There\u2019s a big controversy in North Park right now that involves a salt shed and your money. <\/p>\n
Winter weather is fast approaching, and there will soon be a need for good, reliable salt. 11 Investigates has learned that a brand new $1.4 million salt shed completed two years ago still isn\u2019t being used.<\/p>\n
Chief Investigator Rick Earle has been looking into this, discovering why it\u2019s not in use and why the builder is suing Allegheny County.<\/p>\n
The contractor, Graham Construction, claims the building is perfectly fine and filed a lawsuit to force the county to pay the remaining bill of more than $200,000.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the county claims the roof leaks and says they won\u2019t use it until it\u2019s fixed.<\/p>\n
So, the new salt shed at the Allegheny County Public Works facility in North Park sits empty. There\u2019s no salt in this building for the second winter in a row.<\/p>\n
Allegheny County Controller Corey O\u2019Connor told Earle that the roof leaks and it\u2019s unusable.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just frustrating that this was a building we wanted to be up and running, and when all of a sudden it\u2019s leaking,\u00a0you know that\u2019s a problem,\u201d O\u2019Connor said.<\/p>\n
Inspectors with the controller\u2019s office got a tip that the roof was leaking.<\/p>\n
Sources told 11 Investigates that they brought a fire truck to simulate rain and confirmed the leaks.<\/p>\n
Because of that,\u00a0the controller\u2019s office withheld approximately $200,000 worth of payments to the contractor.<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u201cWe have every right to question it and withhold funds until things are rectified,\u201d said O\u2019Connor.<\/p>\n
That move by the controller\u2019s office prompted Graham to file a civil lawsuit against Allegheny County.<\/p>\n
In that lawsuit, Graham claims there\u2019s nothing wrong with the building, and the county now owes them $250,000 for failing to pay.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are no defects with Graham\u2019s work,\u201d an attorney wrote in the lawsuit.<\/p>\n
An attorney for Graham Construction, Richard Saxe, sent this statement to 11 Investigates.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe situation has been very frustrating. They performed the work and the project has been fully operational for some time. The County simply didn\u2019t pay my clients, and ignored our requests for payment for months.\u00a0 We finally were left with no choice than to file a lawsuit.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a counterclaim filed by the county, they called the building an \u201cunusable and defective project.\u201d The county said Graham was told about the leaks but\u00a0\u201cfailed to remediate the problems.\u201d<\/p>\n
The county continues using a temporary salt shed nearby until the new building is fixed.<\/p>\n
Sources told 11 Investigates the county recently got an estimate of $20,000 from another contractor to fix the leaks.<\/p>\n
The controller said his inspectors routinely examine county projects to make sure they\u2019re done right.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe oversight is critically important because this is taxpayers\u2019 dollars that\u2019s not being spent properly and they have to be held accountable and that\u2019s what we\u2019re doing right now,\u201d O\u2019Connor said.<\/p>\n
Sources tell me the county is hoping to get the salt shed repaired and up and running sometime this winter.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, that lawsuit involving the county and the contractor is still working its way through the court system.<\/p>\n
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