The SSTC is clearly a lemon (severely cracked, no expansion joints, slabs thinner than they’re supposed to be, understrength and overstressed concrete, suspect concrete tests reports, exposed reinforcement, missing reinforcement, under-designed beams, 3-inch thick pieces of concrete that have fallen off, etc.). The public shouldn’t have to accept a clearly flawed lemon when they’re paying more-than-retail for a brand new, unflawed transit center. At the least the SSTC will be expensive to operate and maintain, and at worst it is a threat to public safety.
Why hasn’t Montgomery County held public meetings to explain to the public what they’re doing and why? Why haven’t they provided the opportunity for citizens to ask their questions and to make their comments on the public record?
Why haven’t the Federal Transit Administration and the Maryland Transit Administration insisted on public meetings where citizens can ask their questions and make their comments on the public record?
53% of the funding for the SSTC are federal funds, 11% are state and 36% are county.
Why did Montgomery County select Foulger Pratt to build the SSTC instead of bidding it for construction (standard practice for public works projects)?
Why did Montgomery County select Parsons Brinkerhoff to provide engineering design for the SSTC and Balter Co. to inspect and test concrete and to serve as special quality inspector instead of selecting an engineer and a concrete inspection/testing firm using the traditional competitive process for selecting professional service firms for public works projects?
Were political contributions involved in these selections?
Explain how the SSTC’s public-private partnership benefits the public over standard competitive practices for construction (bids) and for selecting professional service firms for public works projects.
Too bad that these guys aren’t around:
***UPDATE*** ***May 21, 2014***
http://www.gazette.net/article/20140520/NEWS/140529876/1033/report-finds-faults-with-management-of-transit-center-construction&template=gazette
Why did the Montgomery County Department of General Services ignore serious problems that were discovered in 2010? Why didn't DGS deal with them then? Is it because of "crony capitalism"? Will history repeat itself with the Purple Line (public-private partnership)? Will even more federal, state and county funds be wasted with crony capitalism on an even bigger public works project?
How can Montgomery County, the Maryland Transit Administration and the Federal Transit Administration expect the public to accept this lemon, especially now that it's confirmed that serious defects were systemically ignored since 2010? How many more serious defects, that DGS didn't deal with at the time, are buried, hidden inside the SSTC's seriously flawed concrete frame?
... more "probing questions" for the news media not to ask ...
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