Thursday, April 27, 2006
Miami wants new company to lead Orange Bowl renovations
It has taken Miami leaders more than a year to figure out what company should manage Orange Bowl renovations. A court battle is further clouding the issue.
Miami city commissioners today will consider picking a company to oversee a roughly $150 million renovation of the historic Orange Bowl stadium, home to the University of Miami football team.
There's only one problem: The city did the same thing more than a year ago, and now faces a legal mess because the first company chosen refuses to get out of the way.
That company, Wisconsin-based Hammes, is accusing the city of breaking a contract for political reasons.
City leaders counter that Hammes misled them into hiring a Florida subsidiary of Hammes when the city thought it was retaining the larger parent corporation.
City Manager Joe Arriola says Miami became worried that if something went wrong with the renovation, the smaller, Florida version of Hammes would have less money for Miami to recover.
''The last thing I want to do is hire somebody to do a $150 million project and not be able to go after them if they screw up,'' Arriola said.
FIRM SUES
City commissioners approved Hammes in March 2005, with a final contract signed by both the city and the company a couple of months later.
When Miami tried to back out, Hammes sued, asking in January for more than $2 million in damages and a court order forcing the city to execute the contract. The suit is pending.
In its legal complaint, Hammes says Miami's actions were ''politically motivated'' -- the city had recently come under criticism for awarding no-bid contracts, and so decided to void Hammes' deal, which was done without open competitive bidding by various companies.
''They were seemingly very concerned about how this was going to look,'' Hammes President Robert Dunn said. ``The contracting practices of the city of Miami are like nothing we've ever seen before.''
Hammes' lawsuit says that city leaders had ample opportunity to review their contract with Hammes before approving it, and so they have no right to cancel it now.
Arriola did not dispute that ''my wonderful legal department'' went over the contract before it was approved. But he said blame for the contract ended with the city's lawyers, not its managers.
''I'm not here to be a lawyer, OK?'' Arriola said, adding that the many months it has taken Miami to pick a project manager will not delay the Orange Bowl face-lift because Miami, until recently, was distracted from the issue anyway -- the city was focused on negotiations for a new Florida Marlins ballpark.
WORRIES VALID
University of Miami Law Professor Alan Swan, who has taught contract law for more than 20 years, said Miami's concern about which version of Hammes it negotiated with is a legitimate one.
Yet he was taken aback that Miami didn't figure out the issue before signing.
''What is it that the city is so careless that they don't really know who they're dealing with?'' Swan asked. ``Why did you sign the contract?''
Several weeks ago, city administrators tried to get the City Commission to void the original Hammes deal but couldn't muster the necessary votes.
Arriola said he's now got enough support and is confident that cancellation, and the selection of a new company, will happen today.
NEW FIRM TO BE NAMED
Meanwhile, City Commissioner Tomás Regalado said Miami's legal staff told him the potential new project manager -- Jones Lang Lasalle Americas, Inc. -- is being warned by the city it could get the contract, but then lose it should the courts decide Hammes had a right to keep it all along.
''This is a chain of mistakes,'' Regalado said. ``It's very strange.''
It has taken Miami leaders more than a year to figure out what company should manage Orange Bowl renovations. A court battle is further clouding the issue.
Miami city commissioners today will consider picking a company to oversee a roughly $150 million renovation of the historic Orange Bowl stadium, home to the University of Miami football team.
There's only one problem: The city did the same thing more than a year ago, and now faces a legal mess because the first company chosen refuses to get out of the way.
That company, Wisconsin-based Hammes, is accusing the city of breaking a contract for political reasons.
City leaders counter that Hammes misled them into hiring a Florida subsidiary of Hammes when the city thought it was retaining the larger parent corporation.
City Manager Joe Arriola says Miami became worried that if something went wrong with the renovation, the smaller, Florida version of Hammes would have less money for Miami to recover.
''The last thing I want to do is hire somebody to do a $150 million project and not be able to go after them if they screw up,'' Arriola said.
FIRM SUES
City commissioners approved Hammes in March 2005, with a final contract signed by both the city and the company a couple of months later.
When Miami tried to back out, Hammes sued, asking in January for more than $2 million in damages and a court order forcing the city to execute the contract. The suit is pending.
In its legal complaint, Hammes says Miami's actions were ''politically motivated'' -- the city had recently come under criticism for awarding no-bid contracts, and so decided to void Hammes' deal, which was done without open competitive bidding by various companies.
''They were seemingly very concerned about how this was going to look,'' Hammes President Robert Dunn said. ``The contracting practices of the city of Miami are like nothing we've ever seen before.''
Hammes' lawsuit says that city leaders had ample opportunity to review their contract with Hammes before approving it, and so they have no right to cancel it now.
Arriola did not dispute that ''my wonderful legal department'' went over the contract before it was approved. But he said blame for the contract ended with the city's lawyers, not its managers.
''I'm not here to be a lawyer, OK?'' Arriola said, adding that the many months it has taken Miami to pick a project manager will not delay the Orange Bowl face-lift because Miami, until recently, was distracted from the issue anyway -- the city was focused on negotiations for a new Florida Marlins ballpark.
WORRIES VALID
University of Miami Law Professor Alan Swan, who has taught contract law for more than 20 years, said Miami's concern about which version of Hammes it negotiated with is a legitimate one.
Yet he was taken aback that Miami didn't figure out the issue before signing.
''What is it that the city is so careless that they don't really know who they're dealing with?'' Swan asked. ``Why did you sign the contract?''
Several weeks ago, city administrators tried to get the City Commission to void the original Hammes deal but couldn't muster the necessary votes.
Arriola said he's now got enough support and is confident that cancellation, and the selection of a new company, will happen today.
NEW FIRM TO BE NAMED
Meanwhile, City Commissioner Tomás Regalado said Miami's legal staff told him the potential new project manager -- Jones Lang Lasalle Americas, Inc. -- is being warned by the city it could get the contract, but then lose it should the courts decide Hammes had a right to keep it all along.
''This is a chain of mistakes,'' Regalado said. ``It's very strange.''
# posted by Michelle @ 1:27 PM 
