By Dan Sapir and Dennis Randall

The unauthorized taking of town water, called a "theft" by Water Commissioner Fred Svenson, was the latest in a series of events leading up to the firing. Ballfield Chairman Ted Alexiades told the Observer that Water Department intervention prevented Kevin Leone from carrying out his plan to hydro-seed that day. Such actions would have been contrary to Ballfield Committee instructions. Ballfield Chair Ted Alexiades told the Observer "We had put it in writing not to seed until the fields were inspected and approved by the Committee. He began seeding around the flood plain storage area. Had he continued he would just be hiding blemishes."

According to Alexiades, Leone had not met schedules or timetables necessary to meet completion deadlines. "Those dates were set by Kevin Leone himself" said Alexiades. Missed deadlines were not the only problem. "He (Leone) was constantly in disputes with other contractors. He was at odds with and blaming them for issues that were his fault. What remains at the ballfields is two weeks of work with a full crew, of which he's never had, before he could seed."

Kevin's Landscaping has already received approximately $305,000 of his $475,000 contract. Alexiades believes that the remaining work can be done within the remaining sum. "If additional monies are required there are other areas of our budget to draw from" said Alexiades.

Concerning the use of the hydrant last week, Alexiades said "Peter Opachinski and I sat down with Leone and explained what the procedure was with regards to the Water Commission. He took a short cut. I was glad you [The Observer] reported it in the paper."

Ballfield Vice-Chair Tony Borrelli believes the work can, even with this new ripple, be completed within budget. The firing may not be the last word and the termination can be contested in court. "Kevin Leone does have rights and whether he cares to exercise them to finish the job, remains to be seen." Alexiades disagrees, "This is a divorce and we're not going to be married anymore. We have the right and the cause to terminate."

Alexiades said the next step is to close out the contract by negotiating a reasonable settlement for all sides. Beyond that, the other two options are to pursue the bond posted by Kevin's Landscaping or litigate. Alexiades expressed hope that reason would prevail.

This latest event could delay the seeding of the fields for this Fall. The Committee has taken steps to mitigate the delay and has advertised for bids in the Central Register (which publishes Wednesday, August 29). Bids are scheduled to be opened on September 12 with work to be commenced on September 16. "We hope to have completed negotiations with Kevin's Landscaping by then" said Alexiades.

While the Observer commends the decision to terminate an unsatisfactory contractor, we remain concerned about the troubled history of this project. The need for independent oversight has never been more apparent.

We remember Selectman Mark Beaton's unsuccessful plea for a clerk of the works and former Selectman Skip Farrington's request for televised updates for the "shareholders" (taxpayers) of this project. We have never seen definitive action toward sound project management. Instead we have been fed platitudes, spin control and bellicose speeches.

Over the past months we have witnessed questionable mining practices, irregular bid procedures, incomplete records, undocumented meetings, disputes over land ownership, a case of arson, the "theft" of town water, and now the termination of the primary contractor. Not exactly a sterling resume. There are enough red flags raised here to finally get the attention of the even the most dull witted politician.

We anxiously await the next move. Will it be damage control or project repair?

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