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Date: 6/22/2018
CHICOPEE – In a discussion marked by anger, the Chicopee City Council ultimately voted in favor of a $16 million bond to pay for repairs to the Chicopee City Hall.
Four councilors – Joel McAuliffe, Jerry Roy, William Courchesne and Derek Dobosz opposed passing the bond at this time for various reasons.
McAuliffe said he would not vote for the bond until all of the union contracts with the city have been settled. The city and the Chicopee Education Association have not yet come to terms. McAuliffe also made a motion to return the proposal to the Finance Committee for more discussion.
Dobosz argued the $16 million was unnecessary and $8 million was needed to retire the structural integrity of the building. He opposed the renovation of the auditorium at this time.
He also expressed his concern that Mayor Richard Kos was not at the meeting “to face them.”
“This is the most immoral vote I will face in two years,” he said.
Courchesne called for additional options to the $16 million plan and Roy said, “I’m not in favor of total renovations of City Hall at this time.”
The vote was preceded by several people talking to the council during the citizens speak out of the meeting. Joshua Clark of the Historical Commission admitted the bond bill was “a contentious issue with bad timing and bad optics,” but told the council the project would cost more in the future.
A representative of the Chicopee Education Association said the bond proposal bothered her when some classrooms in Chicopee schools reached 100 degrees or more during the hot days last week. She explained to the council studies have shown students perform progressively worse for every degree more than 80.
Lee M. Pouliot, director of Planning & Development, told the council that he and his staff have spent “countless hours” with architects since the summer of 2015 when the “Rose” window – the large circular stained glass window at the front of City Hall – collapsed.
He said that completing the repairs for the money being discussed was an “absolutely reasonable expectation.” He added the because of the City Hall’s historic status, the city must maintain the building whatever its use might be.
The project, which has been described as “Phase 1,” would include:
• Slate roof repairs and complete replacement of membrane roof systems;
• Installation of roof snow guard & building lighting protection systems;
• Foundation repairs;
• Stone, brick & masonry replacement and/or repair & repointing
• Stained glass window restoration and complete replacement of all non-stained glass windows; and
• Clock tower & rose window structural upgrades.
• Required accessibility upgrades);
• Full replacement of building fire alarm system;
• Significant HVAC system upgrades;
• Restroom renovations on all four (4) floors; and
• Auditorium rehabilitation.
McAuliffe also mentioned the council has not yet acted on the plan to bring municipal broadband to the city, and said the council “ is willing to ignore the needs of our future.”
This statement that clearly angered Councilor James Tillotson who said he was “insulted” there was an implication the council wasn’t proactive in advancing the city.
Tillotson added taxpayers would not see a considerable increase over the 20 years of the life of the bond. He added the city has already spent more than $2 million on the repairs and renovations to City Hall.
He discounted the idea of municipal Internet service and said, “It’s time to move on.”
Councilor Frank Laflamme noted how the boarded up windows of City Hall did not look good when the Cabotville industrial complex is being renovated as apartments.
“We have to set an example,” he said.
Five votes would have been needed to stop the proposal. The vote was nine in favor and four opposed.
In a written statement Kos said, “City Hall is in need of extensive repairs and doing so now will prevent further deterioration and potential structural collapses of stone work from occurring. Completing the project now minimizes the potential for increased costs if further deterioration occurs.”