by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
Just days after Mayor John Peyton scrapped plans to build a new Duval County Courthouse, the City Council’s special committee charged with reviewing the project said it would investigate what led to the decision and when it became apparent that was the only option.
Council president Elaine Brown assembled the committee in September, hoping it could recommend how to proceed with the lagging project and its ever-ballooning budget.
When Peyton pulled the plug last week after cost estimates skyrocketed to almost $300 million, many expected the committee to fold. Brown said that was never going to happen.
If necessary, she said the committee would form a paper trail “on this debacle” and possibly recommend legal action against the courthouse’s construction and design teams, Skanska Dynamic Partners and Cannon Design.
“I feel very strongly that we still need answers,” she said. “When did the numbers we were getting become inaccurate? Obviously, people weren’t being straightforward when the City started asking questions and now we’re left with $27 million still on the table.”
Brown said it would be interesting to find out when Skanska and Cannon knew the original $190 million budget simply wouldn’t cut it.
“I think it’s only fair to the citizens of Jacksonville that we as a Council answer the questions as to how the cost of the courthouse got so high,” she said. “If possible, we should do what we need recoup some that money we’ve lost. Litigation may be the only way to do that.”
No committee meeting times have been scheduled — chair Kevin Hyde canceled those previously on the calender shortly after Peyton’s announcement — but Brown said those details would surface shortly.
“I have spoken with (Hyde) and he is prepared to do what I’ve requested,” she said. “He is in agreement with my decision and we look forward to our investigation.”