Police Station Woes Continue

In response to the lawsuit filed by the city against the Police Station contractor, J.G. concrete is set to seek its own legal recourse:

With its renovation of the Annapolis police station under fire and an $8
million lawsuit already filed against the company that guaranteed its work,
Hyattsville-based J.G. Garcete is suing the city for $2.3 million for breach of
contract.

In the lawsuit filed Nov. 16 in the county's Circuit Court, the
construction company claims the city was to blame for many of the deficiencies
at the police station and is now refusing to pay for work done. Among other
things, the lawsuit claims the city did not obtain the necessary permits on
time, failed to address existing waterproofing problems in the design phase and
neglected to provide a "proper set of construction drawings".

It's hard to know what to believe. I find it fully plausible that the construction company screwed up, possibly because the city selected the lowest bidder and got what they paid for. I also find fully plausible the contention that city inspectors were horribly overburdened and brushed things under the rug.

True to form, the city has failed to sucessfully problem-solve through collaboration. The relationship between the city and the contractors is irreperably harmed, and the police station will sit in disrepair while the courts sort this out.