Park Service Finds 20% Profit, Failed Repairs in $13.1 Million Lincoln Pool Contract
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 27
Park Service Finds 20% Profit, Failed Repairs in $13.1 Million Lincoln Pool Contract
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 27
$13.1 million is being paid to Atlantic Industrial Coatings under a no-bid Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool contract that Park Service documents say carries an inflated 20% profit margin.
A Park Service contracting analysis said comparable federal construction jobs usually allow 6% to 12% profit, putting this contract at least $850,000 above a more typical price.
The agency accepted the higher margin after an official argued the company deserved extra profit for taking on a difficult job under a tight deadline.
Two sealing trials earlier this month then failed on one of the project’s most critical tasks—closing gaps between concrete slabs that have leaked water for decades.
The setbacks leave the contractor and Park Service searching for new fixes on a project Trump had said would cost far less; the final contract is seven times his initial estimate.
Why was a contractor with no federal experience awarded a $13.1M no-bid deal for the Reflecting Pool repairs?
Will the costly paint job and quick fixes provide a lasting solution for the Reflecting Pool's decades-old leaks?