PITTSBURGH — 11 Investigates has learned that a $1.7 million roofing project at a Pittsburgh Public School has been shut down because the contractor did not have a permit to do the work.
The school district is calling it a misunderstanding between the contractor and the construction manager.
City of Pittsburgh inspectors discovered the issue after neighbors complained about noise.
Chief Investigator Rick Earle saw roofing materials sitting on the roof at Westwood Elementary School in the West End, but didn’t see any workers.
The project to replace a leaking roof began over the summer.
Earle learned that some neighbors in the area were fed up with the early morning construction noises and complained to the city.
The city sent out building inspectors earlier this week and discovered the contractor didn’t have a permit to do the work.
A spokesperson for the city tells 11 Investigates that the city cited the school district for replacing the roof without the required permit, and shut down the project until the permits are obtained.
Earle spoke with Pittsburgh City Councilman Anthony Coghill, who is also a roofing contractor and is very familiar with the permitting process.
Earle: You have to have a permit, right?
Coghill: Absolutely, when you replace roofing, you need to have a permit. It needs to be filed with the city.
Earle: What’s the purpose of that?
Coghill: The purpose of that is to make sure the company is legit and fully insured.
Earle: Is it to make sure the work’s done properly, safely and securely? Is that all included in it?
Coghill: Yes, because we will send an inspector out beforehand to go over the specs.
The school district, which received the contractor’s certificate of liability along with the contract in June, says it was all a misunderstanding and the contractor thought the construction manager had obtained the permit.
“Although the contractor is responsible under the bidding instructions, they believed the construction manager would handle it, as had been the case in past projects. We have clarified responsibilities to ensure this does not happen again. Our priority remains advancing the project quickly and responsibly, with all proper approvals in place,” said Ebony Pugh, a spokesperson for Pittsburgh Public Schools.
Earle: Surprised that the entity as large as the Pittsburgh School District wouldn’t know that their contractor didn’t have a permit?
Coghill: I am surprised, yes. That kind of just goes without saying on a bigger job like that, especially, Rick.
The company did apply for the permit the same day the city shut them down.
Work on the project won’t resume until the permit is approved.
Earle called the roofing contractor and sent two emails, but has not heard back.
No word tonight from the city on how long the permit process will take.
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