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CALVIN R. PECK, JR.
(Articles are in reverse chronological order)
Tab 9
Star-News (Wilmington, NC)
September 22, 2000
Inquiry uncovers possible over-billing
Author: William Davis
An asphalt company contracted by Carolina Beach to repair its roads may have over-billed the
town more than $50,000.
The results of an independent investigation by Engineering Services of Garner, and Wilmington
accounting firm Pittard, Perry and Crone, shows that both the town and contractor Wallace
Asphalt may share the blame for problems with the roadwork.
The town announced the completion of the report at a special meeting Thursday night. It will
officially release the report today.
The report finds numerous problems both with the quality of the road repairs, the way the town
handled bids and the amount of oversight given by town employees.
Engineering Services Investigator Gilbert DuBois states that former Public Works Director Ed
Lehman, who resigned last month, repeatedly ordered Wallace to hastily patch problem areas to
quiet residents' complaints. Since neither the town nor Wallace completely fixed the problems,
the patches had to be redone repeatedly.
"Patching over several old patches has not improved the actual condition of the road and may
have prolonged the sinking of some holes," Mr. DuBois states.
Mr. DuBois also faults Mr. Lehman for not checking on Wallace's work. The contractor did the
work as he was instructed by Mr. Lehman, the report states, placing some of the fault on the
town failing to make clear the quality of work it expected.
"Failures to conduct the inspections and ensure the quality of the workmanship have caused
problems and duplication of some required work," Mr. DuBois stated.
Town Manager Calvin Peck said he had not read the report, but knew of some of the problems
from the summary. The report lists steps the town can take to avoid problems in the future, and
Mr. Peck said he intends to implement them.
"I think it shows that there were some problems with bidding and oversight on our part," Mr.
Peck said.
In the next week, Mr. Peck said, town officials will show the report to the town attorney and see
if there is any way to recoup some of the over-billed money. Either way, he said the release of
the report "shows the system works," since the town commissioned it to answer resident
complaints.
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