LV firm sues over prison contract

Lucchesi, Galati Architects wants to see the state of Nevada change how it does business.

The Las Vegas architectural firm this week filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the state Public Works Board claiming it has not fulfilled its contract on the Cold Creek state prison under construction near Indian Springs.

LGA also is seeking an injunction for the state to stop using the firm's drawings to build the prison and relief regarding contractual obligations so that the architects will not be held legally liable.

"We filed a lawsuit because the state has not been playing by the rules," Raymond Lucchesi, LGA principal, said. "The state has been wasting taxpayer dollars, and it's time for someone to say the state can't do business like that."

At issue is the firm's claim that the state required LGA to use the same housing-unit plans used to build the Lovelock facility, despite the fact the plans were outdated and inefficient, according to Lucchesi.

The other key component, Lucchesi said, was that construction funding was not in place when the LGA was asked to pull together a budget proposal. The funding was contingent on approval from the 1997 Legislature.

LGA, in its lawsuit, claims the Public Works Board did not uphold its agreement to add the bidding and construction administration portion of the project to the firm's scope of work despite having received the appropriate funding from the Legislature.

"LGA has repeatedly requested that the defendants honor their agreement and has stood ready to undertake its work under the contract," the lawsuit says.

Bob Harmon, spokesman for the state attorney general's office which acts as the attorney for the Public Works Board, said he received a copy of the lawsuit Tuesday afternoon and had not had time to go over all the issues.

"It is a very complicated issue, and we need to look at all the elements before we can comment," he said.

In October, the board awarded the contract to Sletten Construction Co. of Nevada to build a 1,000-inmate prison for $79 million.

Construction was delayed because in the original bidding process, which called for a 1,500-inmate prison, the proposals were at least $15 million more than estimated. Following protests concerning the first bids, the issue ended up in court with the bids being tossed out.

"We continued to inform them that they were behind schedule," Lucchesi said, despite the fact his company no longer had a contract for the project.

To help play catch up on the construction schedule, the Public Works Board asked the architects to deliver its drawings within 120 days, rather than the 180 LGA was allowed. Lucchesi said the firm complied.

LGA is an established architectural firm that an estimated 25 percent of its work is providing design and construction administration services for numerous construction projects for the state and local governments.

In August 1995, LGA submitted a proposal to the Public Works Board for the design of a 2,000-bed men's correctional facility south of Indian Springs. In March 1996, LGA entered into a $2.9 million contract with the Public Works Board for the design, documentation, bidding and construction administration of the Cold Creek prison, according to the lawsuit.

But after LGA submitted its plans for the prison to the board for review only, it was informed the Public Works Board was proceeding with construction without sealed architectural plans and that numerous modifications were being made to the plans without LGA's consent.

"We were concerned we were being set up," Lucchesi said, referring to potential liability.

The lawsuit states that the LGA prepared plans and specifications for the design and construction of Cold Creek with the understanding the bidding and construction administration would be done by them.

"But the state decided not to include us and we have not checked the plans," said Lucchesi, who added that his firm, however, has not been terminated.

Nicholas Wieczorek, attorney for the architects, said the message from the state to the LGA has been "we don't need your plans, we don't need your stamp and we don't need you."

The lawsuit also is asking for a declaration of noninfringement of copyright concerning the architects use of the Lovelock prison design.

The lawsuit alleges the board required LGA to utilize and site adapt existing housing-unit plans used to build the Lovelock prison in Pershing County.

Sheehan/VanWoert Architects of Reno alleged that it owns certain copyrights to the plans and specifications for the Lovelock prison and threatened LGA with copyright infringement.

That's when Lucchesi said he threw up his hands over the project. "They (public works board) were over budget, behind schedule, and we were not on contract," he explained. "They said don't worry about it. They would take care of it."

Attempts to reach Eric Raecke, manager of the Public Works Department, for comment were unsuccessful.

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