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| By Paula Canning Staff Writer CHICOPEE Although the Chicopee Health Center Center has purchased the former Midland Farms grocery store at 505 Front Street, Mayor Richard Goyette has said that the city will continue to move forward with its intentions to acquire the property. Goyette said he has filed an order to seize the property by eminent domain a decision he said Executive Director of the Health Center Jay Breines learned of during a meeting between the two last Monday. He knew full well that the city was anticipating doing this, he said. He said his next step is to present the order to acquire the property, which he said has been appraised at $550,000, to the Board of Alderman for approval. This is certainly not a decision that I will be making on my own, said Goyette, explaining that he is in the process of putting together a proposal for the Boards review. Although mayoral candidate Michael Bissonnette and several Alderman have expressed reservations about the city acquiring the 17,000 square foot former grocery store, Goyette contends that the citys control of the property would be beneficial to the city for many reasons. The property, located directly next door to the main branch of the Chicopee Public Library, could provide additional parking for library patrons, Goyette said, and would provide a space for the city to consolidate some of its municipal offices, some of which are currently overcrowded. I think that it will be an overall long run savings for the city, Goyette said. It just makes sense for us to control that property. But Bissonnette disagrees. The taxpayers cant afford to keep adding property for the city to manage while reducing our commercial tax base, Bissonnette said. We already own too many unused or underutilized buildings and do not need to maintain, heat or renovate yet another property. In a Aug. 26 letter to Aldermanic President Keith Rattell, Bissonnette urged Rattell to take action to stop the unnecessary and expensive land grab at the earliest opportunity. Bissonnette also expressed concerns about costs to acquire and renovate the property, which he said are pegged at over $1 million. A better use for our limited city funds would be to renovate and open the Aldenville Fire Station, which would immediately benefit and protect the public, Bissonnette said. He added, This behavior reminds me of a teenager with a credit card. Calling the move an extremely poor fiscal management decision, Rattell said that the city has many unused buildings that could be utilized for city departments. Noting empty space at the Chapin Elementary School, the old Chicopee High, the former library next to City Hall, and the little red school house, Rattell said, He needs to come up with a plan to do something with all of these empty buildings before even thinking about acquiring another one. According to Goyette, however, plans for these properties are in the works, as the city is in the process of putting out Requests for Proposals (RFP)s on Chapin, the little red school house, and the old library. If everything works out, we will be looking to sell those buildings, he said. He also said that the Health Centers decision to purchase the property owned by Kosiorek Realty Inc., disputes accusations that the citys interest in the property has interfered with potential buyers. This shows that this wasnt an issue, Goyette said. According to Breines, the Health Center looked at 505 Front Street three years ago as a location for expansion, but the building was purchased by Midland Farms before the Center has an opportunity to make an offer. Four months ago, after learning that the space was available, Breines said the Center decided to make an offer. We are incredibly pleased that our offer has been accepted, Breines said. He said that the Health Center is looking to develop a $3 million medical complex that will house the health center, private, health-related practices, and a pharmacy. [This] will give us the space to develop programs currently unavailable in Chicopee like out 340B Pharmacy program that allows us to provide medications to uninsured patients at costs lower even than Canadian prices. He explained that the new space will allow the Health Center to expand its programs, as they are straining to provide for the estimated 6000 patients that utilize the Centers services. |