The man whose opinions were the basis for an inquiry into the Scarborough High School construction project still believes there are some serious problems at the facility.

Bruce Brown, a former clerk of the works at the project, described the work site as an “insane asylum.” He is not persuaded by statements from the builders that the facility is fine and said residents should be concerned about the building’s long-term performance.

As a clerk of the works, Brown was employed by the project’s architect, Harriman Associates. Brown said he was fired from his position last December. Harriman Principal Rob Klinedinst said the company could not comment on why Brown left.

Brown described his main duty as “quality control.”

“I was to ensure that the construction was done according to all construction documents,” he said.

It is Brown’s work since leaving the project that has generated the most discussion. He provided hundreds of photographs and pages of e-mails and other documents to Town Councilors Robert Patch and Jeffrey Messer that led to Messer’s vocal objections to the quality of the project in the spring.

Those objections were followed by hundreds of pages of rebuttals from Harriman and Pizzagalli Construction, the project’s general contractor, saying the problems were either repaired or reviewed by a third party and determined not to be a problem.

An independent engineering report released in September indicated that some problems may exist with the building and urged the town, Harriman and Pizzagalli to consider purchasing a long-term insurance policy to guard against potential future problems with the building. The firm preparing the report spoke with Brown about at least one possible problem.

‘Career on the line’

Messer still believes there are problems with the building, and said he double-checked Brown’s information with others knowledgeable in the construction industry. He said Brown’s actions have been courageous and he has taken a risk in coming forward with his concerns.

“Bruce Brown is a hero in my mind,” Messer said. “He put his own career on the line to enable Councilor Patch and I to bring these issues forward,” Messer said.

Kevin Freeman of Pizzagalli Construction said all of the issues were raised after Brown left, and said each one has been addressed.

“When viewed in the light of day it all goes away,” Freeman said. “In truth that is a quality project sitting there.”

Brown disagrees and said that it is in the companies’ best interests to say the project is moving ahead without any problems so they will be able to build the next Scarborough school and other large projects in the area.

He said he has more than 40 years of experience and membership in numerous construction-related organizations, including BOCA Codes International and the American Concrete Institute. “I take my profession very seriously,” he said.

“Harriman and Pizzagalli said everything is fine. What else would they say, they want more money,” Brown said.

Harriman Associates is working on developing preliminary plans for a middle school addition and rebuilding Wentworth Intermediate School, a package that is estimated to cost between $40 million and $54 million. Freeman said his company is working to complete the high school project.

Causing problems?

Brown claimed he was fired because he insisted on building the school based on the construction plans, which he said was not happening.

“I wasn’t a team player,” he said.

Scarborough School District Facilities Manager Norm Justice, who is the school district’s owner’s representative for the project, said Brown was not proactive in fixing issues that he raised.

“Obviously there’s a reason why he’s not on the project,” Justice said. “He wasn’t a good communicator at all.”

While Brown acted as the eyes and ears of the architects on the job site, he was not supposed to speak for the architects, Justice said. At one meeting, however, Brown may have tried to, in a discussion about some cracks discovered in the foundation.

A structural engineer determined the cracks would not be a problem while Brown contended they would cause long-term problems. “Bruce wasn’t qualified as an engineer to make that determination,” Justice said.

Freeman said while he had no control over Brown, the project went better after he left. Freeman said the situation with Brown was far more confrontational than on most jobs he has worked on.

Today Brown is again back on the job, but did not want his current employer or project identified for fear of being fired.

Until now Brown has preferred to remain outside of the fray, but decided to break his silence after getting copies of the review by C and C Consulting regarding the high school project. C and C was hired by the town of Scarborough at the request of the Code Enforcement Department to review specific areas of the project.

Brown said Harriman Associates and Pizzagalli Construction were selective in the information they provided to C and C. Brown, who was mentioned in the report, said he would be happy to visit C and C at its Massachusetts headquarters and review his information.

“That’s the stuff C and C wasn’t told,” he said.

Not enough information

He is especially upset at what he said are misleading and inaccurate responses by Harriman Associates and Pizzagalli Construction to the issues raised in the report, such as some of the anchor bolts, which Brown said have been improperly placed and damaged during construction. The bolts are found at the base of steel columns, holding the columns in place.

Brown said the bolts are important and help keep the building upright. He wondered why Harriman Associates did not provide any information to C and C regarding one bolt it inspected, instead referring the company to its previous response to a question from Messer.

“Why not answer them,” Brown asked.

In their response to the C and C report, the builders said they disagreed with the findings and said an outside party had inspected the bolts in question and deemed each one acceptable.

Brown asked why C and C did not get a copy of that inspection report, saying the report had never been done.

“They didn’t do it,” he said. “Where’s the documentation?”

Town officials learned last week that the C and C report was a draft. The builders are now in the process of providing more information to C and C for inclusion in the final report. One such document that will be sent is the report regarding that bolt, Justice said.

In the draft’s conclusion C and C stated it would not speculate on the strength of the bent anchor bolts it reviewed, but added that if the bending caused them to weaken it could affect the performance of the bolts over the lifetime of the structure.

Brown also said he found some cracks in one of the foundation walls. The C and C report could not provide a definitive answer regarding the cracks because they have been covered up during construction.

Brown maintains that the cracks are large enough to fit a pencil tip in and will eventually cause the foundation to deteriorate earlier than it should. C and C asked the builders for the measurements of each crack, which Harriman has said were not recorded.

Justice, who said the cracks are much smaller than Brown has claimed, wondered why C and C contacted Brown for information when two engineers from the state reviewed the foundation and determined there was no problem, as did Scarborough Code Enforcement Officer Carroll Shepard.

Both Pizzagalli and Harriman Associates have said in previous reports that the foundation cracks had been reviewed and found acceptable.

Bruce Brown sits in his office. Brown has collected nearly 1000 photographs detailing what he says are problems with the Scarborough high school construction project.