No subject

some human remains. They said they knew the museum site was a burial ground,
possibly serving as an informal pauper's cemetery around the turn of the
20th century.

When the museum was built in the late 1960s, the city got a court order
allowing it to remove and relocate bones and grave markers from the site.
However, city officials said they expected some burials likely were missed.

That's why the city hired American Archaeology Group. Before construction
started, the company studied the footprint of the new buildings and found
traces of old grave sites but no human remains.

Based on that finding, the city started work on the buildings. But in May
2007, utility crews discovered bones as they were digging a trench for a
pipe to connect to the building, according to the archaeologist and city
officials.

Johnson said he couldn't comment on whether there had been archaeological
study of the path of the pipeline before construction began. He said that's
a "point of contention" between the city and the archaeologist.

The discovery of the bones prompted the historical commission to demand
plans from the city showing that future work would minimize the impact to
the human remains.

That process delayed work at the site for a couple of months, but it soon
resumed.

By last fall, however, it was apparent the situation was more complex than
the city anticipated. Not only was the archaeology team finding more
skeletons than anticipated, but many were stacked on top of each other,
making removal trickier.

In mid-November, the city council increased the project budget from $100,000
to $437,000. At the time, museum officials said the money should cover the
worst-case scenario, which they described as moving 180 burials.

Johnson this week estimated that 130 to 150 remains have been discovered,
and he said he has no idea how many remain or how much they will cost to
relocate.

About $88,000 of the money budgeted for the project is left, he said.

Michael Bradle, president of the archaeology group, said his firm exhumed
more than 160 burials and identified at least 20 more before its contract
was terminated Thursday. Finishing the current construction might require
relocating hundreds more graves, he said.

The firm was more than willing to do the work, even though the scope of the
project was vastly expanded.

But starting in late November, he began to sense tension with city
officials.

One issue was a series of unapproved utility digs the company brought to the
city's attention, Bradle said. He claims that several pipes, a gas line and
a fire hydrant were installed in unexamined areas that turned out to contain
bones.

Johnson, the museum director, said he couldn't comment on those claims.

The intrusions were probably unintentional, Bradle said, but they damaged
the site and jeopardized the Texas Historical Commission permit that allowed
his firm to do the work.

Bradle's group uncovered multiple burials along the path of the utility line
and documented them with photos. Those photos show the human component of
the project.

In one picture, the skeleton of a woman lies under a blue water pipe. Her
dress is still intact, and the material is synthetic, suggesting the burial
was as late as the 1950s or '60s, Bradle says.

In another picture, a skeleton lies in the dirt under the intersection of
several pipes.

Bradle says the breach of protocol was probably unintentional and the result
of a lack of coordination among those involved in the project. Still, he
said he finds it difficult to understand why museum staff did not pick up on
the errors. They have told him they walked the construction site daily when
archaeological crews were not there, he said.

Ultimately, it was the museum staff that was responsible for overseeing the
project, he said.

"I think the big problem in this whole thing is a lack of proper
management," Bradle said.

Officials from the building contractor hired by the city, Imperial
Construction of Weatherford, could not be reached by the Tribune-Herald on
Friday.

Shortly after the problems were brought to the city's attention, Bradle said
museum staff started expressing concern that the pace of the work was too
slow and the company didn't have enough workers.

Bradle agreed that the work could be sped up with more help, but the city
wouldn't pay him to hire more workers. He said his crews already had done
more work than they had been paid for.

Without more resources, Bradle said he told city officials there was no way
his company could do the job well and still be done by the end of February,
as the city had hoped. He says he suggested that the work would take several
months, he said.

In late February, the company received the termination notice. Bradle said
he has still received no explanation for the termination.

American Archaeology officials said they were never told outright to cut
corners, but museum staff sometimes made seemingly joking comments such as
"stop finding burials."

"There was kind of an underlying message," said John Griggs, senior vice
president of the company. "They were joking, but they still made it known
that they wanted us to get it done."

Bradle is vowing not to give up the state permit that allows his company to
work at the site. He says there were no timelines contained in the contract
with the city and no termination provisions.

Not only is the company legally entitled to finish the work, Bradle said,
but it wants to make sure the job is done right. He doesn't know which firm
the city wants to hire to replace his company, but he said not all
archaeological outfits are as thorough or ethical as his.

"We're seriously concerned about what happens out there," he said.

Bruseth, from the historical commission, said a fight over the permit could
play out in several ways. The commission could decide to leave Bradle's
company as the sole permit holder. It could yank Bradle's and issue one to a
new firm. Or it could allow Bradle to keep his permit but issue a second one
to another company.

"Exactly what the commission's position on this will be has not been
determined," Bruseth said.

The expansion is a joint project between the city of Waco and the state of
Texas.

Johnson, the museum director, said the city is not trying to rush the
project.

"We've done everything we can, including shutting down work on the
buildings, which are currently mothballed," he said. "We've got to see the
proper remediation. The state of Texas is not pushing us. They know we're
trying to do it correctly in the interest of all parties involved."

cculp at wacotrib.com

757-5744

jbsmith at wacotrib.com

757-5752
 
http://www.wacotrib.com/