Clerk/Recorder Watch: Another Epic Tom Daly FAIL!

Another day, another Tom Daly epic fail.  At the rate Daly is going, he might not file for re-election.  Quick someone call Harry Sidhu and let him know that there are two new potential political openings for him to salivate over....Clerk & Treasurer. 

A few years ago Daly persuaded the BOS that he needed more archive space/ and or general space to ever expand the imperial government empire known as the Clerk Recorder.  Once again we have to give major props to Friends For Fullerton's Future blog for doing the digging via public records request and blowing the lid off of Tom Daly's epic incompetence and malfeasance.

Back in 2008, a building was purchased for $2.1 million in downtown Santa Ana(433 W. Civic Center Drive) to expand the Clerk's office/archives and for other purposes.  The building was purchased "as is" with a caveat that the county "would pay for minor repairs".  But nothing is ever minor when it comes to Tom Daly's incompetence.  Two years after the purchase, the building is still sitting vacant collecting dust.  It seems that a feasibility study was done(at a cost of $100k)and the options to get the building ready for occupancy are....to put it mildly, very expensive.

Here are the three options the architectural firm came up for the building.....ready for this?

1. $2.8 million to remodel the building to make it usable; ADA, structural, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, roofing, replacement, etc.

2. $5.7 million to remodel as above, and expand the building to accommodate the proposed use.

3. $7.6 million to demolish the building and start over again.

Did you guys get that?  At the very minimum, this boondoggle is gonna cost $2.8 million more just to make the building usable again!  If they go with the middle option, it will cost $5.7 million for the proposed use.  Are you pulling your hair out yet?  Lastly we have the nuclear option....junk the whole thing and start over from scratch....at a whopping cost of $7.6 million!

If they wanted to make a video of "Government Gone Wild", you couldn't pick a better topic than Tom Daly.  Thanks for nothing Tom.