Most of Bonfire Investigation Money Spent on Coordinating Company

Almost half of the $1 million allocated for the investigation into the deadly 1999 Bonfire collapse is expected to be spent on the company coordinating the inquiry.<br><br>About $450,000 has been earmarked

Tuesday, February 8th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Almost half of the $1 million allocated for the investigation into the deadly 1999 Bonfire collapse is expected to be spent on the company coordinating the inquiry.

About $450,000 has been earmarked for Kroll Associates of New York, consultants with a worldwide reputation in crisis investigations. Among their duties include assisting in interviewing more than 250 people, and managing thousands of documents.

Another $370,000 is tied to engineering costs expected to be spent by two companies of the team of four firms working in tandem to complete the inquiry by March 31.

The overall investigation is about 20 percent complete, according to officials.

Eleven Texas A&M University students and one former student were killed when the 59-foot stack of logs crashed to the ground early Nov. 18, 1999.

Another 27 students were injured, including John Comstock, a freshman from Richardson, who is the lone student still hospitalized. He remained in serious condition late Monday at the College Station Medical Center. Kent Lietzau, one of two chiefs of staff aiding the Special Commission on the 1999 Aggie Bonfire, said Monday that the commission should be prepared to request additional funds from the university because the $1 million amount probably will be inadequate.

â€œThe budgets for each team were based on the bare essentials,â€ Lietzau said. â€œWhether more funds will be needed is dependent upon several factors, including on what the teams find out in the next few weeks and on the testing situation.â€

Lietzau cautioned that meeting the March 31 deadline will be difficult, but that the teams are moving aggressively toward that goal. He said the deadline could be extended for several reasons, including that more people need to be interviewed or that an unexpected problem pops up with the engineering analysis.

A&M officials said no public funds from A&Mâ€™s $700 million budget are being used to pay for the five-member independent commission investigating the accident.

The inquiry will be paid for from an A&M reserve fund, which has held up to $20 million at times. The unrestricted investment income fund is created from dollars gained through concessions and auxiliary funds, such as gifts received by the university or book store profits, which are put in an interest-bearing account.

Two engineering firms hired to investigate the collapse account for more than one-third of the $1 million allotted so far. The budget calls for Packer Engineering of Naperville, Ill., to receive at least $220,000 and Fay Engineering of Denver, Colo., to receive $150,000.

Another $150,000 has been earmarked for California-based Performance Improvement International, a firm which will examine whether individuals or supervisors made mistakes in building the stack.

The remaining $30,000 has been allocated for expenses from McKinsey &
Co., a worldwide management consulting firm providing pro bono assistance to the commission. Lietzau, who normally is based in McKinseyâ€™s Dallas office, currently works out of College Station along with Jon Zagrodzky of Houston. Both are chiefs of staff to the commission.

Contracts with each consultant are being signed this week, according to commission officials, who said the university plans to quickly pay the bills incurred so far.