By Clarence Cromwell
Monte Sereno's building inspector acted improperly in repairing the driveway at his Los Gatos residence and used his influence to persuade workers to perform repairs on his property, two contractors charged last week.
Building inspector Manny Kadkhodayan said the contractors' claims are false and that the work was performed legally. He said that his accusers had an ax to grind because of personal disputes.
After workers from R.W. French Construction showed up to move Kadkhodayan's water meter, a routine job for the local contracting company, Kadkhodayan allegedly asked one worker to come back and perform additional driveway repairs. The worker agreed.
When the worker returned with another R.W. French employee to do the extra job, R.W. French Superintendent Ted Dexter caught them doing the task on company time and fired them. Kadkhodayan said he finished the job with the help of friends.
Kadkhodayan, who enforces building regulations in Monte Sereno, did not file a permit with the town of Los Gatos for the work he and friends performed on his driveway. He also did not provide the town with the proof of insurance required to obtain a permit.
Two general contractors--the one that moved the water meters, and another who contracts in Monte Sereno--said they believed Kadkhodayan implied that he would use his authority to harass them if they did not heed his requests.
R.W. French Construction superintendent Ted Dexter said he caught the employees demolishing a 10-foot section of Kadkhodayan's driveway. But the contractor was hired only to cut through and replace the adjacent sidewalk as part of a San Jose Water Company project.
Bob Day, customer service manager for San Jose Water Co., said the driveway didn't need to be broken up or replaced for the water company's work.
Day said the utility does no work other than repairs to its own pipes. No one at the water company knew about the driveway project when the permit was filed for the water meter work, he added.
Dexter said his employees admitted that they did the driveway work on company time, using R.W. French's jackhammers. It was unclear whether Kadkhodayan asked the employees to work on the clock or whether the workers made the choice on their own.
The pair gradually broke up the concrete over four days, starting on June 24, Dexter discovered. They were loading debris when he caught them on June 27.
Based on conversations with his employees, Dexter said he believes Kadkhodayan talked the workers into doing the work. "Basically, he never should have enticed my people to do his job," Dexter said.
Kadkhodayan acknowledged that he agreed to pay the R.W. French employees $500 for the work, including the demolition done on company time. But he said he thought the laborers would do the driveway on their own time.
R.W. French Construction declined to reveal the fired employees' names, citing privacy and employment laws.
Both Dexter and Chris Barry, of CM Barry Construction, voiced concern that a building inspector would have done the work without a permit. Barry complained to the town of Los Gatos about the lack of paperwork.
Kadkhodayan told the Los Gatos Weekly-Times that he and two friends--including one of the fired R.W. French workers--poured and spread the driveway concrete. Kadkhodayan said he didn't need a permit, because the San Jose Water Co. permit would cover his driveway as well.
The town of Los Gatos might not penalize Kadkhodayan over the issue.
A Los Gatos building inspector ordered Kadkhodayan to pay the $108 permit fee required for construction on public property when he learned of the work Kadkhodayan did. (The base of Kadkhodayan's driveway is in the town's right-of-way.)
He also could have been made to tear up and redo the work so its progress could be inspected.
But Scott Baker, director of building and engineering, said he waived the fee, and the need for a permit, after learning that San Jose Water Co. had a permit to move the water meters, and that Kadkhodayan paid for the work.
Baker explained that the water company's permit didn't limit the repairs to replacing a specific area of the sidewalk.
Town Attorney Larry Anderson said Kadkhodayan should have filed for a permit if he planned to undertake the work himself. The town needs the permit as a record of who is responsible for that patch of sidewalk, in case of any potential liability or safety issues, Anderson said.
Additionally, town code requires anyone who performs construction work in the public right-of-way to show proof that he or she has adequate worker's compensation and liability insurance. Anderson said most homeowners' policies offer adequate coverage for projects under $5,000.
The contractors not only accused Kadkhodayan of bending the rules on the driveway project, they also accused Kadkhodayan of throwing his weight around to gain favors or threaten them.
Barry, who is building a house across the street from Kadkhodayan's, said Kadkhodayan drove up in his truck, introduced himself as the building inspector for Monte Sereno and asked if he could put three big chunks of concrete in Barry's dump truck, free of charge.
Barry said he politely refused but was angered by the request. A small part of his business is charging other builders to remove their construction debris. Barry's sign advertising "debris removal" is painted on the side of the dump truck.
Kadkhodayan said he asked Barry for a quote on hauling away the concrete, but wasn't looking for a favor.
Dexter said that he also thought Kadkhodayan used his position improperly. When Dexter unknowingly damaged a water pipe by driving over it, Kadkhodayan responded to his reluctance to fix the pipe with what sounded to Dexter like a vague threat.
"What he said was if our company does this kind of shabby work, he can imagine what we do in the city of Monte Sereno," Dexter said.
Dexter later realized he had driven over the pipe and had it fixed, he said.
Both Dexter and Barry emphasized that Kadkhodayan never specifically requested or offered free work or favors and he did not make specific threats.
"He was very careful the way he was talking," Dexter said.
Monte Sereno City Manager Carolyn Lehr said she would investigate the matter. Her initial response was that she believed there probably had been an innocent misunderstanding.
"My feeling is that, if something happened and he didn't go through all the steps, he should make it right," Lehr said.
"It sounds like Manny may need to be aware of how he comes across if he says certain things," Lehr added later.
Kadkhodayan said the contractors questioned the project because of personal grudges. He cited the water meter incident with Dexter.
Kadkhodayan speculated that Barry was mad because he (Kadkhodayan) requested a quote on the driveway work and then hired someone else to do the job.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, July 17, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved