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Rooke tells Sarno to debate department relocation

Date: 9/28/2009

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor



SPRINGFIELD City Councilor Timothy Rooke issued an invitation on Wednesday to Mayor Domenic Sarno to publicly debate the issue of relocating the School Department to the former Federal Building on Main Street without a Request for Proposals (RFP) search for the most affordable rental agreement.

Rooke told Reminder Publications the city could be wasting taxpayer's dollars by not looking into other options.

Sarno released a statement through his spokesman Thomas Walsh on Thursday that he would not debate Rooke on this matter.

Walsh said Rooke's call for a debate is "a quintessential example of election year politics."

"The mayor doesn't see a need to debate Councilor Rooke on this issue," Walsh continued.

Walsh added that Acting Chief Adminsitrative and Financial Officer Stephen Lisauskas has offered to meet with members of the City Council and School Committee to discuss the details of the lease. Rooke said no meeting date has been set.

"Councilor Rooke has not shown any interest in hearing the actual facts, but continues promoting speculation that is inaccurate," Walsh said.

Rooke is not alone in this inquiry as six other members of the City Council voted last Monday in favor of a RFP process. Councilors Kateri Walsh and William Foley did not support the measure.

Michael Rodgers of the School Committee, Rooke said, also supports the RFP issue.

"Chairman of the School Committee Mike Rodgers has been a vigilant defender of the taxpayers getting the best possible use of tax payers monies and the best possible building site for the least amount," Rooke said.

Chris Collins of the School Committee has also been involved in this issue, he added.

An announcement was made earlier this year that MassDevelopment was buying the former courthouse and office building. The city would move the School Department from its present location at State and Maple streets and Bay State Health would relocate some offices into the building. The city would occupy about 42 percent of the building.

Considerable renovations would have to be made to the building. Rooke said the city would have to pay $2.8 million for build-outs and the state would contribute $2 million. The state has also issued another $1 million in a grant to update the elevator and atrium of the building.

Rooke said other office spaces at more affordable rates are available in Monarch Place and the Sovereign Bank buildings. He asserted that a RFP process would either bear out his stance or show the mayor's plan is the best.

"It is an abuse of taxpayers' money until we have a RFP," Rooke said.

The school department needs 40,000 square feet of space, Rooke said. Because of the layout of the former Federal Building, the city would have to lease 54,000 square feet.

The build-outs at either privately owned building would also be less expensive as those buildings already have some of the infrastructure the school department needs, he added.

Rooke acquired a copy of the contract through a Freedom of Information request and was surprised to see a section of the contract that dealt with financial figures was blank.

The mayor, the Finance Control Board, the state's secretary of Administration and Finance, the city auditor and comptroller, approved the contract. Rooke wondered why all of these individuals signed the contract without all of the final numbers in place.

"Did anyone read the lease before signing?" he asked.

He noted that neither the school superintendent nor members of the School Committee signed the contract. He said if they had signed, the School Committee would have been responsible for the first three years of expenses. As it stands the School Committee doesn't have to fund it, he added.

He said the lease with MassDevelopment is for 20 years and he objected to the length of time. He said the only other 20-year lease in which the city has entered is for the Thomas O'Connor Animal Control and Adoption Center.

The lease at the Federal Building is a "triple net" lease, which will cost the city more, Rooke said, than a gross lease. A gross lease would be offered at the privately owned buildings.

Rooke believes there might be a clause, which the city could exercise to get out of the lease, although there is no indication the Sarno Administration would use it.

In a statement sent to this newspaper, Sarno wrote, "This is the right decision for the school department and downtown Springfield. Moving the school department to this location will prevent this building from having its lights go out and prevent it from becoming dark . Failure to take this action would have had a negative domino effect along the Main Street corridor and this is something my administration has been working hard to change. Moving the Springfield School Department to this location is a key piece to downtown redevelopment. The former federal building is located adjacent to high value office towers. An empty building at this location would have become a nuisance for the city and would have hampered ongoing plans for the city to demolish the former Asylum Night Club building."

Rooke believes the city would be better off razing both the Federal Building and the former night club next door and creating a space that could either be re-developed or be used as "gateway to CityStage and the Entertainment District."

Sarno wrote, "As the State Street revitalization project continues to move forward, the current school department building becomes a prime real estate property for redevelopment and an RFP will go out after the school headquarters move has been completed."

Rooke asked in response why an RFP process is necessary for the present school department building, but not for the proposed new location.