Supervisors Push for Resolution to Stalled Sheriff’s Station

With the construction of a sheriff’s station in Calabasas months behind schedule, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday ordered county officials and the contractor to attempt this week to resolve differences that have halted work.

The $7-million sheriff’s station was supposed to be completed by April, but county officials say the station probably will not be finished until December. Officials also predict that the facility could cost an additional $1.5 million.

County officials blame much of the delay on Cates Construction Inc., which it said was guilty of poor planning and maintaining an inadequate work force.

Unhappy with the construction pace, the county ordered the contractor to stop work on the site June 2, said William F. Stewart, director of the county’s Internal Services Department. County officials wanted to drop Cates and find another builder to finish the project.

Gregg P. Martino, an attorney for Cates, however, argued on Tuesday that the county was responsible for the delay. County officials changed the plans for the station 88 times, slowing construction, Martino said. The changes included modifications to security doors, landscaping and countertop material.

“You can’t expect us to press forward and have a completion date” when the Sheriff’s Department keeps modifying the blueprints, Martino said.

After extensively questioning both sides, Supervisor Pete Schabarum said he believed no one was blameless in the dispute.

“It seems to me that both sides have screwed up a little bit or a lot,” Schabarum said.

The board voted unanimously to ask both parties to try one more time to resolve the conflict. If not, Stewart said, the county is ready to seek default proceedings against Cates, an action in which the county contract with the builder would be legally broken.

The delay has not caused the Sheriff’s Department any hardship, said Assistant Sheriff Jerry L. Harper. Until the station is completed, deputies will continue working out of the department’s Malibu station.