Maritime Park Costs to be audited

Originally Published by the Pensacola News Journal

Link: http://www.pnj.com/article/20110825/NEWS01/108250316/Maritime-Park-audit-expenses?

The Community Maritime Park Associates board will hire a Pensacola accounting firm to conduct an independent audit of the $54.7 million park project's finances and payments to vendors.




While the audit will explore the many changes in the CMPA's budget, it will focus heavily on the "soft costs," expenses not directly tied to construction materials and labor, such as the costs of engineering, architectural design, legal fees, consultants, financing, advertising and marketing.

Soft costs have become a concern because they are coming in higher than anticipated for a project of this size and scope.

The motion for the audit was made by CMPA board member Larry B. Johnson, who had asked for such an audit at a previous meeting.

Johnson said some citizens have questioned him about park costs since a Sunday article in the News Journal that detailed $23.8 million in expenditures to 117 vendors.

"To try and restore some of the public's trust in this project, I feel a more complete audit is warranted," Johnson said. "I want to know where every penny has been spent and who authorized every transaction. I want a more complete accounting of that to get a better comfort level for where this money has been spent."

The board voted 9-3 for the accounting firm Saltmarsh Cleaveland & Gund to be hired at a cost not to exceed $18,000 to do the audit. The work is to be done within 30 days, according to the motion.

Board members voting in favor of the audit were Brian Spencer, Dick Baker, Samuel Bolden, Audra Carter, Collier Merrill, Megan Pratt, Jim Reeves, Jim Smith and Johnson. Board members opposed were Jimmy Jones, John Merting and E.C. "Buddy" McCormick Jr. Members LuTimothy May and Juanita Scott were absent.

The intent of the audit is to drill into the details of the payments to, and work performed by, every vendor paid more than $10,000 on the project through Aug. 26, covering hard and soft costs.

It will document the history of CMPA construction budget activity from the project's inception through Aug. 26.

The audit also will:

» Examine the amount of each transaction to each vendor.

» Identify any subcontractors used by the vendor.

» Identify who approved each transaction.

» Document that individual's authority to approve the transaction.

McCormick said his concern was that the $18,000 cost of the audit will add to the CMPA's soft costs.

"I voted against that audit because I thought there were enough things in place with (CMPA Executive Director) Ed Spears, and Saltmarsh, and others we have had hired," McCormick said. "I just thought it was a duplication of effort and that we needed to save the money."