At the same time, county comptroller Martha Haynie confirms she is looking for a national construction consultant to do a year-long audit on the project, one of the costliest commercial public ventures in county annals. Haynie didn't disclose the estimated fee the county would pay the consultant.

GlobeSt.com reported the audit was being considered in a June 22 article.

Orange County chairman Rich Crotty is paying prominent Orlando lawyer Egerton van den Berg $48,000 to do a 90-day investigation on the convention center's progress to date. That is the newest element in a scenario that may show more smoke than fire, even critics of the expensive project tell GlobeSt.com on condition of anonymity.