Answer The Peoples' Email, Borg, It's Sunshine Week!

Sunshine Week is a national initiative to promote a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. Participants include news media, civic groups, libraries, nonprofits, schools and others interested in the public's right to know.

We have the right to see a public accounting for every penny of the referendum money!!

Letting Botts threaten, brow beat and harass public guests at board meetings while pulling the camera and calling the cops isn't going to cut it.

Boy, Do We Need An Independent Project Accountant!

One that has no ties to anything other than integrity!  Now that Ehlers has been hand-picked for the financial adviser contract and we are in the midst of volumes of double talk over the excessive contract about to be awarded to the construction manager, it's time focus on the most troubling numbers in the entire project.  Pay close attention to lines 415 & 417 on the original Kraus proposal at the bottom of this page.

I guess they went with percentages on these lines so the end number wouldn't look so large?  Nevertheless, a 6% inflation contingency comes to $1,369,427.  Inflation?  What inflation?  Where does this money end up and who accounts for it since inflation is negligible?

Soft cost are factored at 25% or $5,706,118.  This is where the soft costs are going:

Architectural Fees for Remodel (different than new) 5.5 to 7%

Mechanical and Electrical – 2 to 3% (pending scope)

Permits – 1%

Testing – 1%

Misc Survey – 1% (varies on area)

Bond – (in today public bid economy) 1%

Misc Owner costs (Staff and misc needs during the project can be charged to a project if district chooses) – 2%

Legal Fees – .5%

Insurances - .5% (depends on your policy in place)

Commissioning per the State of MN – 1 %

Plan Reproduction/advertising for Competitive bidding – .5%

Design Contingency – 5% (highly recommend for remodel)

Construction Contingency – 5% (highly recommend for remodel)

I still can't get my head around the fact 10% of this entire project or $2,282,427 is earmarked for Design & Construction Contingencies! I thought Kraus Anderson was the best of the best and we paid $500,000 extra to make them even better? Maybe they are; just not their estimators?

Would love to see a full accounting for the 1% or $228,242 to Ehlers?!

Would love to see a receipt for every paperclip the 2% miscellaneous owner's slush fund buys!

See why we need a project accountant with an online ledger?

Don't forget to fill out the survey on the right side of the page!!!!

Is It Just Me, Or Are Half These Board Members Certifiable?

http://lmcc.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=449&meta_id=3601

Oh and Tom & Margie, bully boyz like botts and forsputter will never understand this:

You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.-- Quote by Winston Churchill

On November 7, 2011, You Were Warned The Magic Money Show Was Coming

http://dreambigwestonka.blogspot.com/2011/11/cant-bring-yourself-to-vote-no-on-two.html


The good news is; should the bonds pass, you can protect your large investment by also voting for Hejna, Mailey and Notch!  We will construct a system to account for every penny of this money, be unafraid to challenge vendors for the lowest price and highest quality possible, channel every cent into its intended purpose, and provide you, the voter/taxpayer, with a full, regular public accounting every step of the way.

OR

You too can ponder the meaning of this statement from chairman Botts at the 52:20 minute mark: "....they gave us PROFESSIONAL PLACEHOLDERS for the amount of money that we are PROBABLY going to need to remodel these old buildings.  I'm confident we have enough money to do the job right and THEN SOME SO THAT WE CAN DO A FEW MORE PROJECTS."

So many contradictions............

I'm still trying to figure out how if we have "professional placeholders,"why we have enormous soft cost buffers for over runs PLUS a 6% inflation contingency built into the 'estimate.'

3/3/2012


Still dying to find out what those "few more projects might be?"

It Just Keeps Getting Better......

Do they seriously believe we are buying the need for this project to have "two, full-time field superintendents," at a cost of nearly $500,000??  I wasn't aware we were re-building the World Trade Center on our school campus.

On the bid sheets I have; which are posted on this very blog, the low bidder = $494,500 and the high bidder = $997,220.  In my world, Dave, that = a difference of $502,720.  Nevertheless, the low bidder offers a Sr. Project Manager, an on-site Project Representative and a Project Assistant in their bid.  The guardians of Westonka, want to pay $500,000 more so a couple guys can sit in a construction trailer?  KA's bid sheet doesn't even show what they offer??

 

How about a spreadsheet, Dave, with an apples to apples comparison??  You do have one of those, right?  It is my understanding that information was requested from Kevin, and, well, we all know how far that got us.  Fire that spreadsheet right over, Dave, and I will post it up!  I answer all my email addresses!