Jackson Jambalaya

wow. this response really smokes mary hawkins. is there some action that could be taken against the bogus "engineer" she hired to go after warnack?

Like anyone in Madison government has clean hands? Rudy's the guy Miss Mary wanted to replace Dick Hall, unless my memory is shot. That Reunion Interchange uber alles mentality seems to be biting back.

What costs overruns? Hey, in Misippi, it's perfectly legal and everybody does it, even the State.

Gotta love a politician.

This document is nothing new... I guess everyone went brain dead or didn't read the previous info Kingfish posted from Warnock's lawyer... same document!

Question: How much do other counties, such as Rankin, pay for engineering relative to road construction and design? Is there any other firm in MS that has received as much from a single county as Warnock?

Observation: By charging 7% for design instead of the 4.2% the state approves, he gets an extra 40% up front regardless of whether any construction is performed.

First of all, this doesn't look like an " audit" to me. This looks like a cost comparison without comparing the type of job or what was required for the job. This list doesn't look comparable to me.

I also have no sense of the quality, degree of difficulty,or the credentials of those involved.

I can "see" the completed project and compare that with other similar projects and project designs in other places and have often wondered if the superior designs elsewhere cost more or less or the same.

But, I can't tell if something was built to last or not just by looking at the " facade" of the project.

Re the audit:

The County Administrator, Donnie Caughman, had refused to conduct the comparison, then suffered a heart attack. While he was out on sick leave, Tim Johnson forced the staff to assemble the data and call it an audit. Arthur Johnston, the Chancery Clerk, knew nothing of the "report" or the plan to release this incomplete data and call it an AUDIT.

It is meaningless... some on the staff were forced to do the work, virtually overnight, so it is unsigned, undated, etc. they just simply compared what was paid to the engineer... no way to related apples to apples... i.e., they compared projects where design had just begun with projects that were already completed, etc. They should have separated engineer fees into "design" and "construction oversight" so the info could have been comparable. I don't guess they had the time to compare like sized and type projects such as comparable interstate interchanges, etc.

See analysis below in comparing the design cost of reunion interchange to the design costs of Hwy 463 Interchange. Warnocks fees as a percentage of construction for design of Reunion were 119 % higher than Hwy 463 Interchange. Both are SPUI (single point urban interchange) In fact, Rudy subcontracted the designer, Baker Engineering, of the Hwy 463 interchange to design Reunion... and, the plans match down to the cubic yards of concrete! So, the completed Reunion design is simply a "site" adaptation of the Hwy 463 interchange.

Altogether, Warnock was paid $3.2 million of the total $7M spent to date related to Reunion interchange. He paid Baker Engineering approximately $1.2M for their portions of the project, i.e., the most important portions.
=====================================

Comparative Analysis: Design costs for Hwy 463 Interchange Design Costs and Reunion Parkway Interchange

Background:

* Both interchange designs were SPUI (single point urban interchange)
* both located on I-55 less than 2 miles apart.
* Both interchange designs were by Baker Engineering.

Hwy 463 Interchange: the Engineering Design cost was 3.65%, or $1,075,698; based on actual construction costs of $29,500,000 (Note: Design and Construction cost data provided by Highway Commissioner Dick Hall's Office)

Reunion Parkway Interchange: the Engineering Design cost per the contract was 7.0%, or $2,703,545.58; based on FINAL engineering estimated construction cost of $38,622,079.71 . In addition, Warnock was paid an additional $360,116.00 for additional Reunion related engineering design services, for a TOTAL DESIGN ENGINEERING FEE of $3,063,661.58 for REUNION PARKWAY INTERCHANGE. So, the adjusted percentage for engineer fees paid Warnock for Reunion Design is actually 8%. Also, it must be pointed out that Warnock made over $700,000 extra by simply changing the estimated construction cost from $28M to $38M. This fee was the result of simply changing the estimated construction costs and didn't require one hour additional effort on the part of the Engineer.

BOTTOM LINE: Warnock and Associates design fees for Reunion Interchange are 119% higher than charged for design of Hwy 463 Interchange based on comparison of percentages of design fees compared to actual/estimated construction costs. In actual dollars paid for design the difference for the design of Reunion, which was a site adaption of the existing Hwy 463 plan, was $1,987,963 more than paid for design of Hwy 463 Interchange!

Totally amazing!

Again more information from mary hawkins and D.I. Smith but not facts. Warnock produced written facts. Let's see you produce these documents if this is true!! I know all of this is just petty politics!

I agree produce the documents! With all the lies out there why are we to believe more bogus allegations.

KF, I think you may have inadvertently reposted the rebuttal rather than posting the attachment that I sent with the in-house hours summary and subcontractor invoices. Please post so that Warnock does not continue to be accused of hiding those (TV media was provided with these docs as well). Although they are not public documents and are irrelevant for purposes of actual cost to Madison County, they do show the significant amount of in-house work performed by professional engineers at Warnock & Associates--almost 4,000 hours to date.

By the way, that is a lot of detailed information gathered by just an average Madison taxpayer, "Anonymous" (from 9:34 a.m.). Thank you for forwarding Mary Hawkins' newest misleading allegations, which we will also be responding to. Perhaps you should run for county supervisor...or are you already one whose initials rhyme with D.I. Smith?

You go dorsey! If that is D.I. Smith it validates what I heard about him, that he is a spineless man! All I am saying is if you have FACTS D.I. Then post them!

Can someone tell me if D.I. Smith was elected or appointed?

Elected.

I posted what was sent. Resend and it will get up here.

As for who wrote the comment, doesn't really matter. I've learned from writing this blog that too often who you think is commenting isn't and its someone else. There are alot of well informed lurkers who pop up with detailed info or analysis so good luck. Could have been anyone.

Have we got a copy of the master service agreement between the city and his firm that he keeps referencing? I didn't see a link to it.

Perhaps you are correct, KF, and that was not D.I. Smith posting, but it sure looks a lot like an e-mail that a little birdy forwarded to me that was previously sent from D.I.'s e-mail:

"Very helpful, useful and interesting info! See my comparisons below...

Hwy 463 Interchange: the Engineering Design cost was 3.65%, or $1,075,698; based on actual construction costs of $29,500,000

Reunion Parkway Interchange: the Engineering Design cost was 7.0%, or $2,703,545.58; based on FINAL engineering estimated construction cost of $38,622,079.71 . In addition, Warnock was paid an additional $360,116.00 for additional related engineering services, for a TOTAL DESIGN ENGINEERING FEE of $3,063,661.58 for REUNION PARKWAY INTERCHANGE.

BOTTOM LINE: Warnock and Associates design fees for Reunion Interchange are 91.8% higher than charged for design of Hwy 463 Interchange based on comparison of percentages of design fees compared to actual/estimated construction costs.

Totally amazing!

D.I."

Don't let them call you spineless, D.I. Come out and enjoy the sunshine that you are calling for.

Transparency Dorsey? You want tranparency from Smith? The same guy who schemed with Taggart to groove himself into office?

Go kick their asses Dorsey. It will be fun to watch them get pounded.

I'm tired of the he said-she said. Let's get somebody to look at EVERYTHING that doesn't have a dog in the fight. Could that be S. Pickering or does he have ties to some of these folks? Can a private citizen request a forensic audit? Enough of this. Let's look at the books and call it a day.

This all smells of more party politics! I bet that if the three republicans were all voting together there would be no audit of any sort, but because the two democrats have a say in where county money is being spent D.I. And Mary are demanding an audit!

I bet if the county turned over the checkbook to Mary all of this would go away!

Dorsey, let me school ya a little bit on this website. ;-) Here, we don't really care about who wrote what or who sent what. All we care about is the quality of information. These commentors are a tough crowd and will pick apart comments and posts. The author doesn't really matter.

Interesting. I see that Dorsey/Warnock are not refuting the allegations that were posted by Smith (or whomever), just the method of getting that info out. I believe Dorsey said they were "misleading" and not incorrect or even lies. I guess my question is, are those the facts re the Reunion interchange? Queen Mary def has some stones, but I seriously doubt she would get on TV and call Warnock a cheat simply because she didn't like his politics, esp given Rudy's propensity to sue. Again, is it possible to get an outside (read disinterested) party to really shed some light on what's going on in Stepford? Is it really that hard to figure who's right in this catfight?

Looking through the invoices what I see is a bunch of wetland permitting and delineation. Don't know how that should be interpreted but it is the common factor.

Not to be too harsh, but all of these invoices remind of an old saying, "If you can't dazzle them with your brillance, at least baffle them with your bull..."

I guess I'm most surprised that Dorsey is coming on a blog pleading Warnock's case. WTH difference does it make at the end of the day if everyone here buys it? Or disagrees with it.

Has anybody added up the invoices in this paperwork and compared it to what was totalled in the "audit"? Or for that matter, extra gold stars for comparing the invoices with the claims docket, which is online.

Why hasn't anybody in Madison, city or county, or MHB herself filed suit? Short of that the old adage 'action talks, bullshit walks' comes to mind.

Uh-oh. Looks like S. Pickering has joined the fight.

I've yet to figure out what it is about Warnock that the Supervisors feel is worth all this fight? It seems THEIR professional interests(i.e., getting re-elected) would be better served by getting rid of him and hiring someone less controversial. Engineers are a dime a dozen in the tri-county area!