I am sure someone will be losing their job on this one. How can you miss that much?
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[font=Verdana]The belated discovery of an entire floor of asbestos insulation could add $1.7 million to the $5.2 million cost of demolishing the Milwaukee County Courthouse Annex over I-43, county officials said Friday.[/font]
[font=Verdana]The estimated 33% overrun in the first week of the project stunned county officials who debated for more than a year over the costs and benefits of taking down the parking and office structure.[/font]

[font=Verdana]County Executive Scott Walker has made the demolition one of his top priorities and last fall finally persuaded a reluctant County Board to knock down the annex, which was used mainly for parking by county and state employees. His administration secured a deal for $5.2 million in funding from the state, which preferred to see the annex destroyed as part of the Marquette Interchange freeway reconstruction.[/font]

[font=Verdana]An engineering consulting firm hired by the county overlooked the large area of asbestos in multiple inspections before the recent discovery, said county Public Works Director George Torres.[/font]

[font=Verdana]It's unclear where county officials will get the money to cover the overrun. Torres said the state will be approached for more aid. The discovery will not delay demolition, which is scheduled for completion by June, he said.[/font]

[font=Verdana]"Going back is not an option," Torres said, adding that he was "extremely frustrated" by the problem.[/font]

[font=Verdana]Supervisor Marina Dimitrijevic said she and other supervisors had been skeptical that the $5.2 million demolition cost was a solid number. That contributed to the [/font][font=Verdana]County[/font][font=Verdana] [/font][font=Verdana]Board[/font][font=Verdana]'s delays in acting on the project, she said. The asbestos abatement was projected to cost $2.5 million; the $1.7 million is on top of that.[/font]

[font=Verdana]Torres attributed the situation to a mistake by the consultant, Professional Service Industries Inc., a national firm with a [/font][font=Verdana]Milwaukee[/font][font=Verdana] office.[/font]

[font=Verdana]"We weren't hiding it" from supervisors, Torres said of the larger-than-expected asbestos problem.[/font]

[font=Verdana]The county hired Professional Service Industries in a competitive bidding process for a $66,000 contract on the annex project. The county has decided to pay the same firm $54,000 more to oversee abatement of the newly found asbestos. The firm has done good work in the past for the county, explained county environmental services director Gary Mick.[/font]

[font=Verdana]An official with the company referred a reporter's questions to Milwaukee County officials.[/font]

[font=Verdana]In addition to the asbestos surprise, the county is trying to figure out how to find an additional $1.1 million to fund the small surface lot to be constructed on the annex site for replacement parking. The $1.75 million surface lot, with an ornamental security fence and tunnel access to the courthouse, was approved by the County Board and Walker in December. The 2006 county budget allocated $600,000 for the replacement lot.[/font]