The project to build a $24 million veterans home in North Little Rock has again been delayed after the federal government gave premature approval to start construction.
Matt Snead, director of the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs, told the agency's oversight commission Tuesday that work on the new cottage-style veterans home complex could not begin until July, nearly four months after a Little Rock-based construction company submitted the apparent low bid for the project.
Snead and others in the agency found out the project would be stalled again just days after they received an email from a federal Veterans Affairs Department official stating, "You can begin construction."
U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald approved on March 22 the transfer of approximately 30 acres to the state to build the home. On March 24, Snead and Karen Watkins, chief financial officer of the state Veterans Affairs Department, received the email giving them the go-ahead.
The agency was then told March 31 that the federal VA did not have the authority to transfer the land and that the state would have to wait to award a contract to the construction company until the end of a 90-day congressional review.
"To be frank, we were provided misinformation by the VA ... they had made a mistake," Snead said Tuesday. "It's very frustrating to say the least."
The review is another in a series of hurdles for the project that included an unexpected archaeological survey of the land and a study on the presence of the Northern Long-Eared Bat, which is listed as a threatened species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Charles Johnson, a former deputy director of the state Veterans Affairs Department, said in January that the archaeological survey delayed the project by about a month and didn't turn up anything of historical significance.
Because of that delay, officials at the state agency and Arkansas' congressional delegation were unsure whether the $15.6 million grant from the federal VA would come through. Snead said in March that they were "on pins and needles there for awhile."
No bats were found, either.
"The long-eared bat study on the NLR site is complete," minutes from the October veterans commission meeting state. "There are no long-eared bats."
Craig Custom Construction submitted the apparent low bid of $19,104,443 for the project, which was about $200,000 less than the agency had estimated for construction costs. Bids were opened Feb. 26.
Because the congressional review will not end until June 19, the state will miss its deadline of awarding a contract within 90 days after the bids were opened. According to federal law, the costs involved can be modified if a contract is not awarded in that time frame.
"We're not going to be able to award it until 120 days," Snead said. "We appreciate the contractor's patience through this very unfortunate situation we all find ourselves in."
Once the congressional review ends in June, the land should officially be transferred to the state, and the federal VA's money for the project is scheduled to start flowing.
The veterans home complex will have eight residences housing a total of 96 veterans. It will be built on 31 acres near the Eugene J. Towbin Healthcare Center, formerly Fort Roots, on what was once part of Emerald Park Golf Course.
Metro on 04/22/2015