terminal by Aug. 23, if not sooner. The facility was originally scheduled to open in April.
