Political Melting Pot Of Hudson, NH: The Melting of the Pot Chapter 3

In preparing for repairs to the Office Building, the roof has been covered with a large tarp.

On Friday morning, August 7, 2009, Mark Pearson, Assistant Administrator for the Town of Hudson, along with a uniformed Hudson Police Office, presented Kevin Langill, Contractor at Benson’s Park, with a “NOT TO PROCEED” order on the scheduled work for the Hazelton Barn.

Again, on Tuesday morning, August 18, Langill was presented with a second “NOT TO PROCEED” order for work contracted to be done on the Office Building. This time, the “Not to Proceed” order was delivered by a lone Hudson Police officer.

Both orders delivered were worded the same. “I have been directed by the acting chairman of the Board of Selectman to inform you to NOT PROCEED WITH ANY WORK ON THE WOOD CEDAR SHINGLED ROOF OF THE OFFICE BUILDING (HAZELTON BARN) UNTIL AFTER THE MEETING ON AUGUAST 25, 2008.”

In speaking with the owner of KSL Contracting, Kevin Langill, at the time of these notifications, tempers became heated between the Town of Hudson and KSL Contracting regarding quality of work, timeliness of invoices paid, and conditions of the property created by KSL Construction.

The Town of Hudson purchased the Benson property from the State of NH for $188,000. After obtaining the land and buildings, bids were solicited from various contractors to not only clean up the property, but to also repair the A Frame House, Gorilla House, Elephant Barn, Office Building, as well as the Hazelton Barn. KSL Construction was awarded the bid to make the necessary repairs to the A Frame, Gorilla House, Office, and Hazelton Barn for approximately $97,000.

When the Selectman and KSL Contraction inked the contract for repairs, the contract stated that invoices will be paid within 15 days “at the acceptance of the work.”

“We were paid in 4 days for the A Frame” commented Langill. “However, I presented the invoice to the Town on August 4 and I still have not been paid as of today (August 18).

In speaking with Town of Hudson Board of Selectman, Richard Coutu, he stated that as he was going away on vacation, and he has “charged Selectman Ken Massey with the fact finding mission and to report back to the Board” regarding matters about Benson’s.

Selectman Massey stated that he had been requested to be the lead investigator regarding all the matters of Bensons. He had been asked to get “all the facts uncovered.” When asked of what facts he was investigating, Selectman Massey stated that he could not comment and that the information would be discussed at the August 25 Selectman’s meeting.

In speaking with Hudson’s Assistant Town Administrator, Pearson, he too stated that he had “no comment” regarding Bensons. In asking of Pearson if the “Not to proceed” was signed by all of the Selectman, he again stated “no comment.” In asking of Pearson of who placed the gag order on his no comment response, he responded, “All I can say is, no comment.”

Subsequently, a follow up phone call was made to Chairman Coutu and he was asked if three or more Selectman signed the order to “NOT TO PROCEED.” After a pause, Coutu stated that he called the other members of the Board and did not recall their answers. When asked, “If they, the other Board of Selectman members did not authorize this stoppage of work, then you have over exercised your right as a Selectman and have acted unilaterally for the Board of Selectman and that is a violation of the Board of Ethics for the Town of Hudson.” Coutu did not respond.

In calls made to the various board members, all interviewed do not remember discussing the “NOT TO PROCEED” order, and none of the Selectman interviewed remembered any discussion regarding any stoppage of work. Calls to Selectman Jasper went unanswered.

In addition to a work stoppage order, Pearson also ordered Eric Langill, co-owner of KSL Construction to remove himself from the Benson’s property after he and Langill exchanged heated words regarding the payment of invoices. According to the Nashua Telegraph, “Coutu approved a letter ordering Langill off the property, which was served with a police officer, until cooler heads prevail.” In addition, the Telegraph also reported that Pearson “reported ‘substandard’ work in some areas of the project, including use of the wrong wood materials, dumping debris in the woods, and leaving old construction materials behind in the buildings.”

“The substandard work of which Pearson is speaking refers to the OSB Exposure – 1 boards we placed on the roof of the Gorilla House. As this is not a historical building, the materials used are more than correct. We used only a few boards and they are only used on one side of the roof. As for the leaving of old construction materials behind, my company has invested in over $3000 of dumpsters in an effort to keep our work areas clean. The materials of which Pearson is speaking are debris, which was present on the property before we began our construction. In an effort to keep our work area clean, we have staged materials along the roadway in an effort to work more efficiently. As for the old wooden beams, they can be recycled and used in the Elephant Barn and this would save the Town a lot of money. Pearson also challenged us on the dumping of debris in the woods. As evidenced, the dumping of debris was a single trash barrel, filled mostly with dirt. I have not idea who dumped the single barrel. I can only guess that someone wanted a barrel, and dumped the dirt in the woods,” continued Langill.

Complaints by KSL Contracting also centered on the timely payment of invoices. While the A Frame house was paid in 4 days, Langill claimed that his invoice for the Gorilla House was past the 15 days.

Upon researching the paperwork with Hudson’s Finance Department, KSL Contracting submitted an invoice to the Town of Hudson in the amount of $13,845 for work done on the Gorilla House. The invoice was submitted to the Town of Hudson on Tuesday, August 4. The invoice was date stamped by the Community Development Department on Wednesday, August 5. On Monday, August 10, the invoice was authorized for payment by “MAP,” Mark A Pearson.

In speaking with the Assistant Town Administrator, Pearson regarding the 5-day delay in the processing of the invoice, he stated that he wished to investigate the work of KSL Contracting before signing off the invoice for payment. According to the contract, Pearson stated that he was responsible for the “acceptance of the work”. It was apparently at this time, during his inspection of the Gorilla House that concerns over the quality of the workmanship arose.

On August 18, Pearson accompanied by an unnamed independent contractor evaluated and discussed the workmanship of the work completed to the Gorilla House. While present at this inspection, the reporter for the Area News Group was asked to leave the area. Upon stating that this area was not open to the public by Pearson, the reporter stated that he was with the press. Pearson stated that it was necessary for him to have this time, and for the reporter to wait for him at the front entrance of the park. Upon arriving at the front entrance with the unnamed consultant, Pearson seeing the reporter’s camera sped off in his town vehicle without making a comment.

As for the Office Building, Langill stated that he believes that he was ordered, “NOT TO PROCEED” due to the conflict between himself and Pearson regarding the replacement of the Cedar Shingles. According to Langill, Pearson’s specifications for the construction of the cedar roof will not allow the cedar shingles to breath from the inside out as it would be missing a specific layer of needed construction. As a result, Langill told Pearson that he could not warranty his work.

In addition to the conflicts of workmanship and payment of invoices, the Area News Group also received information received from the Town of Hudson via RSA 91-A (Freedom of Information Act), KSL Contracting has presented the Town of Hudson two change orders regarding their bids for the Benson’s Park. The first change order, presented on 7/27/09, states “Removal of (2) false dormers on the back side of the office building. Typical roofing materials installed in same area. Non-structural.” The second change order states, “In the best interest of the Town of Hudson and for the general public to have Benson’s open for a 2009 season, KSL Contracting request’s that payments for each building completed, be issued within (3) business days of each invoice. This change is to accommodate the Town of Hudson to open the park to the public as quickly as possible. Thus requiring (3) signatures from the Board of Selectman within (3) days of invoice.

Langill confirmed that his company had requested the change orders from the Town of Hudson. As for the removal of the false dormers on the Office Building, Langill stated that this request initiated from a conversation with Chairman Coutu. “Now that the trees have been cut down you can see the dormers. I just want to cover the Town of Hudson and myself as this is a Historical building and to receive authorization in writing, stating that is ok, for KSL Contracting to take out the dormers. As for the payment of invoices in three days, Langill stated that he felt that waiting 15 days was “unreasonable.”

Work to the A Frame has been completed and payment has been made to KSL Contracting.

The dumping complaint is recorded by the reporter’s photo.

The completed Gorrilla House. According to KSL Contracting, tree limbs to the left of the building, at their expense, were cut away from the building to protect the integrity and life of the roof to the building.