Agencies investigate defects at school
The State Attorney's Office and the state Board of Professional Engineers look into whether construction flaws at Homosassa Elementary School warrant a criminal investigation.
By BARBARA BEHRENDT and COLLINS CONNER, St/ Petersburg Times
Published June 23, 2004

INVERNESS - The State Attorney's Office and the state Board of Professional Engineers have opened preliminary investigations into the shoddy construction at Homosassa Elementary School.

Jack Beamish, investigator for the Florida Board of Professional Engineers, said late Tuesday that stories in the St. Petersburg Times have prompted his agency to begin looking into the problems.

"This being a school, we want to make sure that it is safe," he said.

Beamish said he and Tampa-area investigator Paul Siddall will look into the engineering aspects of the job, and he will contact the Board of Architecture to examine other aspects of the Homosassa site.

Florida Engineers Management Corp., the private firm that Beamish represents, can investigate and prosecute cases involving engineers on the state's behalf.

Also Tuesday, State Attorney Brad King confirmed that his staff will look into the problem and that School Board attorney Richard "Spike" Fitzpatrick contacted him last week.

"I have assigned the situation to my public interest unit, the unit which investigates white collar crime and corruption," King said. "They will do an inquiry into the situation and determine if there is sufficient evidence to proceed with a criminal investigation."

Investigators will conduct interviews and review documentation "and only then if there are facts to support a criminal investigation would there be a criminal investigation," King said.

The public interest unit is made up of investigators who are familiar with building issues because they have experience in dealing with builder fraud, contractor theft and other similar construction issues, King said.

Fitzpatrick also spoke with Sheriff Jeff Dawsy. The Citrus County Sheriff's Office has pledged to assist the State Attorney's Office if needed but has not yet been asked for help, said sheriff's spokeswoman Gail Tierney.

"I have provided to both agencies all information available to this office as well as documentation necessary to assist in connection with any investigation deemed appropriate," Fitzpatrick wrote in a letter to School Board chairwoman Ginger Bryant.

A testing firm found that Homosassa Elementary's new media center and cafeteria are riddled with problems, ranging from missing support in the walls to improper connections between individual walls and between the walls and the roof.

The School Board had asked Fitzpatrick to take the construction problems to the proper authorities because there have been some allegations of a coverup.

In addition to contacting King and Dawsy, Fitzpatrick noted that he also spoke with the general counsel's office for the Department of Business and Professional Regulation and with Kimberly Dale, a special assistant to Gov. Jeb Bush.

According to documentation provided by Fitzpatrick, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation cannot help review the construction deficiencies because it is the agency that must enforce regulations of the contractor and building official if the deficiencies warrant a review.

Fitzpatrick provided Dale with an update on what the district has done, including hiring a third-party consultant to review the proposed repairs at Homosassa Elementary. The school's principal, Roberta Long, said Tuesday that she contacted Dale seeking help in finding an appropriate third party to look at the process.

Since then, the district has retained Rimkus Consulting Group to do that work. Fitzpatrick's memo notes that he and superintendent David Hickey have participated in a conference with a Rimkus representative and provided him with the documentation he needs to review the construction deficiencies and make recommendations for corrections.

The construction problems were not on the board's agenda when members met for a budget workshop Tuesday, but the issue still came up.

Board members, knowing they face a myriad of potential legal tangles over the botched construction, laughed off a suggestion by their finance director to pare down the attorney's budget for the coming fiscal year.

Finance director Sam Hurst told the board it traditionally has not spent all $200,000 set aside for professional and technical services. He was suggesting that the amount be dropped to $150,000.

"In this particular year?" said board member Pat Deutschman.

Hurst noted that he had prepared the budget proposal before the construction controversy erupted. Only $110,000 has been spent or promised in legal costs this year.

In addition to paying Fitzpatrick, the district has also recently retained another lawyer who specializes in construction issues; he will be paid out of the same fund.

Hurst did not know how much that would cost, and Fitzpatrick could not be reached to provide that figure.

At the board members' urging, Hurst agreed to talk to Fitzpatrick to find an acceptable budget amount.

Also related to the Homosassa issue, Bryant said she received a formal invitation to a town hall meeting about the school that has been called by the Homosassa Civic Club for 7 p.m. Thursday. Other board members said they might attend the meeting and questioned whether the district was sending anyone to speak on their behalf.

Bryant said Hickey would be there, and "he would be absolutely foolish to go by himself," so she expected that someone from the district's construction and facilities department would also be there.

Board member Lou Miele said that was important.

"They want answers from someone," he said.

- Barbara Behrendt can be reached at 352 564-3621 or at behrendt@sptimes.com Collins Conner can be reached at 1-800-333-7505 or at conner@sptimes.com