Listen Live
PraiseIndy Featured Video
CLOSE
?????????????

View of the Justice Center from Downtown Indy

The controversial plan to build a Marion County Justice Center that would include a new Marion County Jail and new building to house the county’s Criminal Superior Courts is heating up. Council Democrats, stung by the problems surround a lack of honesty over the arrangements to create the county’s Regional Operations Center (ROC) are slowing down a proposed deal with a consortium of companies called Heartland Justice Partners.  The “lead equity partner”, a multinational company called Meridiam, has now come forward publicly to introduce themselves and answer questions and concerns about the project.

jane garvey

Meridiam North American Chair Jane Garvey

In a live extended Afternoons with Amos interview, Jane Garvey, North American Chairwoman for Meridiam explained what the company is, their experience in similar projects and why Indianapolis should allow them to handle this project.  In the interview Garvey, a former head of the Boston’s Logan Airport and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and former head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) during the Clinton and Bush Administrations explained that Meridiam is a “private equity company”.  They get large groups with money, like public pension funds, to invest their their funds with Meridiam who then uses that money to invest in public projects.

thierry deau

Meridiam Founder & Chair Thierry Deau

Garvey said Meridiam was created by a young Frenchman Thierry Deau, a Frechman of color, who created the concept of an equity fund that funds, builds and manages public projects, first successfully in Europe and now doing projects in North America. Garvey talked about Meridiam’s experience in building a tunnel at the Port of Miami and the building a new courthouse for Los Angeles County in Long Beach, California.  Talking about Meridiam’s experience in Long Beach, Garvey said that California authorities prepared specific cost comparisons to show why Meridiam building the courthouse was saving money for California taxpayers.  Something the City of Indianapolis has repeatedly refused to do in the Justice Center’s case.  Garvey was asked about charges that their major partner in the Indianapolis project, Walsh Construction, has been involved in several lawsuits by Black employees charging racial discrimination.  Garvey claimed those suits were still in the appeal process.  But then admitted that the Walsh employees accused of the discrimination are no longer with Walsh.  Garvey explained that under their Justice Center bid, Meridiam would be responsible for any cost overruns on the project.  When pressed, Garvey denied that Meridiam and their partners would be tempted to cut concerns and construction costs by using inferior building and construction materials.  In the interview, Garvey couldn’t really explain why Meridiam and their partners didn’t include any minority-owned businesses as lead partners in their Justice Center bid.  Nor could she explain why a local company representing Meridiam, held a July 2014 meeting for interested minority-owned businesses but didn’t publicize that meeting using the city’s minority-owned businesses. When pressed about Mayor Greg Ballard’s insistence that this deal must close by March 31st, Garvey admitted that the deal should happen now because interest rates would are favorable right now. But Garvey didn’t say the deal would be off if the city couldn’t close get the necessary City-County Council approvals by then.  When the Justice Center was first proposed, it included space for offices for the Marion County Prosecutor and Public Defender offices.  The current plan excludes space for them.  Which would pose a serious hardship for those offices. Garvey was asked why should taxpayers OK an incomplete Justice Center plan?  Why shouldn’t we wait and, even if it costs more, get a Justice Center that’s complete.  Garvey didn’t want to answer that question, which is now becoming central to whether Indianapolis should OK this current Justice Center proposal.  Click the Media Player to hear the Afternoons with Amos Interview With Jane Garvey of Meridiam.  Runs 37 Minutes ©2015 WTLC/Radio One.