Could water damage, mold, delay Hamilton Avenue school opening?

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Could water damage, mold, delay Hamilton Avenue school

opening?

Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008

Greenwich Post - Greenwich,CT*

http://www.acorn-online.com/joomla15/index.php?

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Due to ongoing problems with chimneys, water damage has been

discovered inside the new Hamilton Avenue School after heavy rains

last weekend, and one parent is questioning the discovery of

possible mold growth inside the basement.

As part of the construction, a segment of the original school

facade, facing Hamilton Avenue, was retained. That room, in the

basement, which is part of the original building, appears to have

green and white fuzz growing on it and a musty smell permeating the

room. The Post was first informed about the situation through

pictures sent by a parent to this office Wednesday. A visit to the

site by this staff confirmed those conditions Thursday morning.

When first questioned about the conditions, Mazza, chairman of

the building committee, denied any problem, attributing the green

color to paint. " This isn't mold, " Mr. Mazza said, adding that he

hadn't seen any alleged mold. " We don't have any indication at all

that this is mold. "

Wednesday night, Board of Education member Bodson released

an e-mail to parents and members of the building committee that the

committee is arranging to have the firm Hygenix, which has done

previous mold testing for the district, come to the site to examine

the possible mold and test it.

When reached for comment on Thursday, Board of Education Chairwoman

Weissler referred all questions to the building committee.

The construction project is two years behind schedule and it is

unclear when the school will be ready for students. The town

building department has not issued a Temporary Certificate of

Occupancy (TCO) for the building and the district administration has

estimated that close to a month will be needed after the TCO is

granted for everything to be ready for student occupancy.

Mold has been an ongoing problem for the students at Hamilton Avenue

for years. The original building, which suffered through leaks and

dilapidation for years, had mold in it several times before the

building was demolished and construction began in 2005. Then this

past March, mold was discovered in the modular classrooms the

Hamilton Avenue students had been using. Several students and

parents have reported health problems they attribute to exposure to

the mold.

It is unknown at this time whether mold in the basement, an area not

occupied by children, could cause more delays in students occupying

the building or in the district getting the desired TCO.

Ceiling tiles

What is clear, is that the significant rainfall last weekend damaged

ceiling tiles in three of the classrooms. At issue are the school's

three chimneys, which remain uncapped. The ceiling tiles in the

classrooms on the second floor directly below the chimneys have all

sustained damage and in two of the classrooms the tiles fell and

there are now holes inside the ceiling. On observation from the

Post, the fallen tiles show visible water damage and in the third

classroom, the paint on the wall also shows water damage.

In an interview with the Post on Wednesday, ph Pontoriero,

president of Worth Construction, said that the chimneys were never

part of the company's contract with the building committee. He said

that when the committee asked the company to address the problem it

gave the committee a cost estimate of $50,000, which was rejected

for being too high. Mr. Pontoriero said Worth is now waiting for the

other company to do the work.

" We are being nickel and dimed here, " Mr. Pontoriero said, adding

that his company has been painted as the villain while the building

committee has fought his company over change orders and costs. " They

seem to want the work done for free almost. It's crazy. "

Mr. Pontoriero told the Post that his workers have not been paid

because of haggling with the building committee and that the company

had been paying out of pocket for the construction to continue.

Mr. Mazza rejected Worth's contentions, but said he didn't want to

fight the matter out in the newspaper.

" I'm not going to getting into an argument about this, " Mr. Mazza

told the Post. " The chimney caps are in the plans. "

In a presentation to the Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET) on

Monday night, Mr. Mazza said that Worth was refusing to cap the

chimneys and do other work on them and that the committee had been

forced to seek out another firm to do the work. He said the

committee would take the cost for the work out of the money it would

pay to Worth. Mr. Mazza was aware of the weekend damage and,

according to Assistant Superintendent of Schools Wallerstein,

showed it as part of a public tour of the facility on Tuesday after

this week's building committee meeting.

In the e-mail to parents on Wednesday night, Mr. Bodson, who is also

on the building committee, assured them that the board would not

accept the building for occupancy if were lingering doubts about

water damage or mold and said the committee wanted the building

done, but would not " cut corners. "

Mr. Bodson, in his e-mail to parents, questioned why Worth had not

informed the town of a mold condition or water damage if one such

exists, and questioned why the company would not take preventative

steps, despite disputes over the chimney.

" I am baffled by Worth's behavior, " Mr. Bodson said. " They are

responsible for the construction site. "

When asked if the water damage could be repaired, Mr. Pontoriero

said it is " entirely fixable, " but added that his company is not

authorized to do work on that aspect of the building. He would not

comment on any possible mold in the building because he said he had

not seen it.

Mr. Pontoriero expressed sympathy for the Hamilton Avenue community

about the ongoing issues.

" The bottom line is, we want this project to be complete just as

badly as these parents do, " Mr. Pontoriero said. " The kids are the

ones suffering here and that's not right. "

For continued coverage, read next Thursday's Post or check back at

Greenwich-post.com.

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