JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- We're less than three days away from the opening of the new 350 million dollar courthouse.
While that's going to bring a sense of relief for some city workers and officials, other's still aren't satisfied. They're overloaded with questions about all the problems, including delays, cost overruns, and future lawsuits.
City Council Vice President Bill Bishop says their work is just starting. "We're going to do an audit of just how we got here, so we know how the money was spent, where it went and who got paid."
Bishop wants to figure out how the cost of the court house jumped to 350 million and why Turner Construction had so many problems. "I want to dissect how it evolved to find out how things happened and learn not to do this again," said Bishop.
Bishop and other city council leaders asked Turner the tough questions, but got few answers last week. "Everyone is lawyering on this in anticipation of what might come. They're not saying anything they don't have to and choosing their words carefully," said Bishop.
With more projects still to finish around the city, we asked Bishop whether they'd use Turner Construction again. "I hope not. Not if I have anything to say about it," said Bishop.
Bishop says that audit could take up to six months to do. The mayor's office wouldn't comment on whether a lawsuit would be filed
Turner Construction has had issues in Florida. According to a report by the Sun Sentinel, in 2006 the Palm Beach County school district sued them for taking too long to complete three schools. Another article shows Broward County also barred Turner after the company failed to reveal that lawsuit.
