DENVER—A structural engineer on two troubled school construction projects has agreed to surrender his Colorado license as part of a settlement with the state, but he insisted his designs were sound.
The deal ends a more than year-long dispute between H. Gary Howell and a state regulatory board that accused him of substandard work on rural schools in Meeker and Alamosa.
Fort Collins-based Neenan Co. fired Howell in 2011 over problems at Meeker’s then-new $19 million elementary school.
Students attended classes there for a year before the school board ordered it closed. An independent review found serious structural problems, including weaknesses in the wall bracing system.
The issues led to increased scrutiny of other Neenan projects. The company agreed to pay for independent reviews that found structural issues of varying degrees of seriousness in 15 Neenan school projects financed with $150 million from a state grant program.
As part of the settlement that became final last week, Howell agreed to never reapply for an engineering license in Colorado. He also said the public was never in danger and said the engineer was responsible for any problems.
Howell claimed in the settlement papers that his schematics and drawings “were in accordance with the level of said drawings” set by Neenan but “were not sufficiently detailed” and were below the generally accepted standards of the independent structural-engineering community.
Neenan paid for repairs at the schools, all of which were completed by last year.
Howell said he was singled out by state regulators, who accused him of failing to comply with building codes and standard engineering codes.
The DORA board that oversees structural engineers and architects filed complaints last year against eight other people connected to Neenan school projects. All those complaints were dismissed.
Neenan officials declined to comment on the settlement.
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Information from: The Denver Post,
