Despite concerns of a grand jury, Monroe County Administrator Tom Willi says he's confident the cost of constructing a new terminal at Key West International Airport will not exceed $31.6 million.

On Aug. 23, State Attorney Mark Kohl sent a letter to Willi and the County Commission highlighting 10 points of a grand jury's investigation into the construction.

“The taxpayers of Monroe County have a right to expect more responsibility from their public officials,” the grand jury wrote after finding the county's oversight of the construction contract “inadequate.”

It faulted the county for allowing a project estimated at $25 million to run up to the current maximum guaranteed price of $31.6 million, which “may ultimately cost substantially more.”

“I don't see how that can happen,” Willi told the Keynoter. “It could only happen if the county asks for changes. And the things we are asking for now actually reduce the scope.”

A flurry of controversy arose surrounding the McCoy Terminal Complex last fall when squabbles broke out among county staffers.

“Based on documents and testimony to the grand jury,” the initial report says, “we find the county has exercised inadequate oversight of the contract for the expansion of the Key West airport.”

In February, Willi said he was concerned West Palm Beach-based Morganti Group, hired to oversee the project, had originally promised it would assign staffers who had experience overseeing airport construction, but failed to do so.

“This was not a bid,” Morganti Vice President Jim Auld said. “All personnel we agreed to were in the contract. On an at-risk project [such as this], our staff is completely open to the county's will. We make adjustments all the time for the project.”

“When Morganti failed to supply the caliber of qualified employees that the original bid proposal stipulated,” the grand jury wrote, “this should have been a first red flag to Monroe County. Despite early and frequent issues with Morganti, the county made a decision to continue working with this contractor.”

Willi said Morganti has more than delivered on the project.

“The work out there is first-rate, beautiful,” he said. “They're ahead of schedule and making serious headway.”

He said it would have cost taxpayers additional millions to change oversight.

Auld said his company working with the county has actually saved taxpayers “hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

Airport Director Peter Horton warned the County Commission in September that the expected $25 million cost of the new terminal was ballooning. Willi immediately took Horton off the project and replaced him with County Engineer David Koppel, who began negotiating with Morganti for a new cost ceiling. The County Commission approved the $31.6 million cap in November. Auld pointed out that Morganti “is in full compliance with the contract” in terms of the guaranteed maximum price.