[StBernard] Criminal probe targets unsafe La. fire station construction

[Westley Annis]

Criminal probe targets unsafe La. fire station construction
By Chris Kirkham
Times-Picayune

CHALMETTE, La. - The Louisiana attorney general's office has initiated a
criminal investigation into construction at an unfinished fire station in
Chalmette that is being rebuilt with federal dollars.

The St. Bernard Parish Council met behind closed doors Wednesday to discuss
the construction issues at Fire Station #5, which is being built by
contractor JaRoy Construction of Kenner. JaRoy has another contract to build
Fire Station #8 at the lower end of the parish.

 
"We have a site where there were some very significant problems that involve
the potential health and safety of our first responders," Assistant Attorney
General David Caldwell said.

Caldwell declined to go into specifics on what was uncovered at the site,
but Parish President Craig Taffaro and Councilman Wayne Landry said the
issues revolve around insufficient pilings driven into the ground to support
the building's foundation.

Taffaro said officials with the attorney general's office have begun meeting
with parish employees to discuss the contract. Architects and inspectors on
the project informed the parish of the potential problems, Taffaro said, and
the entire foundation was removed to reveal a missing piling and several
pilings that didn't meet the project specifications and "could compromise
the integrity of the building."

"We were able to catch it early (and) correct it," Taffaro said. "Lord knows
what would have happened if the building would have been constructed and
then we would have gotten this information."

Jan Buras, the owner of JaRoy Construction, did not return a call Wednesday
afternoon seeking comment. An attorney for JaRoy, Sonny Shields, said the
contractor "has done everything that the parish has requested it to do -
complete compliance."

Shields was unaware of exactly what criminal charges the attorney general's
office may be pursuing.

The Parish Council originally convened Wednesday to discuss "an immediate
cease and desist order" for JaRoy Construction and to nullify an agreement
signed by Taffaro and the contractor June 23 that dealt with removal of the
slab and pilings.

A clause in that agreement said that the parish and JaRoy Construction "will
begin with a clean slate upon the execution of this agreement." The
agreement was drafted by an attorney for JaRoy.

The council was originally going to discuss the matter in open session, but
council members decided to move the discussions behind closed doors. The
meeting went on for about an hour, and representatives of JaRoy at one point
walked into the conference room where the council was deliberating.

In the end, the council chose to seek outside legal counsel to determine how
to proceed, given the attorney general's investigation. The council delayed
a decision on whether to issue a stop-work order.

JaRoy is still the contractor, and the parish has a resident inspector on
the site of both fire stations to ensure the work is done appropriately. The
completion date for Fire Station #5 has been pushed back from the end of
2009 to January 2010.

"We need to proceed in such a way that we do nothing to delay the building
of these fire stations," Landry said. "I feel like we are responsible for
the people's money, and the people are all the taxpayers not just in the
parish, but in the nation."