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| May 05, 2024 |
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General News: Engineer Finds Problems in DPW Building
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| The DPW building on Shore Road is under scrutiny for structural problems. |
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| The DPW records are being stored in this temporary trailer. |
April 27, 2010
An engineer’s report on the department of public works building in Cornwall-on-Hudson has been completed and village mayor Joseph Gross presented the findings Tuesday morning at village hall, where he said that the evacuation of the building in February was justified by the structural problems found by the engineers.
The 16-page report was prepared by the Tectonic engineering firm after an onsite inspection earlier this month at a cost of $12,000. It identified problems with the weight-bearing capacity of the foundation in some areas and problems with the header beams. It also noted that settling of the foundation, while not yet evident, could be expected to occur because of the soil conditions. The report recommends reinforcing the building’s structural system, including its foundation, and calls for a fire separation barrier between two parts of the building.
Mayor Stresses His Concern for Workers’ Safety
Mayor Gross told a group of supporters at the meeting that the situation at the DPW building has consumed his time and energy for weeks and he stressed his concern about the well-being of DPW and water department employees who have been displaced for two months.
Mayor Criticizes His Fellow Trustees
He also lambasted three of his fellow board members – Mark Edsall, James Kane and Doug Vatter -- for voting last week to replace the village attorney and asking for the resignation of the building inspector, Bruce Yancewicz. “The three trustees have effectively brought the business of the village to a grinding halt,” he read from a prepared letter.
Trustee Vatter rejected the mayor’s charge that the board’s action froze village business. “Joe is the one who stopped it,” he said in an interview. “We have given options relative to the building inspector and he has refused all of them and refused to use town resources. “
Building Inspector’s Actions at Core of Disagreement
In his letter, mayor Gross also charged that trustees Edsall and Vatter “ruthlessly tried to force Mr. Yancewicz to give the DPW garage a temporary certificate of occupancy. To his credit and for the safety of our employees, he endured the humiliation and stood by his decision.”
Vatter also denied trying to force Yancewicz to issue a temporary certificate of occupancy but said that he questioned him about the possibility, then dropped the idea.
Mayor Says Board Is Trying to Strip Him of Legal Counsel
Mayor Gross criticized an attempt by trustee James Kane to set up an arrangement with the town of Cornwall to provide code enforcement services to the villages and he criticized the vote to hire the town’s attorney on a temporary basis until a permanent law firm could be found to represent the village. “It is a deliberate attempt to cover up the mistakes of the past,” Gross said in his letter.
Mayor Says Fixing the DPW Will Be Costly
Trustee Vatter questions why the mayor doesn’t go ahead and sign a contract with the town attorney, rather than put things on hold. In a letter, he also takes aim at the decision by mayor Gross to evacuate the DPW building when there was no imminent danger there.
Mayor Gross disagrees, calling the building “a piece of junk” that is not fit for occupancy. He also says the village must now figure out how to fix the structural problems the engineers found and at a cost to the village that may be enormous, a figure Gross predicts could run as high as several hundred thousand dollars.
Read Mayor Joseph Gross's letter here.
Read Trustee Doug Vatter's letter here.
Comments:
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I would like to thank Joe Gross for acting on the behalf of the community he represents. Mark Edsall, James Kane and Doug Vatter should try this for a change.
Mark Edsall, James Kane and Doug Vatter are not fooling anyone. You are clearly attempting to cover up Moulton and Prodders follies. Once the audit of the entire process of the DPW building is available I am sure crimainal charges will be filed.
posted by Jonathan Dunaief on 04/28/10 at 9:46 AM
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I just read the report I would be very careful proceeding with a CO it would put the village in a liable circumstance if one were written but that is my unbiased take on the situation also an electrical inspection should take place. Also I believe Bruce yankavick (Im sure I misspelled the name) should be brought back to conduct this case he is an unbiased official and that is what we need around here right now
posted by J Buescher on 04/28/10 at 1:23 PM
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And Jon I don't believe it was criminal if anything I think someone owes us some money
posted by J Buescher on 04/28/10 at 1:26 PM
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What we have on Shore Road is, quite simply, a "rogue building," one apparently commissioned, designed and built completely off the books. The Tectonic report is a veritable catalog of design and construction defects, several of which, like the fire code violations, directly affect the safety of Village employees and indeed anyone entering the building.
It's obvious that many of the problems already identified will be extremely expensive to remedy. And we haven't even begun to learn about what's literally below the surface, because neither the composition nor the chemistry of the soils has yet been studied. Yet virtually all of these problems, both known and unknown, would never have arisen had those in control of the project had to do or done what any one of the rest of us would have been required to do had it been our project: namely, comply with the applicable requirements for sound design, construction and inspection. And now we're stuck with the nightmare which happens when you don't fix design problems before you build.
To say this didn't have to happen is an understatement of vast proportion. It's not like we're dealing with amateurs here. To the contrary, everybody involved with this building project was trusted by residents, among other reasons precisely because they should have known better.
What we need now is a comprehensive and independent investigation of not only what we have but, even more importantly, how this could have happened. The soils work needs to be finished. A prompt, full and completely independent legal analysis needs to be done as promptly as possible in order to assess what recourse the Village may have for this debacle.
This project was plenty expensive, even considering what the Village THOUGHT it was spending; no Village resident ought to be asked to contribute another dime to it before those responsible have been held fully to account for their roles in it.
posted by Jon Chase on 04/29/10 at 1:49 PM
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