Just Another Brick In The Wall

Questions were raised last week regarding the possible theft of building materials,particularly bricks, from the renovation project at Jefferson County High School. Jefferson County Mayor Palmieri was informed of the possible theft of bricks via a citizen who was at Jefferson County High School and witnessed bricks being loaded into a truck. The citizen confronted the individual, who was later identified as a roofer on the renovation project, regarding the removal of the bricks and expressed his concern that the bricks were being improperly removed. In an effort to document the situation, the citizens also took pictures that were later brought to the attention of Mayor Palmieri.

At the request of Mayor Palmieri, an investigation was conducted to determine if, in fact, theft of building material at the Jefferson County High School had occurred. Jefferson County Sheriff McCoig was also informed of the incident.

On Friday afternoon, May 1, 2015, Jefferson County Schools Director of Facilities and Business Affairs, Michael Phagan, responded to the call for an inquiry with information from the investigation. According to Phagan, the brick mason, Tom Brunton Masonry, Inc, had less than a cube of non matching brick that were left over from his portion of the project, which is complete. The bricks in question were stored in front of the building and that location was being cleaned to prepare for paving, thus the bricks had to be moved. Per instructions from the mason, the bricks were to be thrown in the dumpster via use of the roofer’s forklift. The roofer requested to use the bricks that were to be disposed of and the individual in charge of disposing the bricks agreed, as it saved the cost of a dumpster charge.

Phagan stated that the roofer was loading the bricks when a citizen arrived and took pictures.

According to Jefferson County Schools Construction Manager, Retenbach, Tom Brunton Masonry, Inc, is a lump sum subcontractor, meaning that the all inclusive job is bid, including any and all materials. Any shortage or left over materials are the responsibility of the lump sum contractor. Documentation was provided showing the purchase of bricks by the masonry company, as well as their contract, and the Department of Education has indicated that, as they were not the owners of the bricks in question and the mason has the right to dispose of left over brick as he see fit, no theft occurred.