Parking Fara, twist: the Collini company leaves the construction site

Yet another twist for the Fara car park. On October 31, from the city of Bergamo, a communication was sent to the municipal administration regarding the consensual termination of the contract signed with Collini starting December 15th. Specifically, Collini will complete the excavation and then dismantle its construction site. After the provisional inspection, which is indispensable for carrying out the takeover, the works will be continued, with the construction of the car park, by another company.

This was announced by the Councilor for Public Works of the Municipality of Bergamo Marco Brembilla, during the City Council scheduled for Monday 11 November, responding to the interpellations of the Lega and the Cinque Stelle Movement.

THE ANSWERS TO THE M5S

How much will the total cost of the work be increased, in light of the variants already announced and announced?

If we refer to the variants VN1, VN2, VN3 and VN3a, grouped together in the appraisal of variant n ° 3 which includes works of arrangement and securing of the slope collapsed in 2009 between the walls of the park of the Rocca and the beam "A"; stabilizing nailing and injections; cleaning and arrangement of load cells installed in 2009 on the beam at the foot of the walls of the Rocca park; the arrangement of the fences on the level of the Parco della Rocca; the fence of the entire route of the cableway downstream of the Walls; the modifications to the support works in the east side area of ​​the electrical substation, with new bulkhead of micropiles and cutting of rocks; the provision of new distribution beams and new anchors due to the presence of rock mass at depths much higher than expected; the provision of new distribution beams and new anchorages on the southern front due to the presence of a rock mass of layers with a considerable thickness and quantity and unforeseen number of argillitic components with the presence of an overall weakness for the kinematics of the excavation fronts; the new support beams and the new anchors for the discovery of clay layers of considerable thickness (20-30 cm). All the aforementioned processes led to an increase in expenses of 1,489,887.11 euros. The Council, with a resolution dated 1 August 2019, approved the variants in a technical line and for building purposes only, reiterating that the Bergamo Parcheggi Concessionaire will have to bear the financial burden deriving from the appraisals. In the same resolution, the Government reiterated the provisions of Article 5 of the settlement which provides for the payment by Bergamo Parking of a penalty starting from 15 March 2019 for an amount of 911 euros / day. Regarding the approval of the new roofing project with the archway designed by Arch. Nunez, (approval of the Landscape Commission and Superintendency) is very recent. Bergamo parkings is processing the metric calculation, to which the cost of the initially planned cover must be subtracted. The covering, the waterproofing and the overlying land remain the same; the trees change more from urban forest than from park, there is the extra walkway but, as I repeat, the account has not yet been executed.

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What is the fee for the "famous designer" who will intervene to update the original project (external green finish)?

At 79,000 euros.

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Will the agreement with Bergamo Parcheggi be reviewed? Will the economic and financial plan be affected?

The convention will not be reviewed; at the moment there is not even a review of the economic and financial plan.

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It will be taken into consideration that the executive delay of the work has led to a greater income of the above ground parking areas since 1 September 2004 in favor of the concessionaire, to the detriment of the citizens, with hourly rates increased in 2016 by almost double (from 1.48 to 2.80 plus VAT)?

The question, with all respect, is poorly formulated and does not reflect reality: the revenue from roadside parking has been included in the signed economic and financial plan, with the implementation of the agreement on 10 November 2016. They are not part of it, however, the net proceeds following the date of March 15, 2019 (deadline set in the Agreement for the conclusion of the works) which will not benefit the concessionaire. Furthermore it is not clear where the figure of € 2.80 plus VAT was taken, when the stop in Citta alta on the road is € 1.80 including VAT.

Will the penalties be applied for delays and all the economic recovery strategies necessary to prevent the citizens of Bergamo from bearing the costs incurred due to responsibilities that are certainly not attributable to the citizens themselves?

As has been said several times, the penalties amount to 911 euros per day from 15 March 2019; so just to give an idea at the end of October we are at 209.530 euros; obviously they will be applied as reiterated by the Council resolution of 2 August 2019. Ssurely the additional costs will not be paid by the Municipality, nor by the citizens. Only for the coverage that was a precise request of the Superintendency when renewing the landscape authorization, it will be possible to discuss the amount more than the original project, an amount that is being determined.

It is confirmed that the collection of tolls for parking spaces in the upper city, including the annual pass of € 120 for residents, has been suspended in favor of the Concessionaire and since the expected date of completion is it taken directly from the Municipality? Is it not rather a hypothetical calculation whose balance will be asked, during the testing of the works, to partially compensate the penalties, returning to the so-called final accounting of the construction site?

Those that are called tolls in the application, or the collection of parking on the street for blue seats, starting from 15 March 2019, is not part of the economic plan and will not benefit the Concessionaire. It cannot therefore be offset against the penalties due to delays. Receipts from resident parking permits are to the benefit of the concessionaire from the date of completion of the parking as per the economic-financial plan.

Confirm the end date of the works, including testing, communicated to the local media during the inspection recently carried out with the Councilors, or beginning 2021?

With a letter dated February 27, 2019, Bergamo Parcheggi, in addition to the higher costs mentioned in the first response to the interpellation, indicated the end of the work on October 7, 2020; the beginning of 2021 was then indicated taking into account the phase required for the tests.

Is there a reimbursement and, if so, by what means, to compensate the owners of neighboring buildings damaged?

Any possible damage to neighboring properties, evidently ascertained, will be borne by Bergamo Parcheggi which, it should be remembered, is the parking concessionaire itself, which will then be repaid to the executing company, according to the terms established by the contract between the concessionaire and enterprise.

How will traffic problems be resolved and access to the roads near the construction site connected to the final stages of the construction site? Is there a dialogue with residents and citizens in general? (The removal of the cableway has already caused inconvenience due to a lack of information.

I begin by dismantling the cable car that has created some discomfort and I have not failed to underline the lack of information of the company to the citizens. That being said, the cable car as I have repeatedly stated, cannot be used for the construction of the car park for technical reasons. The material, concrete, iron and whatever is needed for the temporary decks, up to the covering ground, must be brought by truck. The utmost attention will be paid to Porta S. Agostino, but every construction site in the Citta Alta sees truck mixers or trucks passing by with iron and / or building materials. The population and residents will be informed especially if there will be closures in Via Fara (not provided) or initial transport of cranes for construction, always trying to carry out these jobs at times with less traffic and impact on normal life in the city.

Is the decision (more political than operational) of this Administration confirmed, not to assign the work to the EIA?

The Region had postponed any decision for competence to the Municipality. – leaving aside what in parentheses, more political than operative alias that has nothing to do, the answer is the one we have been giving since it was asked: when the project was approved, the EIA was only necessary for parking spaces above 500 seats, in final and non-executive project site. The Parking Fara was and is less than 500 seats. Only subsequently the number of posts required for the VIA request was lowered to 250 places for the final projects. It should be noted that the executive variant project approved by the City Council in 2016 is not an architectural variant, but a structural one, that is different construction methods that have no influence on the architectural level that has remained unchanged with respect to the original, therefore the 2016 project does not fall within the field of application of the new regulations. To the last question I have already answered before, about the amount of penalties.

THE ANSWERS TO THE LEAGUE

Have any studies and / or surveys been carried out on the effectiveness of the excavation wall containment intervention?

Obviously yes, there are precise calculations and 50 new sensors have been laid that give monitoring of the situation h. 24. The deviations recorded, normal in walls of this size are not more than a millimeter broadly within the safety standards in line with what was planned and implemented. Bear in mind that the new structural version no longer provides for parking anchored to the containment wall of the hill, but rather detached by about two meters. This mode offers two positive aspects: to prevent the wall from being structurally connected to the parking lot; allow continuous and constant monitoring of tie rods to ensure maximum safety and control over time.

Will the payment of extra costs still be made – by fact – by entering into ninety-year multi-year agreements?

I take advantage of this question to clarify an aspect, which I also believe has been misinterpreted by ANAC. The Concession has always been and still is, of 29 years. The ninety-year concession covers the 50, which then became 64 reserved parking spaces which, in the revision of the original agreement, carried out on 24 April 2008, granted Bergamo Parcheggi the possibility of transferring the surface right for 50 parking spaces, which could be increased up to 64, which was then established in the last implementation of the 2016 convention. It is specified that the parking spaces cover the highest ascertained costs, that the concession of parking spaces will have a value of € 40,000 and that with its own deed, the administration will establish the methods of assignment.

Will hourly rates change due to higher costs?

Hourly rates are set by the 2016 implementation act up to a maximum of € 2.30 per hour or part thereof. In the same act, in art. 5 the forms of subscription with the relative costs are reiterated.

Has the contracting company already more or less warned and / or solicited payment of the extra costs already incurred to date?

Here the answer is twofold: if for extra costs we mean the major works agreed between Bergamo Parcheggi and the contractor company, parking lots have been recognized by Bergamo. Several reservations, formulated by the contractor company, are technical terms that indicate the difference between what is recorded and what is required by the company. In both cases, these themes do not affect the Municipality and relate exclusively to the contractual relationship between Bergamo Parcheggi and Collini.

Does the contracting company intend to object to the concessionaire's default by requesting, in addition to the payment of penalties, compensation for damages suffered by the Administration and the community of Bergamo?

Given that the continuation of the works has not brought damage to the Community of Bergamo, because the parking spaces in place on the road continue in their function, there is no other legislative method other than the penalties for delays that are established in each contract for delayed delivery of the works performed. At present, no default by the concessionaire is ascertained due to errors, in the final and executive planning, but only in the execution of the works. A final aspect of no small importance: on October 31, Bergamo received the communication from the municipal administration of the consensual termination of the contract signed with Collini starting December 15th. The terms of the works are defined in the enclosed handwriting; specifically, Collini will complete the excavation and then dismantle its own construction site. After the provisional inspection, which is indispensable for carrying out the takeover, the works will be continued, with the construction of the car park, by another company. Naturally Collini will issue the ten-year posthumous policy, which is mandatory by law, with respect to the work performed.