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Monday, June 29, 2009
Pit Overhaul Sparks Feud
By Martin Salazar
Copyright © 2009 Albuquerque Journal
Journal Staff Writer
The $60 million renovation of the University of New Mexico's storied basketball arena is causing spats among members of the local building community eager for a cut of the project and the bragging rights that come with it.
Concerns about subcontractors hired to work on the Pit have already led the state to suspend Bernalillo-based Amfab Inc., which was hired to manufacture the steel for the project.
The state Labor and Industrial Bureau contends that Amfab failed to follow state law and register before submitting its winning bid for the public project. The company owner and UNM contend that the requirement doesn't apply to Amfab. The suspension is being appealed.
Another contractor, Top Flite Construction of Arizona, is also coming under attack. Top Flite was hired to install the steel.
Jerry Romero, president of the New Mexico Building and Construction Trades Council and business manager of Iron Workers Local 495, is unhappy that the Arizona company was hired over New Mexico companies. And he's raising concerns about its safety record, citing a crane accident at a Colorado hospital project in March.
"The Pit project would be better served by employing New Mexico-trained craftsmen with proven, world-class skills and impeccable safety records," Romero said.
Top Flite wasn't cited in the Colorado accident. Skip Sorley, company owner, said the crane was rented and the operator wasn't a Top Flite worker. He said one worker received a scratch in the incident.
Flintco, the general contractor overseeing the Pit renovation, defended Top Flite's safety record, saying all its subcontractors undergo background checks to ensure its stringent safety record requirements are met.
The Pit renovation is to be completed in late 2010.
Ken Easley, vice president and area manager for Flintco's Albuquerque division, said his company tries to hire New Mexico subcontractors.
"Our main concern is to keep it local if we can," he said. "But we also have to take care of a local owner, and taking care of a local owner means supplying a good price for a quality product."
UNM spokeswoman Susan McKinsey said 95 percent of the contractors on the project are in-state.
Sorley said that, while his company is based in Arizona, "Most of my guys that are going to work on that job are from New Mexico."
The suspension of Amfab, meanwhile, hasn't brought the project to a halt. Easley said the steel continues to be manufactured off-site by Amfab.
Mark Mosher, owner of Amfab, said after he heard there might be a requirement for his company to register, he did so. "It has nothing to do with qualifications," he said.
Both Flintco and Amfab are established companies that have been in business for decades.
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