12/22/2009 1:02:00 PM Minister refutes court building TV report Press statement from the Ministry of Works and Engineering
Derrick Burgess, Minister of Works and Engineering
TUESDAY, DEC. 22: I am speaking this morning principally as a result of a misleading, ill-informed and totally irresponsible news item on the subject of the Magistrates' Court/Hamilton Police Station construction project that was aired on VSB last evening. That report was filled with a number of inaccuracies, all of which I shall address during this press conference. I do so in the hope that the press will report more responsibly in the future. I also do so in the hope that in future the news media will contact the Department of Communication and Information or my Ministry directly in order to gain informed responses to questions that they might have. Speculation and conjecture are totally unacceptable.
The VSB news item stated that "many of the main police and court functions for which the Court Street Police and Court Building was originally designed have been removed....and that the latest to go is reportedly the Police Command Centre which had been earmarked to move into the new building." Let me state clearly and emphatically that all of the functions originally planned for the new building remain. In fact, more have been added. There was never a plan to house the Police Senior Command in the new facility which was designed to provide a state-of-the-art alternative to the old Hamilton Police Station on Parliament Street. There is a plan to effect a much needed improvement in the Police Headquarters facility at Prospect.
The VSB report suggested that Government's [and I quote] "catch-all" plans for the new building can be clearly seen at the Planning Department. That is true, of course. There is nothing to hide in that regard. In fact, on Friday, 20th November, 2009, I made the following statement on the floor of the House of Assembly: "The Hamilton Police Station and five new Magistrates' Courts, along with ancillary support offices, will be housed in the larger North Building. Additionally, the Ministry of Energy, Telecommunications and E-Commerce Headquarters, the Ministry of the Environment and Sports Headquarters and the Department of Youth, Sports and Recreation will be housed on the sixth floor of the North Building. The Department of Court Services and other Court/Police-related functions will be assigned to the first three floors of the South Building. Additionally, the Ministry of Culture and Social Rehabilitation Headquarters and the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs will be housed on the fourth floor of the South Building." Since making that statement, plans have been modified to accommodate an extra Family Court in the new facility.
I wish to make the point that the original plans for the court/police building, dating back to the nineties, did not include the South Block which was an add-on following Government's acquisition of the plot of land at the corner of Church and Court Streets. From the outset, the South Block was intended for use by other Government Departments, including those, like the Department of Court Services, whose function was complementary to the operation of the court and police station. The top floor of the North Block housing the courts was an add-on also, as Government seized the opportunity to provide additional general office accommodation in Hamilton, a cost-effective alternative to the rental of expensive private sector office space in the City of Hamilton. The additions of general office space in no way compromised or altered the original intentions of the building.
Perhaps most alarmingly, the VSB report stated that rumours were circulating that the building will go at least $18 million over budget after I had claimed that the addition of Police PACE functions had been the main reason for the redesign and that the overspend would be kept to less than $10 million. For the record, I also stated the following on the floor of the House of Assembly on 20th November, 2009: "We have from the outset maintained that this project will be completed within the Total Allowed Funding of $78 million approved by the Legislature. As construction has progressed, however, the contractor has received approval to make changes in a number of areas where the drawings for the new building have been found to be incomplete or deficient or where changes have been required as a result of major new legislation like the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 2006, commonly known as PACE. Work is continuing with the Bermuda Police Service to achieve compliance with PACE standards wherever reasonably practical and within the parameters of the construction project. It is our expectation that these changes will lead to an unanticipated increase in cost of the project, although every measure is being taken to keep that increase to the lowest possible percentage. "
The Bermuda public may be assured that they will be informed with respect to any additional overruns and the reason for those overruns.
