Construction Projects

School officials statewide -- in the midst of the largest construction and repair campaign in recent history -- worry that fierce competition for reliable contractors may drive up costs and delay badly needed projects.Blessed by $257.5 million in state school construction money this year, school systems are putting up modern buildings and replacing everything from the pipes and wiring to the roofs on aging structures.But they've run into snags: In Anne Arundel County recently, officials found no takers when they put out bids for installation of a sprinkler system at South River High School.

Highlights in Annapolis today:Senate Budget and Taxation Committee hearing on state construction projects. Noon. Room 100. Senate office building.House Appropriations Committee hearing on state construction projects. 1 p.m. Room 130. House office building.Senate meets. 8 p.m. Senate chamber.House of Delegates meets. 8 p.m. House chamber.Pub Date: 3/15/99

Although Maryland is awash in cash for other new programs, its special fund for transportation projects is running out of money.Over the next several years, the funding available to build or expand state roads and transit systems is expected to drop sharply while traffic congestion continues to increase.Unless something is done, the state will not be able to start more than 100 planned highway projects, such as widening the Baltimore Beltway in two locations and widening Route 32 in western Howard County.

Twenty years ago, Samuel F. Heffner Jr. went in search of an heir to his construction empire.Heffner, largely responsible for the sprawling development that's mushroomed around Baltimore-Washington International Airport, found his sons showing little interest in a business that enthralled him. So he visited his alma mater, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., and asked for somebody good, somebody just like himself.He got Mitchell Weber.In 32 years, working first with others and since 1994 with Weber in a design, construction and management company, Heffner has had a hand in $500 million to $750 million worth of construction projects.

No manual of standards, no computerized system to track the work on millions of dollars' worth of school construction projects. Not enough expertise, not enough staff to do the job.Superintendent Carol S. Parham hopes these and other problems can be solved by turning over management of most school construction to a private company.Board members are expected Wednesday night to authorize Parham to draft an invitation for the construction industry to pitch privatization plans. But even board members who think privatization may be the answer are not sure what questions to ask."

The house on High Street is typical Baltimore. Three stories. Brick exterior. A simple house in a city dotted with thousands like it.Typical, that is, until you consider that taxpayers paid nearly $400,000 to turn this once vacant shell into housing for nine homeless men - in a neighborhood where sales often go for $80,000.The transformation of the house near Little Italy is one brick in the foundation of a $300 million rebuilding of Baltimore. Endowed with public money, this neighborhood improvement campaign has been spearheaded by Housing Commissioner Daniel P. Henson III and Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke.

The University of Maryland College Park has embarked on an ambitious series of construction projects, totaling more than $200 million, that administrators there say will transform the campus for years to come.From playing fields to plant science research to the performing arts, the university has pursued broad-based plans for several years that now are taking shape as the most visible construction push at College Park in decades."It's like Christmas, Hanukkah and all the holidays wrapped up into one," said Thomas A. Fretz, dean of the university's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Anne Arundel County school officials say they think they can squeeze a few million dollars more out of the Gary administration this year to meet school Superintendent Carol S. Parham's proposed $39.8 million capital budget request.But it's going to take some convincing."We're not going to be able to do as much as the superintendent would like us to do, and that's usually the case," John R. Hammond, the county's financial officer, said after he heard about the request last week.Parham is to deliver her plan to the school board Wednesday.

Baltimore County has decided to boost spending on school construction by millions of dollars to build a new Owings Mills high school and expand several others to head off a predicted crisis in overcrowding.The sudden decision to focus on adding high school classroom space -- particularly in the northwestern and central sections of the county -- comes at the expense of renovation plans for other schools and means delays for other capital projects.County Executive C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger III blamed poor enrollment projections for keeping the impending crisis from view until recently, and poor cost estimates on school construction projects for the strain on county finances.

A fiscal advisory board gave County Executive John G. Gary more ammunition in his battle with the school system yesterday by calling for new district boundaries and a construction budget substantially smaller than educators have requested.The Planning Advisory Board, appointed by the county executive to review capital budget requests and make recommendations to the county executive, endorsed school construction spending of $30.6 million for next year -- 35 percent less than the Board of Education asked for.The recommendations, part of the board's interim report, would slash $8.2 million from four school construction projects already under way. In addition, the proposed cuts came with sharp words for school officials and a firm endorsement of Mr. Gary's tactics to extend his power over education policy.

The state has agreed to make builders do more to keep soil from washing off construction sites when it rains, settling a legal challenge contending that Maryland isn't doing enough to curb a growing source of pollution fouling streams and the Chesapeake Bay. Under the settlement, the Maryland Department of the Environment pledges to update within the next year its requirements for controlling erosion and sediment runoff from building sites. The department also agrees to give closer scrutiny to larger construction projects, requiring individual permits for any that clear more than 150 acres.

This week, Watchdog brings you updates on some lingering problems. UPDATE: The weather is warmer, so more people will be headed to the Harbor Promenade, the walking and jogging path along the water between Canton and Federal Hill. But the lights that should be illuminating a portion of the walkway in Fells Point remain dark, more than two years after they were installed. We said then that the city Transportation Department, which oversaw construction of this section, should have gotten these lights connected to electrical power.

When developers began construction on the Four Seasons hotel and condominium tower in Harbor East early last year, it was shaping up to be one of Baltimore's tallest buildings, at 43 stories. But earlier this year, the development team announced plans to complete only 18 stories, delaying condominium construction until the residential real estate market improves. That means the waterfront tower won't set a city height record any time soon. Elsewhere in Baltimore, projects representing a proposed investment of more than $1 billion have been postponed, scaled back or scrapped altogether.

A brief article Friday about a corruption case failed to note that the University of Maryland, Baltimore County alerted the attorney general's office after finding discrepancies in construction projects and cooperated in the resulting investigation.

In the wake of a troubling audit, a legislative panel's decision to delay some construction projects at Morgan State University sends a proper warning for the school to get its house in order. A House of Delegates subcommittee voted unanimously to eliminate or restrict $6 million for various capital projects - actions that must still be approved by the full House and the Senate. Morgan officials complain that as a historically black institution, the university is being singled out for harsher treatment than other institutions that receive state dollars.

Legislators said they were dissatisfied with Morgan State University officials' responses yesterday to an audit outlining potentially criminal procurement practices on campus construction projects, and insisted on a more detailed investigation. Yesterday's hearing in the Senate Budget and Taxation committee marked the first time that Morgan President Earl S. Richardson has spoken publicly about the audit, which found that the state school padded a construction contract with a $3.1 million cushion then used those funds to pay the same contractor for different work without getting state approval.

The city of Baltimore can't put a price tag on the repair and replacement needs of its public buildings because no one knows the extent of the costs. Mayor Sheila Dixon is trying to get a handle on the problem. It's not a flashy part of her job, but it's an essential one that got little attention in the past. As part of her plan, Ms. Dixon expects to increase the amount of money the city borrows to finance these projects, but officials should make sure that any increase doesn't impair the city's hard-won credit rating.

Patrick H. Walker, former owner of a Lutherville construction company, died of arterial sclerosis May 16 at his Cockeysville home. He was 78. Born in Albany, N.Y., he moved to Baltimore with his family and was raised in Homewood. A 1947 graduate of Boys' Latin School, he was an outstanding center-midfielder on the school's lacrosse team. After earning a bachelor's degree in 1951 from the University of Maryland, College Park, where he also starred in lacrosse, Mr. Walker enlisted in the Army.

Just a few days after 1,000 or so midshipmen become officers in the Navy and Marine Corps on May 26, the U.S. Naval Academy will begin several multimillion-dollar construction projects, completing more than $80 million of work in two years. The changes will include sprucing up the academy's main tourist entrance at King George and Randall streets, building a sprawling new field house named after the school's first black graduate, remodeling the King Hall dining facility and adding a new ice rink across the Severn River.

Just a few days after 1,000 or so midshipmen become officers in the Navy and Marine Corps on May 26, the U.S. Naval Academy will begin several multimillion-dollar construction projects, completing more than $80 million worth of work in two years. The changes will include sprucing up the academy's main tourist entrance at King George and Randall streets, building a sprawling field house named after the school's first black graduate, remodeling the King Hall dining facility and adding an ice rink across the Severn River.