A private citizen said what others in the room likely were thinking about the city's lack of power as construction begins on the West Haymarket arena.
"The city is between a rock and a hard place." Bob Olson said after listening to the frustration of joint public agency members during a Thursday afternoon meeting.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln wants the arena finished in time for basketball season 2013.
The Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad insists it will need an extra $3.4 million to move its track and meet that construction deadline because of a delay in signing an initial contract last summer.
The railroad determined the $3.4 million figure and is requiring that the money be paid, quarterly, in advance of the work, city Attorney Rod Confer told the JPA, the three-member group monitoring arena construction.
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City staff will check later to make sure the railroad costs are accurate, he said.
"I can't believe a three-month delay is going to cost us $3 million," said University of Nebraska Regent Tim Clare, a JPA member.
"This is what the railroad says the costs will be," Confer said.
The city is not totally responsible for the delay in signing the initial contract, said JPA Chairwoman Jayne Snyder, a City Council member.
"Yet we are taking the financial brunt of this delay, and this concerns me," she said.
Blame for the delay in the contract makes no difference, Confer said.
The railroad doesn't need to move its tracks. It is perfectly happy to be where they are right now, he said.
And the railroad told the city early on, "In order to undertake this move, we are going to do it at no cost to ourselves." Confer said.
"The railroad is laughing all the way to the bank," Olson said.
"They've got us over a barrel. They are calling the shots," Olson said during a time for public comments.
Clare pointed out that this is a community project, with public- and private-sector folks working together.
‘It sounds as though we have one party that is not willing to do that. And that frustrates me," he said.
None of the additional costs put the arena project over its budget, because the $340 million estimate includes a 15 percent contingency fund.
Clare also was frustrated with some additional costs on other contracts that the JPA was asked to approve after the work had been finished.
Some were relatively small changes, under $10,000.
However, one was a $173,000 charge for removing lead paint from an historic canopy that will be reused. Another was about $232,000 for a sanitary sewer route, changed to make sure an ice rink could be built in the Haymarket Stadium area.
"Why weren't the JPA members asked about those changes in the first place?" Clare asked.
Twice during the meeting Clare reluctantly seconded motions relating to additional costs so the project could move forward.
"I don't appreciate these types of surprises," he said.
"This is going to stop. I'm not going to be approving these fees after the fact any longer," he warned.
Arena managers said they were working out a system so small changes would be handled by staff then reported to the JPA.
But large changes, more than $100,000, will go to the board before the work is done, said Dan Marvin, program administrator.
That policy will come to the board for discussion and approval at the June 24 meeting, Marvin said.
