Published: July 19, 2007 11:56 am      

Substandard roof work, illegal aliens alleged at Mt. Ridge

AuMiller has until Wednesday to respond to state's concerns

CUMBERLAND - A local union official who says Mountain Ridge High School's roof was constructed by illegal aliens performing substandard work may soon have his concerns addressed.

David Lever, executive director of the State Public School Construction Program, asked Allegany County Superintendent of Schools Bill AuMiller to provide information regarding Mike Adams' allegations by Wednesday, so a meeting can be scheduled with Adams and other parties.

In a letter to Delegate Kevin Kelly, Adams, business agent of Sheet Metal Workers Local 100, wrote about several alleged improprieties associated with the new high school's roof.

"Mr. Adams brought to my attention three very serious allegations - specifically, quality of construction concerns, procurement improprieties and the extensive utilization of undocumented, illegal workers on the project," said Kelly.

"Since I cannot confirm the legitimacy of Mr. Adams' allegations, I submitted his concerns to the appropriate offices and departments of state government for thorough investigation and response," said Kelly. "This project utilizes $40 million of taxpayer monies, and this fact in and of itself necessitates the comprehensive examination of Mr. Adams' concerns."

In his letter, Adams states that Brothers Services and Tito's Roofing of Baltimore performed substandard workmanship, which does not adhere to the Architectural Sheet Metal Manual and Inspection Guide. The guide is accepted nationally by architects and engineers, according to Adams.

"In my numerous years of experience of the installation of architectural sheet metal, I have never seen work of this caliber deemed as acceptable," wrote Adams.

Adams said he is concerned with the quality because when a school roof leaks, the taxpayers are the ones responsible for funding repairs.

While Adams is not pleased with the quality of the roof or the legitimacy of the workers, he is primarily concerned with how the bidding process was conducted.

"My major concern is local companies may have been awarded the job if the specification package had not been changed after the bids were awarded," said Adams on Tuesday. "I think the local companies would have been competitive."

In addition, Adams claimed that taxes and fringe benefits were not taken out of the workers' pay and that the contractor did not comply with state prevailing wage laws.

"It's easy to be competitive when you're not paying taxes or fringe benefits," said Adams, who claims that 95 percent of the roofers were Hispanic.

In response to Adams' letter, Kelly sent letters requesting that representatives from a variety of departments meet with Adams to explore his allegations.

The State Superintendent of Schools' office, Governor's Office, Maryland Attorney General's Office, Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation, and Maryland Department of General Services are among the recipients of Kelly's letter.

After Kelly apprised Lever of the situation, Lever asked AuMiller to provide information concerning changes to the roof specifications after award of the contract and alleged violations of labor regulations and laws.

AuMiller said that the board's director of facilities, Vince Montana, is in the process of answering the questions that do not involve opinions by Wednesday, said to the board's public relations specialist, Mia Perlozzo.

Adams said he is looking forward to a meeting.

"I know they can't reverse what is done - what I would like to see come out of this is for it not to happen again," said Adams. "I just hope they will not go this route in the future."

Jennifer Raley can be reached at jraley@times-news.com.