| OCR Text |
Show Council won't take responsibility for mall's cost overruns by Christopher Smart The Park City Council has labeled as unfounded charges by the project manager for the Main Street Marketplace mall that city government govern-ment is responsible for $800,000 in cost overruns. The council has formally responded respond-ed to allegations by J. Gary Jeppson of fjhe Salt Lake City firm .of Project J- . Control Inc. In a letter to Randy Fields, general partner in the Silver Mill development firm that is building the mall, City Manager Arlene Loble said Jeppson's explanation explan-ation for the project's cost overrun's are not an accurate representation of the facts. Lobel said Project Control was trying to pass the responsibility for unforseen expenses to the city rather accepting the blame. Jeppson had outlined for Fields "specific items related to the commercial development process in Park City which have affected the scheduled progress and costs of the project." Jeppson listed 11 areas where, ' "allegedly" city regulations or employees em-ployees have delayed or otherwise added to the project's expense. Included in that list is the construction of a service tunnel under Main Street, which Jeppson said was forced upon the developer; replacement of fire doors in the stair wells of the mall; relocation of mechanical equipment on the structures struc-tures roof; and what Jeppson refers to as "local interpretation of the Uniform Building Code." However, at a Dec. 13 City Council work session, Park City Chief Building Official Ron Ivie told the council that "everything we've asked Fields to do is a national standard." Ivie said he warned the project's architect and builder not to "screw up' ' on the stairwell fire doors before they were installed. However the proper doors were not installed, Ivie said. According to City Manager Arlene Loble, the service tunnel under Main Street was not a requirement for city approval of the mall's master plan. Further, she said, mechanical equipment was not allowed on the Park Avenue side of the mall's roof because of zoning requirements. Loble said that some of the additional expenses, as outlined by Jeppson, could have been alleviated if the project manager had been more familiar with Park City's Land Management Code. She conceded, however, that the municipality's fees are "substantially higher" than other Utah communities. Most communities don't have impact fees, Loble explained. No other Utah town or city has a water development fee and building inspection fees in Park City are higher than other places, she said. According to Loble and Ivie, many of the misunderstandings between the city and Fields are due Fields' recent personal involvement in the project. In her letter, Loble states that if Fields had been involved with the project from the beginning, the direction of his criticisms would have been substantially different. : , i i l |
