Taos County Complex Update
‘Glitch’ puts crimp in county complex planning
‘Glitch’ puts crimp in county complex planning
$45M project likely to be rebid
By Andy Dennison
The Taos News
Taos County’s plan to fast-track a new administrative-judicial center screeched to a halt Tuesday (Aug. 12), as the county’s attorney found a disturbing legal loophole in state law.
While County Attorney Sammy Pacheco is still researching the issue, he told The Taos News Wednesday (Aug. 13) that it “looks like we won’t be able to go with the construction manager at-risk idea.”
State statutes only mention education facilities when detailing purchasing codes for this innovative contractual arrangement for public projects, Pacheco said.
Without statutory backup, Pacheco fears that any construction contract could be open to legal challenge.
“While I was researching for the contract (with winning bidder Bradbury Stamm Construction), it came to my attention that CM at Risk procurement method was not authorized in the statute,” Pacheco said. “It’s a technical glitch in the procurement code. Since Taos County is not a home-rule county, we have to follow state procurement codes.”
Through a voter-approved charter, home-rule governments can write their own codes and procedures — such as buying goods and services — as long as they don’t violate existing state statutes. No New Mexico counties have home-rule charters, save the combined city-county of Los Alamos.
Re-bidding likely
For Taos County, the so-called “CM at Risk” would have permitted work on the $45 million complex to begin in October — when architectural plans were 70 percent completed and before a final project cost was negotiated.
In addition, the deal would have given a contractor a head start on purchasing materials — a cost-saving potential in these days of escalating construction costs.
If Pacheco’s suspicions bear out, the county will have to rebid the 125,000square-foot project in a standard
