Jul 22, 2002 2 min read

The Fayette County minimum-security prison opened Friday. While this is welcome news it comes much later than anticipated and at a cost nearly double what was originally thought. When the county commissioners first entertained constructing a barracks-style building near the century-old prison to alleviate overcrowding and eliminate the upwards of $30,000 a month fee to house prisoners in neighboring counties, it was proposed as a quick and rather inexpensive way to correct the problem. The commissioners had hired architect Michael S. Molnar to oversee and design the building. The initial figure of $585,000, that Molnar now claims was nothing more than a “guess,” has ballooned to more than $1 million.

If that’s what it cost to prepare the ground, construct the building, furnish it and make it secure then that is what it cost. Still the county should have had better numbers from the beginning.

This appeared to be an open-ended project without a firm budget in place. The county can’t continue to manage building and rehabilitation projects in such a manner. At least two, possibly three, other projects are in the works right now with Molnar. First is a new building for Mental Health/Mental Retardation offices; next on tap is renovations to the Federal Building and third is the next phase of the prison project.

The commissioners must use a firmer hand in overseeing these projects so that they receive realistic estimates rather than guesses. Then they must ensure that these projects do not balloon out of control. They can do this by hiring a clerk of works or project manager, independent of Molnar, to provide oversight. And they can make sure that there is a cap on how much they will pay Molnar, rather than leave it at 8 percent of the project’s cost. There must be an incentive to keep costs down.