Consolidation work continues on city properties
Date: 8/22/2012
By G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.comCHICOPEE — In his effort to consolidate and redevelop the use of city properties, Mayor Michael Bissonnette met last week with city department heads on the plans to utilize the second floor of the Department of Public Works (DPW) building.
The plan to use the 8,000 square feet of space will set a series of other actions into place, Bissonnette said. The Building Department in City Hall will move to the DPW space as will the Department of Health, which will relocate from the Public Safety Complex.
These relocations would then create room for other uses, he added. The Health Department space would be used as a training center for police and fire personnel. In City Hall, Bissonnette sees the Building Department space being used as a customer service area with its ground floor location.
The work on the DPW space started last year with the installation of a new roof, the mayor said. Once the architectural plan is completed, students from Chicopee Comprehensive High School would do the majority of the work, he said. The city's Information and Technology Department would do the security work.
Bissonnette estimated that by using the skills of city employees and students, about $500,000 in labor costs could be saved.
There are certain parts of the renovations that will go out to bid to private contractors though, such as the installation of an elevator the elevator shaft was built in the 1990s but never used — and plumbing work. A rear staircase must also be built, he added.
Bissonnette wants to create a first floor center at the DPW that would offer "one stop shopping for all construction permits."
The city would sell the former Water Department headquarters on Tremont St. as part of the redevelopment plan .
The mayor believes the bids for the outside work would go out this fall and the contractors chosen by early 2013. Most of the work should be completed by next summer.
