New county courthouse hits a construction snag
By Gregg Wendorf
Advance News Journal
The first hint of trouble at the new Hidalgo County Courthouse, which was set for occupation last September but still lies empty, came approximately two weeks ago when construction workmen were seen outside the new facility, ripping up part of the concrete sidewalk already constructed.
Ripping up concrete? This Monday, the Hidalgo County Commissioners Court met and discussed among other things, item 5D, which read: “Pending/potential litigation – New Courthouse Construction.”
Looking back over news stories and opinion pieces The Advance News Journal published in 2017 and 2018, when the new courthouse project plans were being solidified, vendors put under contract, the headlines might actually have predicted trouble down the road:
• New Courthouse — Let’s Follow the Money
• County Commissioners Court chooses own architect against the advice of its project manager
• What’s missing from building new county courthouse: hard numbers
• Engineer working for county refuses to return phone calls…millions at stake with no transparency?
• Only one contractor bids on $150 million job?
Then the new courthouse got cranking, with New England-based Morganti, with offices in Houston and San Antonio, being named job contractor.
Look for a follow-up story next week naming all the players that had a hand in its construction, but as it now stands, the project has hit a dead-end: Pending litigation, which isn’t usually known for its speedy job completion.
This week, Tuesday, Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez said he’s not at liberty to discuss all of the particulars related to Monday’s agenda item, since most of it was discussed in executive session, but he did say that based on what was discussed, the county will most likely pursue litigation against Morganti because the commissioners court feels that it has failed in its duties to complete the project.
“We are pursuing all of our remedies to rectify any faulty construction and finish the completion,” said Cortez.
So who’s to blame? Morganti or one of the other companies working the job, which would include an architect, an engineer, a construction manager, and assorted other vendors?
“There is no question in my opinion there is going to be litigation, and when there is litigation, there is going to be finger pointing by everybody who says, ‘Yeah, it happened, but I’m not the one to blame.’”
Clearly Cortez doesn’t sound pleased at the delay, but is resolute in his assumption: “At the end of the day, based on my experience, the truth will come out, and it is what it is. You can’t change the facts.”
Even though litigation may occur, in the judge’s opinion, that still won’t detract from the major goal now: to get the new courthouse open for business. It’s already approximately six months past the move-in deadline (last September) announced in May of 2022.
“Eventually the truth will come out,” he said, “but right now, we need to finish the courthouse.”
According to Judge Cortez, the county has safeguards in place to make sure the new courthouse is completed.
“The (main companies that worked this job) have provided us with a surety (bond) that if they violated their duties, they have the financial support to make up for any financial harm.”
Question still remains though: Why was the sidewalk torn up? What construction flaw required its dismantling, and in the end, who is responsible?
Second question is: If litigation is filed against Morganti, and the county goes after its surety bond (construction and performance), then for how long will the job of finishing the new courthouse be put on hold while the attorneys get ready for battle?
As county taxpayers and residents, what else can we do but hope for the best.