
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, November 18, 1995                   TAG: 9511200088
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

DEADLINES COST FIRM $15,000

Turner-Thompson, a joint venture between two general contractors who built the Hotel Roanoke Conference Center, has been fined $15,000 for missed deadlines on the project.

The penalty amounts to less than two-tenths of a percent of its fee of more than $8 million.

The Hotel Roanoke Conference Center Commission approved the fine in a meeting Thursday.

Despite the penalty, commission director Brian Wishneff said Friday that city officials were generally pleased with the work by Turner-Thompson - made up of J.M. Turner & Co. of Roanoke and F.N. Thompson of Charlotte, N.C. The contractors simply took too long to tie up loose ends after the remodeled hotel and newly built conference center opened April 3.

In fact, one task is still unfinished: Resetting a mechanism that lowers a huge fire protection door from a ceiling outside the conference center ballroom. The door is supposed to descend in eight seconds when tripped by an alarm, but as recently as Friday dropped in about seven seconds, raising concerns that people beneath it might not have enough time to move out of the way.

Turner-Thompson officials could not be reached for comment about the penalty. James Grisso, Roanoke's finance director and a commission member, said Friday that Turner-Thompson "was in agreement with this amount of penalty."

Also Thursday, the commission agreed that Wishneff will step down Jan. 31 from the director's position. He has been working under a contract and will be replaced by a city employee who has not been selected, officials said.

by CNB