A half-million-dollar mistake leaves an Iowa City group skeptical of future financial flubs.When the Old Capitol dome burned last month, an Iowa City advisory board was formed to oversee local construction projects. Now the group has an immediate, non-dome issue. A contractor’s typographical error in Iowa City public-library renovation documents has prompted calls for tighter regulation of city projects. Iowa City’s Knutsen Construction Company typed in 59-thousand…but should have entered 590-thousand, on a city document as the price tag for cabinetry upgrades. According to case law, the board members cannot charge Knutsen the 500-thousand-dollar difference. They say library board members should make Knutsen pay. The flaw showed up on a part of the company’s successful bid to become the general contractor for the 18-million-dollar library expansion project.
