Burns: JHA not sure Prospect ceiling work is public information?
Agency stalls on RTK request concerning gypsum board failure
Rep. Frank Burns May 2, 2023 | 1:32 PM
EBENSBURG, May 2 – The Johnstown Housing Authority has informed state Rep. Frank Burns that it needs an extra 30 days to determine whether contracts and other documents for ceiling work done in its Prospect public housing units must be released under the state Right-to-Know Law.
“It’s incredible the JHA isn’t sure that taxpayer money spent on public housing should be public information,” Burns said. “I think what they really want is 30 days to come up with some creative excuse for not complying with my request.”
After reviewing a structural engineer’s inspection report on ceiling failures in the 110-unit Prospect community, Burns, D-Cambria, filed a Right-to-Know request seeking information on the work done on ceilings that have failed to hold up.
Burns asked the JHA for any and all documents related to the installation of gypsum wall board and related cement plaster topping in the ceilings of the Prospect community housing units, including but not limited to contract specifications; contract solicitations, biddings and approvals; inspection reports; and payment amount(s) for work done.
On the chance that the Prospect ceiling work was done by JHA maintenance staff instead of a contractor, Burns also asked for any and all documents related to the work, including but not limited to in-house work orders, inspection reports and administrative approvals.
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“This is clearly public information – yet they make you jump through hoops to get it. They’d rather spend taxpayer money on legal fees than just provide the information, which should be readily available to anyone in the public.” – Rep Burns
Instead of compliance with his request, Burns received a letter from attorney Terry L. Graffius of the Johnstown law firm Leventry, Haschak & Rodkey LLC, stating, “A legal review is necessary to determine whether the records you requested are records subject to access under the RTKL Act.”
Graffius cited Section 67.902(a)(4) of the law, which simply states “a legal review is necessary to determine whether the record is a record subject to access under this act” – a justification for delay that Burns characterized as flimsy but predictable.
“This is typical of what I’ve come to expect of government agencies in and around Johnstown,” Burns said. “This is clearly public information – yet they make you jump through hoops to get it. They’d rather spend taxpayer money on legal fees than just provide the information, which should be readily available to anyone in the public.
“This is what the people of Johnstown have come to expect, what they’ve been conditioned to expect. These government entities stall and delay, and force you to file appeals because they won’t comply with the law willingly, because they want the public to get frustrated and give up.”
Burns said the JHA’s own inspection report is the basis of his RTK request, and he’s asking legitimate questions regarding the longevity of the gypsum wall board used on Prospect ceilings.
The inspection report findings include the use of short, flat-head nails to affix the ceiling panels in the first place – nails that are now pulling through the gypsum board – and recommended fixes that include redoing the ceilings “using properly spaced fasteners such as dry wall screws and glue.”
Burns said those obvious easy fixes make him wonder why they weren’t utilized in the first place, and they require a deeper look into the upkeep of Prospect – including whether the work was warranted and for what length of time, and whether it was done properly.
“It’s important to know when this gypsum wall board was installed, what the contract specifications were, which contractor did the job and how much it cost, and who approved the use of short, flat-head nails to affix this material to a ceiling,” Burns said.
“If the structural engineering firm hired to assess the situation is recommending two fixes that each include removing the existing ceilings and installing new gypsum wall board ‘using properly spaced fasteners such as dry wall screws and glue,’ my question is, ‘Why weren’t properly spaced fasteners such as dry wall screws and glue used in the first place?’”
Burns said since the JHA cannot immediately cite a specific legal reason for withholding the information he requested, the agency appears to be dodging transparency and playing games.
“Taxpayer money paid for this work – and the RTK law clearly was written to enable people to find out how tax money is spent,” Burns said. “If the work was done by an outside contractor, it likely had to go out to bid, it had to be voted on at a public meeting, so how can it not be covered by the RTK law? How is it not public?”