Prevailing wage dispute continues

by Karen E. Culp

SBJ Staff

Dickerson Park Zoo has almost slithered past paying prevailing wage for its reptile house project.

Judge Don Burrell ruled June 28 in favor of Friends of the Zoo, Dickerson Park Zoo and Springfield/Greene County Park Board in a case filed against those defendants in Greene County Circuit Court by the Division of Labor Standards, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, and the State of Missouri.

The dispute centers on whether a building project at the zoo, the Hearld and Marge Ambler Diversity of Life Building, should pay prevailing wage. Chuck Hatfield of the Missouri Attorney General's office, said the case will be appealed.

"The Division of Labor Standards has asked me to file an appeal in this case," Hatfield said.

In its petition for declaratory and injunctive relief, originally filed Feb. 18, the state said:

"Because the Friends of the Zoo's invitation to bid involves workers employed on behalf of a public body to engage in the construction of public works, it must meet the requirements of Prevailing Wage Law..."

Judge Burrell's ruling was in favor of the defendants, stating that the "building project does not meet the definition of a 'public works,'" that the Friends of the Zoo is not a public body and that "no public body has exercised sufficient control over the project to support a conclusion that Friends of the Zoo is acting on behalf of a public body and not on its own behalf."

Zoo Superintendent Mike Crocker said if no appeal were filed, the Friends of the Zoo planned to re-bid the project in August. The suit has "cost us a year on the project," which will be a new structure to house reptiles and other animals.

The Friends of the Zoo project was first bid Dec. 3, 1998, without including the prevailing wage stipulation because the Friends of the Zoo is a private, not-for-profit company and the Diversity of Life facility will be built with private funds, Crocker said. The building will become property of the Dickerson Park Zoo once it is built.

In December, the project received only one bid, so it was re-submitted on Feb. 2, 1999. The state sent notification to zoo officials Feb. 16 stating that prevailing wage laws had been violated.

According to its petition, the state determined that the building would become part of the Dickerson Park Zoo once it is built, and that the Dickerson Park Zoo is a "public body" owned by the city of Springfield and administered by the Springfield-Greene County Park Board.

"The Friends of the Zoo is constructing this project on behalf of Dickerson Park Zoo, a public body," the petition states.

Crocker said the procedure the zoo followed during the bidding process for the Diversity of Life building is the same one zoo officials have always followed.

"This is the way we've always done it. The Friends of the Zoo uses private money, and so those jobs are not bid as prevailing wage jobs. We have some projects that are funded with public money and some that are a mix, and if there is ever public money involved, we bid it as prevailing wage. The court ruling on this case just affirmed what we've always believed," Crocker said.

The Missouri prevailing wage laws provide that all workers employed by or on behalf of any public body to build public works be paid at least the prevailing hourly rate of wages in the area, according to the state's petition.

Danny Hyde, business representative with the Carpenters' Union, Local 978, said the prevailing-wage laws were enacted originally to protect contractors and workers.

"They are to protect against a contractor coming in and paying less than the area's standards. If a contractor wanted to come in to Springfield from Arkansas or Oklahoma and pay $6 an hour, well, that wouldn't meet the prevailing wage in Greene County, for example," Hyde said.

The state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations has the authority to inquire as to violations of the prevailing wage laws, and enforce them by issuing notices of violation. If no response is received, file a suit, as in the Friends of the Zoo case.

The Diversity of Life building is the first project of its size in more than three years at the zoo, Crocker said. The building will be approximately 2,800 square feet and will replace the old reptile house that closed because of safety concerns two years ago, he added.

"The reptile exhibits have always been popular with the zoo patrons, and we just haven't had anywhere for them for the past couple of years," Crocker said.

Hatfield said the appeal of Burrell's decision will provide the state needed guidance in determining the line between public and private building projects. This Springfield case could become an example for the division, to use in determining whether other jobs across the state should pay prevailing wage.

"The division needs more guidance on determining at what point something becomes public works. They feel they need an appellate decision to clarify that for them," Hatfield said.