Denver International Airport reviews failed contract with Great Hall Partners
Denver International Airport has released its own review of the failed contract with Great Hall Partners, that the city fired in 2019. The review came about after a call from the city council to take some lessons away from the costly delays after the city fired the group created for the public-private partnership in 2019, before approving funding plans for the next stage of construction under new contractors now working on the re-do of the terminal building.
"It was clear we were not going to move as a council on the last piece of this unless we came to reckoning with what happened and what went wrong with the beginning of it," said 2nd district council member Kevin Flynn.
The study out Wednesday is called an "After Action Report." Its 96 pages contain recommendations for setting up and signing off on public-private partnerships known in government as "P3s." The report bears the signature of Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and current CEO of Denver International Airport Phillip Washington.
"We did not do this report to point fingers at anybody. We did it to be constructive," said Washington, who was hired after the departure of CEO Kim Day, who managed the creation of the deal with Great Hall Partners and the end of it when it did not work out amid reports of delays, cost overruns, change orders the partnership said the airport was burdening it with inappropriately. "Day told the council in previous meetings that the airport and city had agreed to a bad contract that was not clear on the schedule or cost.
Among the recommendations in the report: "Project management, coordination of roles and responsibilities, and identification of key personnel are critical to successful P3 project delivery. The roles and responsibilities need to be defined, agreed to, and placed in writing… Then these roles, responsibilities, and agreements need to be enforced."
But the report is a soft landing for those who have been criticized for the failed deal and subsequent delays.
"I've got to say this is the most gently written evaluation of a mess this size that I've ever seen," said council member Paul Kashmann in a committee meeting in council chambers Wednesday. "I'll own my part of it. Worst vote I've made on city council."
Other council members have come to regret signing off as well.
"We did the right thing by terminating it. We did the wrong thing by approving it," said Flynn.
The city paid tens of millions to separate from Great Hall Partners, which was led by a Spanish company, Ferrovial Airports.
"We had a contractor that I think was not completely honest and above board with us," lamented at-large councilwoman Debbie Ortega.
Great Hall Partners in the past criticized DIA officials for what it said was mismanagement and frequent change orders. Among the criticisms of the deal was that there was not a local tie.
"We also had an international team that really didn't quite get how you work in the United States," said Flynn.
The summary includes details that DIA officials could have done more vetting of all potential team members and taken the time to review contractor profiles and previous performances. There were concerns expressed about projects in London and Dallas.
The idea behind the public-private partnership to fund the airport changes was to shift the risk explained Flynn. But it simply did not work out. "As the report says, the decision making still rested with the city. That's not how you do a P3. That's not a very good idea."
