Madison — The recent huge protests at the Capitol did an estimated $270,000 in wear and tear to the building - less than 4% of an early damage estimate given by Gov. Scott Walker's administration.
Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch, Walker's top cabinet aide, announced the new estimate Friday, deflating the
early guess of $7.5 million in damage hazarded by the GOP governor's administration on March 3.
The issue of damage to the Capitol turned controversial that day after a Department of Administration official claimed in Dane County court that protesters had done an estimated $7.5 million in damage to the building. But by the next day, the Walker administration was backpedaling furiously from that claim and acknowledging it had little to back it up.
On Friday, Huebsch defended the decision to release what turned out to be a vastly inflated cost estimate in court, saying DOA staff had done their best to give their best guess in a chaotic environment.
"I don't necessarily think it was a mistake . . . the DOA staff responded in the best way that they could," Huebsch said.
Democrats scoffed at the estimates.
"Not close and no cigar," said Rep. Brett Hulsey (D-Madison).
The estimates released Friday on the damage done to the state Capitol were done at a cost of $13,800 by Charles Quagliana, a historic preservation architect.
In his
six-page report, Quagliana said that the massive crowds had essentially accelerated normal wear and tear on the building through unintended damage such as nicks and chips to stone as well as stains to stone from the skin oils from brushing hands, residues from tape used to hang signs, and a few isolated marker stains. The Capitol lawn and a few shrubs also need work after being trod on by the massive crowds.
"Essentially the building experienced three to five years of wear within a two-week period," Quagliana writes in his report.
Quagliana writes that the nicks to stone corners could be caused by briefcases, carts or wheelchairs and that he focused on chips with a "fresh light color."
"I cannot with absolute certainty attribute these nicks and chips to any particular event or exact time frame, but I can say they are recent, within the last few months, as they have not become dirty," he says in the report.
Huebsch said he believed the damage by demonstrators, though still costly, was innocent and unintended.
"It could have been much worse," he said.
Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) questioned whether even Quagliana's more limited damage estimate was overstated.
"It's ridiculous. It's marble," Erpenbach said. "If they're looking at three to five years of wear and tear, it must be in dog years."