By JOSEPH FITZGERALD

BURRILLVILLE — Richard A. Bernardo has resigned as chief of Burrillville’s public works department, saying Town Councilman Kevin Blais’ constant “interference, harassment and intimidation” have taken a toll on both his mental and physical health.

Bernardo, director of the DPW for the past five years, alleges that Blais began harassing him and his staff a couple of years ago over issues related to DPW projects and vehicles, but that the intimidation became more pronounced after Bernardo testified in a recent court case involving Blais and the town.
Bernardo said he made the decision to step down now from his $92,232 a year job because he also fears for his own personal safety and the safety of his staff.
Blais refuted the charges Thursday saying Bernardo is making it look like he is driving him out of town because of an alleged confrontation between the two men on Tarkiln Road last month.
In fact, Blais says, Bernardo was already looking to leave Burrillville and has accepted a job as director of public works in the Town of Smithfield. Bernard confirmed yesterday that he accepted the job offer in Smithfield on Sept. 29.
“That says to me that Mr. Bernardo must have already been interviewed or even offered the job in Smithfield and was plannning to leave Burrillville well before this so-called incident on Tarkiln Road on Sept. 23,” Blais said.
In his Oct. 1 letter of resignation to Town Manager Michael C. Wood,
See BERNARDO, Page A-2
Bernardo says he complained numerous times to town leaders regarding
Blais’ alleged actions and violations of the town charter, but that “no
remedy has been provided.”?
“While I do not want to leave a position I enjoy and feel that I do well,
I also feel I have no option as it is taking a toll on my mental and
physical health,” he said in the letter.
Bernardo alleges that Blais’ meddling in DPW affairs and his harassment of the department’s staff escalated in recent weeks, especially right after he testified against Blais in a Superior Court case in which the town charged Blais with illegally storing trucks and other business equipment on residential property owned by his girlfriend on Tarkiln Road. What cemented Bernardo’s decision to leave, he said, was the fact that Blais had begun harassing and trying to intimidate other members of his department.
“I cannot stay in this position and expect my staff to absorb the brunt of
the attacks. As discussed with you, I am concerned for the personal safety
of myself and my staff and feel my resignation may protect the staff,”?
Bernardo said in his letter to Wood.
“It never happened,” said Blais when asked to comment on Bernardo’s
assertion that he harassed the director and his staff.
Blais says as a councilman he has made no more than three or four inquiries about various public works projects in town over the past year, including the Tarkiln Road project, which he questioned Bernardo about last month after learning that the project had been re-graded and changed and was negatively impacting the acquifer. The work was being done within feet of Blais’ girlfriend’s property on Tarkiln Road. Blais said he raised questions about the project because it was “a responsibility associated with my job as a councilman.”
“It’s my responsibility even though the town manager, Mr. Wood, has sent  two notices to me over the past two years prohibiting me from talking to any town employee, which is ridiculous,” he added.
“As for Mr. Bernardo, my meetings with him have always been positive and cordial and I hold no ill will towards him,” Blais said. “To the best of my knowledge, all of my dealings with him have been positive.”
When contacted Thursday, Bernardo painted a different picture, saying Blais is nothing more than an obstructionist who is hell bent on second-guessing everything he and his crews do. “It got to the point where he was running around with a camera taking photographs of our work and then trying to provoke me and everyone else. It’s hard to do your job with this kind of thing going on. In my more than 50 years in the business I have never seen anything like it.”
Blais and Bernardo also have different accounts concerning the Sept. 23 exchange that took place between Blais, Bernardo and an engineer at the scene of the road project on Tarkiln Road. Blais said he merely went to retrieve his mail and then walked over to Bernardo to ask a question concerning the engineer for the project, whom he said became agitated and tried to provoke him. Bernardo said at least a dozen witness at the scene will corroborate the fact that it was Blais who became agitated.
“I really don’t want to get into a war of words with Mr. Blais, but I can say that it was Mr. Blais provoking the engineer and berating the foreman,” Bernardo said. “He (Blais) was very agitated and animated. He kept shouting ‘you work for me.”
Bernado said at one point he had to step between the two men because he feared the confrontation would turn physical.
Bernardo is requesting relief from the 45-day notice period in his
employment contract, but has agreed to make himself available to
transition and work on major projects currently being undertaken by the
town, including Harrisville Mill Pond dam, Whipple Avenue landfill
closure, Round Top Bridge replacement and police station addition.
Wood called Bernardo’s resignation - which he has refused to accept - a
“significant loss to the town’s administrative team and to the town as a
whole.”
Under Bernardo’s leadership, he said, the department accomplished several
high-profile projects, including the Tarkiln Bridge, Gazza Bridge,
football field, ice rink renovations and numerous miles of road
reconstruction.
“The Burrillville Public Works Department under the leadership of Mr.
Bernardo is second to none in its capabilities and accomplishments,” Wood said. “The town has saved hundreds of thousands of dollars - probably well
over a million - in engineering and construction savings because of Mr.
Bernardo and his department’s willingness and ability to go beyond the
traditional or normal tasks.”
Wood called Bernardo a hands-on department head, saying that during snow
emergencies Bernardo often would get into a truck and help his crews plow.
“There are intangibles that some individuals bring to their jobs. Mr.
Bernardo is an engineer by trade, and a very well regarded engineer.
Richard has shown his willingness to get into the trenches with his men,
to work whatever hours are required to get the job done and to handle his
staff and the public with respect and to the highest professional
standards,” Wood said.
“This is a devastating loss to the community,” echoed Town Council
President Nancy Binns. “Richard Bernardo has been one of the best DPW
directors this town has ever had. He’s literally saved the town millions
because of the work he’s done as an engineer in-house. This is not only a
tremendous financial loss but the loss of a very valued employee.”
Binns said the council is preparing to meet with Bernardo to discuss the
details of the allegations, particularly Bernardo’s charge that Blais has
violated the charter, and that the council could address those matters in
executive session at the council’s meeting on Oct. 22.