State investigates townhome developer

The man behind the water-damaged Nature's Watch development is scrutinized for possible unlicensed contracting.

By ROBERT FARLEY, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 15, 2003

EAST LAKE -- The state this week opened a formal investigation into longtime developer Richard Geiger to determine whether he paid a licensed contractor to pull permits for a townhouse project, then built the homes himself.

For Geiger, who is not a licensed contractor, this could amount to unlicensed contracting, according to investigators with the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Problems at the 182-unit Nature's Watch development were detailed in a Jan. 5 story in the St. Petersburg Times. Residents there are paying millions to fix water damage that, construction experts say, was caused by poor construction.

State investigators got a major break this week in their two-month examination of Nature's Watch's problems when a Clearwater man who was a licensed contractor when the project was built stated in an affidavit that Geiger agreed to pay him $150 apiece to pull building permits.

"I had no other responsibility," said Timothy E. Giddens, a carpenter for the Pinellas school district.

Giddens said he visited the East Lake job site once every three to four months, but had "no input into the hiring of subcontractors and suppliers or any financial responsibilities."

"To my knowledge," Giddens stated, "all required supervision of this project was performed by Richard A. Geiger and (his business partner) Craig A. Burley."

State law requires that the contractor who pulls the building permits "actually supervise the project," said James Varnado, director of the state agency's division of regulation.

"It looks to me like a setup," said Fred Brown, also with the agency.

If the allegations are proved, the state could impose administrative fines on Geiger of up to $10,000 for each permit. The case also could result in criminal prosecution. However, Brown said, a four-year statute of limitations may be an issue. Nature's Watch was built between 1992 and 1998.

Reached Friday, Geiger said he did nothing wrong.

Geiger contested Giddens' claim that he was paid simply to pull the permits.

"I don't know why he's saying that," said Geiger, who lives in Holiday. "He was totally responsible. The licensed contractor is totally responsible for the whole job."

Geiger said a superintendent hired by his company hired the subcontractors and oversaw the day-to-day construction, but Giddens was ultimately responsible for the quality of the work.

"There is no issue," Geiger said. "You hire a licensed contractor. It is his job to oversee the project. He doesn't have to be there every day."

Geiger said Giddens had a 5 percent share in the business, though not a corporate officer. "He didn't get paid to pull the permits," Geiger said. "He is our corporate licensed contractor."

Says Brown: "Our records don't reflect that"

Geiger maintains there was no problem with the construction work at Nature's Watch. The problem, he said, is that the buildings were not properly maintained by the residents or the management company they hired. The buildings must be repainted and recaulked every five years, he said, but that was never done. He also said a maintenance company hired by the homeowners association power-washed the buildings and knocked out caulking. Then, he said, water seeped into the buildings for years and caused all the existing damage.

"That's why they leak," he said Friday. "I didn't cause any of that."

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