The construction firm blasting rock for Merrimack Premium Outlets is not responsible for property damage reported around the outlet project, company officials informed area residents this month.
Over the past five weeks, at least five neighbors have filed complaints of cracked walls and foundations, among other damages, to their homes neighboring the 130-store outlet mall, under construction near Exit 10 of the F.E. Everett Turnpike.
The damage, which could cost thousands of dollars to repair, is connected to construction work that exceeded the town’s permitted blasting levels, neighbors say.
But representatives of the project blasting firm, Maine Drilling and Blasting of Auburn, deny the claims, saying the blasts are not sizable enough to cause the damage.
Company officials investigated each complaint, conducted site evaluations and reviewed blast readings to conclude the damages existed before the blast work.
“After a complete review of the data available to us, we have determined that blasting is not the cause of your claims as listed,” Jeff Immonen, one of the company’s safety officers, wrote in a letter to George Adams, who filed a complaint over windows damaged in the basement of his Cedar Lane house.
“They’re trying to blame this on me, and I’m completely sure the crack was not there (before),” Adams countered this week. “But then again, they’re a big company. What do you expect?”
Company officials did not return calls for comment Wednesday.
The blasts, conducted two or three days a week, have echoed through the neighborhood since late November. But one or two instances in particular are likely to blame for the property damage, neighbors said this week.
Blasts recorded Dec. 2 and Dec. 6 exceeded permitted noise and vibration levels, prompting town officials to pull the firm’s blasting permit and temporarily suspend construction.
“You can always feel it, but those were really bad,” said Barbara Goulet, who reported a 3-foot crack across the living room of her Arbor Street home.
“We had a series of two or three days here where … my whole house shook,” said David Spitz, who suffered a large crack in the foundation of his house on Camp Sargent Road. “There may have been some hairline cracks (before), but it was nothing like that.”
Since they started construction in September, planners from Premium Outlets, the project developer, have worked with town officials to avoid property damage and to stay within the town’s guidelines, company representatives have said. “It is our goal that any firm we have contracted to do any work on this project comply with all established guidelines,” Michele Rothstein, the company’s vice president of marketing, said this month in a written statement.
To appeal the company’s conclusions, Maine Drilling officials are urging residents to contact their insurance companies. But neighbors, concerned over the cost of a separate investigation, are exploring other options.
Some residents requested copies of the home survey that company officials took before the blasting to compare against the existing cracks.
Conducting their investigation, company officials consulted the preblast surveys, freeing them of responsibility, they wrote to the complainants.
But Nancy Harrington, who suffered three cracks around the windows of her Spruce Street home, hired an independent engineer to conduct a separate survey, which showed no such damage, she said.
“Quite simply (those cracks) weren’t present,” Harrington said. “I don’t know what (Maine Drilling) is looking at, but they’re looking at the wrong thing. … I just want it on record.”
Still others are prepared to take their fight to court, if necessary, they said.
“I’m hoping the group (of us) is going to hire a lawyer,” said Adams, who reported foundational damage to his Cedar Lane home. “Little people like me can’t do anything against them, but as a group maybe we can get something done.”
“They’re really being rotten, and I’m 99 percent sure I can prove it,” he said.
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