the denver post B denverpost.com B sunday, november 20, 2011
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many significant design errors noticing these errors?” Online extras. See some of the key documents and correspondence used in the reporting of this story. »denverpost.com/extras
Meeker school board members, from left, Bill deVergie, Mindy Burke, Iris Franklin and president Mary Strang listen to John Mechling, a consultant with geotechnical engineering firm CTL Thompson, during a meeting in October. Earlier this month, Strang was voted off the board after two decades of service. Ed Coryell, not pictured, also was ousted. Photos by Craig F. Walker, The Denver Post
Projects under review Neenan Co. built six new schools and and made improvements to nine other schools with $150 million from a state school building fund. The Colorado Department of Education has now asked Neenan to conduct a third-party review of those projects.
Weldon Valley Elementary, Junior High School
CRAIG
Academy High Mapleton Expeditionary School School
GLENWOOD SPRINGS
Mapleton Early College High School
GRAND JUNCTION
CORTEZ
MERINO
70
Miami/Yoder Elementary, Junior High School
COLORADO SPRINGS
Sargent Senior High School
76
Akron AKRON Elementary and North Valley High School DENVER School For Young
Clayton Partnership School 70
Merino Junior Senior High School
Bill Metz Elementary School
PUEBLO LAMAR
25
Sargent Elementary School Monte Vista Senior High School
Alamosa Elementary School (2 schools)
COLORADO
Jim West of Vanir Construction Management Inc. listens at the Meeker school board meeting in October. The district hired West as an owner’s representative to oversee the construction of the elementary school. West had worked previously with Neenan on school projects, a tie that bothered at least one school board member at the time.
The Denver Post
Myers said the incorrect design documents for Meeker would not have been used on other projects because each is unique. “I don’t believe there are other comparable issues, but we will dig into the nitty-gritty,” he said. As a result of the problems in Meeker, Neenan school projects that have received money through the state’s Building Excellent Schools Today competitive grant program also are under scrutiny. Ted Hughes, who oversees the program for the Colorado Department of Education, told The Post he requested that Neenan conduct a third-party peer review of structural engineering for Neenan BEST projects in eight school districts. Records show $150 million in BEST money went to the projects, which included six new schools and improvements to nine existing school buildings. Neenan has agreed to the review and expects it to be finished by February, Myers said. The company has made other reforms in an attempt to avoid problems on future projects. Myers said Neenan has begun third-party reviews of its structural engineering, at a cost of about $15,000 per project. Neenan has a reputation for fixing problems, according to clients, and Myers said the company has never been to court. Yet Neenan is at the center of a pending lawsuit Larimer County commissioners filed against 11 businesses involved in a major building project at The Ranch, the county fairgrounds complex in Loveland. After a building sustained extensive damage during a 2006 winter storm, an insurance claim led to the discovery of alleged defects in the roof design and other work. Neenan did not design the buildings but was responsible as construction contractor to make sure the project met contract standards, according to the lawsuit. Myers said Neenan has taken responsibility and wants to make the fixes, and the parties are in mediation. In addition, at least two other rural Colorado schools designed and built by Neenan have experienced problems: B In Kremmling, a gymnasium roof on a new $11.5 million preschool through eighth-grade school lifted 3 or 4 inches during an April 2008 windstorm, the school district said. Neenan repaired the roof that summer at no
cost, and a settlement was reached after Neenan sued a subcontractor to recoup the cost, Neenan said. B While an $18 million elementary school in Craig was under construction in 2009, a Neenan supervisor noticed a deflection in a beam supporting a second floor. An independent review pinpointed a drawing error by a structural engineer hired as a subcontractor. Neenan paid for repairs. Peter Bergmann, superintendent of the Moffat County School District at the time of the Craig project, said the district was very happy with Neenan on the whole. “Whenever you have a construction project like we had going, with millions of dollars, there are going to be glitches you have to work through,” he said. Bergmann said he had no reason to believe the school has serious structural deficiencies. But, he added, “There is no way to really tell, from my standpoint.”
Errors and gaps in records The error in occupancy code on the Meeker school — visible in blueprints Neenan submitted to the state — should have been caught in the initial plan review, said Jon Weir, lead plans examiner for the Colorado Division of Fire Safety. The agency oversees school construction reviews and inspections. “How that happened, I don’t know,” Weir said. “We religiously check this information be-
cause it’s critical to the design of the building.” Plan reviewers are expected to make sure that permit applications are signed and complete, that snow-load designs for roofs are adequate, and that building exits are where they are supposed to be, among other things. Weir said plan reviewers are not engineers and are not expected to judge designs submitted by structural engineers. But he said reviewers are responsible for checking whether engineers submit correct occupancy codes — which range from 1 for agricultural and storage buildings to 4 for hospitals and jails. The plan reviewer on the Meeker school project, identified in public records as Benito Serrato, was working for the state Division of Oil and Public Safety at the time. The division was then responsible for enforcing building codes on school projects, while the Division of Fire Safety oversaw fire codes. Serrato moved to Fire Safety when that division took over all aspects of reviewing school projects. State records show Fire Safety Division director Kevin Klein tried to fire Serrato for reasons unrelated to the Meeker project. Klein sent a dismissal letter in October 2010 that accused Serrato of falsifying an inspection report and twice scheduling fictitious inspections. Serrato appealed, denied any official misconduct and asked to resign instead. Klein would only say the plan reviewer on the Meeker school resigned, citing a confidentiality agreeNeenan representative Bob Meserve, right, listens to consultant John Mechling of the engineering firm CTL Thompson during the October school board meeting in Meeker. Discussion focused on evaluating the soil around the elementary school that opened in fall 2010 and was then closed because of serious structural issues.
ment in a settlement. Serrato told The Post he doesn’t remember seeing anything indicating that the Meeker school had been designed to the standards of a low-occupancy building. Serrato said he relied on Howell’s stamp that the building was designed properly, and that the state agency does not employ anyone who could challenge the expertise of a licensed structural engineer. “They put their stamp on it saying everything’s fine,” he said. “The stamp shows a certain level of experience.” Klein said the division is reviewing other Neenan school projects. However, he said the division was able to obtain records for fewer than 20 of Neenan’s projects in Colorado because the state does not have complete records. He said if a pattern emerges, the division will seek records on additional projects from school districts. Bob Hunnes, a Boulder structural engineer whom Studer consulted before airing his concerns about the integrity of the Meeker school, said broader questions about oversight should be asked. “No one seems to be paying attention to the larger story behind the immediate issue of the school closure,” he said. “How did a school project with so many significant design errors get through the state’s plan review process without anyone noticing these errors?” As recently as 2007, just one person handled plan reviews and inspections for the entire state, and “it wasn’t getting done,” Klein said. A state audit that year faulted the Division of Oil and Public Safety’s oversight and identified items missed on school inspections, including building plans that lacked required sprinkler systems, fire walls or appropriate exits. At the time, about 150 construction plans a year were being submitted to the state. The state beefed up its oversight in response, first with temporary workers, then permanent employees. Since 2010, oversight of school construction has rested solely with Fire Safety, and 13 staffers conduct plan reviews and inspections, Klein said. The division does not have the workload to justify a full-time structural engineer, Klein said. But last month, it started using a consulting engineer for complex school construction projects to ensure code compliance, he said. “We take this very seriously,” Klein said. “The most important thing we are all about here is life safety. We have made a lot of improvements as a state about how we do inspection and construction.”
Meeker school fixes on hold The state has signed off on repairs that will allow the Meeker grade school to reopen. But the project is on hold while the district conducts a fourth geotechnical report about soils at the site. If the report raises additional alarms, it’s uncertain what that might mean for repairing the school — and who would pay for it. Neenan’s Myers said, “Soils issues are a different issue … . We agreed to build the building in accordance to the client’s soils report.” Others question how the community can trust Neenan and West — the owner’s representative — to finish the job. In agreeing to cover costs associated with its mistake, Neenan is now, in effect, paying West, whose contract was extended. So far, the company has reimbursed the district about $23,000 for West’s labor and expenses. “Let me get this straight,” said Thomas Kennedy, a father of three elementary school students. “We end up with the exact same team that screwed up the project the first time, right down to the person who is supposed to be overseeing the project, who is supposed to be watching out for the board but is being paid by Neenan. You’ve got to be kidding me, guys. This is a conflict, no matter how you cut it.” West said Neenan reimbursing the district for his work does not pose a conflict. “It’s important to recognize my agreement and, consequently, my allegiances are to the school district,” he said. Goettel praised West, crediting him for saving the district money. The district, she pointed out, has hired several outside firms to review work on the troubled school. “Hindsight is wonderful,” Goettel said. “It’s a luxury. I think it’s very unfortunate, the situation we’re in. But I’m confident we’re moving forward to get this rectified correctly with the safety of students and staff at the forefront. Our goal is to have a building that stands for 50 years.” Eric Gorski: 303-954-1971, egorski@denverpost.com or twitter.com/egorski David Olinger: 303-954-1498 or dolinger@denverpost.com