February 24, 2021

The Honorable Paul E. Coogan

Mayor of Fall River
One Government Center
Room 619
Fall River, MA 02722

RE: Response to Facebook Post by Dwight Silvia of DDS

Dear Mayor:

LeftField is in receipt of Dwight Silvia’s Facebook post from February 23, 2021 regarding quality issues on the
BMC Durfee High School (Durfee) construction project. Given that LeftField is the Owner’s Project Manager
(OPM) representing the City’s interest on the project, it was critically important that Leftfield respond directly
to the City of Fall River on this social media post.

Background:
LeftField was hired by the City of Fall River to be its OPM to manage the design and construction of the new
Durfee High School on September 16, 2016. In addition to LeftField’s long involvement with the Durfee project,
we have had a longstanding relationship with the City, managing, overseeing and/or assisting on design and
construction projects. We have proven to be transparent and direct in our approach to these projects, in our
communications with City and most importantly in our role as OPM, we have been a strong advocate for the
City.

Soon after Leftfield was hired, AI3 Architects was hired as the Architect of Record through the MSBA’s
Designer Selection Process. After the project was approved via a citywide vote, Suffolk Construction Company
(Suffolk) was hired as the project’s Construction Manager. Together, we have acted as a unified Project Team
and have addressed all issues in a collaborative and comprehensive manner.

At the start of construction and to properly set expectations, members of the School Building Committee (SBC)
made the Project Team aware of the many significant quality issues that the previous Durfee construction
project encountered back in the mid-1970’s. We further understood that some of the quality issues identified
in the previous project were so egregious that the project was used as an example for Construction Reform
Laws that have since been passed by the State Legislature. This is noted to ensure you that the message was
delivered in an unequivocal fashion and that quality was and has been on the Project Team’s radar from the
beginning, even more in the forefront than it might otherwise be on a typical project.

main: 617-737-6400 fax: 617-217-2001 owner project manager

225 franklin street, 26th floor, boston, ma 02110 owner representative construction audits
cost forecasting capital budgeting
 Mayor Paul E. Coogan
Response to FaceBook Post by Dwight Silva
Page 2 of 5

Construction started in August 2018 with site preparation with the building construction starting in March
2019. The project remains on target as scheduled for a School Opening in August 2021 and completion of field
and site work in Summer 2022.

Perspective:
While the Project Team has made significant efforts to ensure a quality project, we acknowledge that there
have been major issues that have had to be addressed by the Project Team. All these issues have been
brought to the attention of the SBC and the City. The entire Project Team has worked in conjunction with
representatives of the City to address every issue. However, it should be noted that the majority of these
issues are the responsibility of the author of the FaceBook post, Dwight Silva, and his company, DDS
Mechanical Contractors, Inc. (DDS). We feel that it is important to reiterate the following information because
it is crucial in understanding the impetus of what we believe is a very misleading social media post. We believe
the author issued this post in a thinly veiled attempt to get ahead of a narrative that is evolving and that will be
very damaging to him.

DDS supplied a Statement of Qualifications in response to a publicly advertised Request for Qualification (RFQ)
for Trade Contractors under the requirements of MGL Chapter 149. DDS’ owner, Dwight Silva, was required to
confirm that DDS had the experience to complete a project of Durfee’s type, size and complexity. The
qualification process highlighted DDS as marginally qualified but DDS was kept on the List of Bidders because
they are a Fall River-based company. Ultimately, DDS became the successful low bidder on the Durfee project
for the HVAC Trade Contractor work through the MA Filed Sub-Bid process and a sub-contract was
subsequently issued to them by Suffolk.

From the onset, DDS has been significantly behind schedule and has been responsible for most of the quality
issues noted on the project. In fact, several of the quality issues that Mr. Silvia describes in the post, are DDS’s
issues. To address the significant number of DDS quality and schedule issues impacting the project, the
following remedial steps have been undertaken by the team over the past several months:
• Suffolk has placed DDS on contractual notice on 14 occasions (9 formal letters and 5 email notices).
DDS is approximately 3 months behind schedule based on their contract’s Construction Schedule with
Suffolk. Despite being behind schedule, DDS has refused to work on Saturdays or to stay late during
the week to recover schedule and to avoid impacting other Contractors’ work and sequencing. DDS
claims that its own people are so inefficient during the week that he cannot pay these same employees
to work any overtime. The project has suffered greatly because of this as the critical path of the
project schedule is dictated in a significant way by the mechanical scope of work. The project has not
been able to install ceiling grids or ceiling tiles because of DDS’ delays and the project has had to
approve change orders to other Contractors for out of sequence work or rework as a result of DDS’
actions.
• Because of the many quality issues attributable to DDS, including its faulty installation of insulation and
firestopping, coupled with its inability to pass air or water tests on the first or even second attempts,
LeftField has added 2 MEP Specialist to the Project Team and Suffolk Construction has added another
MEP Project Manager to better track DDS’ quality issues. These quality issues have further hampered
the schedule by creating rework of not only DDS but to many finish trades that follow DDS’ work.

main: 617-737-6400 fax: 617-217-2001 owner project manager

225 franklin street, 26th floor, boston, ma 02110 owner representative construction audits
cost forecasting capital budgeting
 Mayor Paul E. Coogan
Response to FaceBook Post by Dwight Silva
Page 3 of 5

• Suffolk has had to augment DDS’s staff with staffing from another qualified Trade Contractor in an
attempt to recover schedule. Suffolk is planning on back-charging DDS for associated costs for
supplementing their work.
• If not for DDS’s impact on the project, the project would still be ahead of the original Construction
Schedule. However, Suffolk has had to modify the Substantial Completion date of the project from
5/31/21 to 7/16/21. While the Substantial Completion date has been pushed out, the Durfee High
School remains on target for an August 2021 School Opening as planned.

Addressing Quality Concerns on the Project:

BMC Durfee High School is one of the most significant school projects being constructed in the State of
Massachusetts. The team that was formed to take on the design and construction of this project is an
extremely strong one with significant MSBA experience:
• As OPM, LeftField is currently managing 8 other core projects for the MSBA, including major High
School projects in Billerica, Revere and Waltham. As a firm, LeftField is currently managing over $2B in
construction projects.
• As the Architect of Record, AI3 Architects has been in business for over 22 years and has completed 16
High Schools in Massachusetts over the past 10 years. In addition to Durfee, they are currently
working on the East Providence High School and Watertown High School.
• Suffolk Construction Company is one of the most successful and innovative Construction Managers in
the country. Headquartered Boston, Suffolk is the largest construction company in Massachusetts with
experience managing the most complex and sophisticated projects in the region.

Even with an extremely strong team, construction projects of this size and magnitude are sophisticated and
complicated to manage and construct. Though there have been significant quality issues identified to date,
there is a process put in place to monitor, address and correct all deficiencies. The process has proven to be
working as issues are being identified and collected in the Team’s central repository, Procore. Here, all issues
are tracked and checked by the CM, Architect and the entire Project Team until there is a satisfactory
conclusion.

Below are several of the major issues that have surfaced, and the steps taken by the team to identify and
address these issues:
• Asphalt Shingle Roof – As part of the roof inspection and evaluation process, it was decided that the
asphalt shingle roof requires replacement. Therefore, the Roofing Trade Contractor was directed to
replace the asphalt roof at their expense. In early March weather-permitting, the Roofing Trade
Contractor plans to erect scaffolding around the asphalt roof elevations and commence replacement.
This work is planned to continue through May and will be conducted carefully in small sections to
minimize impacts to other construction activities and will not impact the turnover of the school.
• Firestopping – The majority of deficiencies in firestopping on this project were caused by work
performed by DDS. All issues were identified and have been corrected and the building is safe. There is
a third-party inspector reviewing firestopping and they sign off on every penetration before walls or
ceilings are closed.
• Wet Drywall – While the building was not fully enclosed and protected by temporary measures, heavy
rain events caused some interior drywall to get wet. The drywall was identified, removed and

main: 617-737-6400 fax: 617-217-2001 owner project manager

225 franklin street, 26th floor, boston, ma 02110 owner representative construction audits
cost forecasting capital budgeting
 Mayor Paul E. Coogan
Response to FaceBook Post by Dwight Silva
Page 4 of 5

discarded. There was a hygienist that observed and signed off on each condition prior to the
reinstallation of new drywall. Part of their evaluation included ensuring that moisture was not present
in any remaining drywall and determination of no mold growth in cavities not opened completely.
Additionally, mold and moisture resistant and paperless drywall was used in most locations throughout
the building in areas of moisture risk as a matter of good practice.

As with any construction project, quality issues and other challenges arise. How the issues are dealt with
determines the ultimate success of a project. The issues identified on the Durfee project have all been
documented and are at various stages of being addressed. In an effort to be proactive with quality on the
Durfee project, the team previously made the following modifications to their Construction Administration
approach and will continue to adjust as required to ensure a successful project:

LeftField:
• LeftField has added quality concerns to the daily report issued by our Construction Field
Representative.
• LeftField has added senior staff, Paul Gransaull and Corey Davidson, who have decades of experience
in construction to walk the project daily to identify any potential quality issues and to track issues on
an on-going basis.
• As mentioned previously, LeftField has added 2 MEP Specialists, Jay Faxon and Carlos Montanez, to
monitor the installation of the MEP systems to ensure a quality installation.

AI3:
• In addition to maintaining increased site visits, twice a week with two/three people from their office
per visit. The frequency of site visits has been even greater than twice a week for the past few
months. AI3 has also increased office support staff, as required.
• The Design Team (Ai3 and Consultants) has also taken a proactive approach to reviewing deficiencies
with Suffolk and the respective Contractors on site. Site visits include a walk with representatives from
Suffolk, the Contractor (as applicable) and Leftfield to review construction deficiencies and to respond
to field questions. This has proven to be a very effective approach and as a result, an overall reduction
in the occurrence of construction deficiencies and a more expedited completion/resolution of
previously documented construction deficiencies. The construction deficiencies are communicated, in
writing, to Suffolk following every site visit.

Suffolk Construction:
• In addition to adding an experienced General Superintendent in Jonathan Sligar, Suffolk has added the
following staff people focused on ensuring quality and schedule:
Bill Seddon – Senior Superintendent
James Thomas – Assistant Superintendent
Dan Dupont – Project Engineer
• Suffolk has also increased time on the project by senior staff members, Sean Edwards, Kevin
Chamberland and John Doherty.

main: 617-737-6400 fax: 617-217-2001 owner project manager

225 franklin street, 26th floor, boston, ma 02110 owner representative construction audits
cost forecasting capital budgeting
 Mayor Paul E. Coogan
Response to FaceBook Post by Dwight Silva
Page 5 of 5

City of Fall River:

• As several of the more significant quality issues were identified and to ensure the project continues to
remain proactive in identifying all quality issues, the City has dedicated both Glen Hathaway, the City
Building Inspector, and Chris Gallagher, Director of Capital Projects for the City, to the project. For the
past several months, a site walk has been held weekly with Glen, Chris and representatives from AI3,
Suffolk, and LeftField to address any potential quality issues and to monitor correction measures on
previously identified issues and to ensure they are being addressed in a proper and timely fashion.

Summary:
The BMC Durfee High School project is a large, high profile, and complicated project. It is our position that the
Project Team has immediately addressed the issues as they were identified and will continue to do so in the
proactive approach highlighted in my letter above.

If quality issues surface after the project is completed, you have the commitment of Suffolk Construction that
they will return to address any issues until the City is completely satisfied. I speak for the entire Project Team
in that we are 100% confident that we will deliver a project for the students and families of Fall River that the
City will be proud of for decades to come.

Please feel free to call me with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
LeftField

James Rogers
Principal

CC: Matthew Malone

Ken Pacheco
Chris Gallagher
Glen Hathaway
Mary Pichetti, MSBA

main: 617-737-6400 fax: 617-217-2001 owner project manager

225 franklin street, 26th floor, boston, ma 02110 owner representative construction audits
cost forecasting capital budgeting