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Date: 11/22/2022
CHICOPEE – As Chicopee Public Schools searches for a permanent administrative home, the School Committee voted 8-1 in approval of the school district’s request to purchase the former MassMutual Conference Center on 350 Memorial Dr. for their new administrative office. During the City Council’s Nov. 15 meeting, the council decided to send the topic to their Finance and Education subcommittees to learn more about the potential acquisition.
Background
The school department currently utilizes a leased property on 134 Dulong Cir. for administrative services. They moved into the space in August 2021 after deeming the Helen O’Connell Administration Offices on 180 Broadway St. aged and unsafe due to poor ventilation. The Helen O’Connell building has since been transferred back to city as a surplus property as city leadership weighs whether to repurpose or sell the space via a Request for Proposal (RFP).
The school department pays $280,200 annually for leasing the Dulong Circle property as part of a five-year lease agreement. Interim Superintendent Alvin Morton said the school administration staff began searching for a long-term base of operations soon after moving into the leased space.
School Committee members were initially presented the idea of the school department acquiring the former MassMutual Conference Center during a June 15 meeting after the property was the only applicant to respond to the school’s RFP. Since that meeting, the committee discussed the possibility during several regular and subcommittee meetings while also touring the space alongside the school department.
Chicopee’s school department plans to purchase the space for $8.3 million with Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds awarded in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic. During the Oct. 19 meeting, School Committee members, such as Ward 7 School Committee member Donald Lamothe and Ward 8 School Committee member Douglas Girouard, expressed their support for the project before it received School Committee approval.
“Utilizing the one-time monies that we have would make a meaningful, lasting impact on the services to the families … there is no burden to the city at this point because its federal money that we have to use before 2024,” said Lamothe.
“I’ve seen some properties, pretty much all of them in the city of Chicopee, keep going up and up as the years go on, so I don’t see this ever going down or getting cheaper for anybody … I just think it’s a good idea to acquire this property,” said Girouard.
Chicopee Public Schools can only acquire the property if they receive approval from the City Council.
City Council meeting
Mayor John Vieau presented the potential MassMutual property acquisition as a part of his mayor’s orders. Vieau recommended that the council sends the purchase to a subcommittee hearing so they can learn more information on questions regarding the School Department’s needs, the MassMutual property’s appraisal, the total cost to retrofit the space and what the annual maintenance costs would be.
“It’s no secret that the School Committee has voted to move this forward. I believe that some of these questions should be answered,” said Vieau.
Vieau also requested a letter from the state approving the use of ESSER monies to acquire the MassMutual location under ESSER fund guidelines.
When asked about his thoughts on the potential acquisition, Vieau said he’s maintaining an open mind.
“I’m keeping an open mind and I have not had some of these questions answered that need to be answered before anyone purchases real estate,” said Vieau.
The council agreed with the mayor’s sentiments. Ward 4 City Councilor George Balakier said the council needs more information before putting the topic to a vote.
“This is really a big issue in the city, and I think these are great questions. I think we really need more information before we can come up and make a decision on this,” said Balakier.
Ward 3 Delmarina López said the School Committee and Chicopee Public School department should be prepared to answer other questions regarding the property.
“These are not the only questions we will ask,” said López.
Ward 6 City Councilor Derek Dobosz declared his opposition against the acquisition.
“I know I am not going to vote for this, there’s no amount of information that’s going to convince me to vote for this,” said Dobosz.
Dobosz cited numerous concerns, such as the 75,000-square-foot building being unnecessarily large for the administration’s needs and the need to focus ESSER funds on other priorities.
“I don’t believe this is in the interest of the voters … We’re spending money on a hotel, not for our children, but the administration. I just think this is so wrong,” said Dobosz.
Ward 9 City Councilor Mary-Elizabeth Pniak-Costello shared similar concerns around the usage of ESSER funds that are dedicated to curbing learning loss in the aftermath of the pandemic.
“The reason ESSER funds were given to municipalities was to make sure children wouldn’t be victims of COVID-19 … My concern, as a former School Committee person for 24 years, is how is this going to benefit the children’s social-emotional being as well as loss learning time that happened during COVID-19?” questioned Pniak-Costello.
Pniak-Costello and City Councilor At-Large James Tillotson said they will keep an open mind on the topic despite possessing some concerns.
Ward 1 City Councilor Joel McAuliffe expressed that voting against the proposal before receiving more information would not be beneficial. He said the larger administrative space could represent some positive developments, such as expanding the school district’s career and technical education services.
“If this is truly about education, we need to take a greater look at what possibilities that having a larger administrative space could yield to our public schools,” said McAuliffe.
The council ultimately voted 12-1 to send the item to a joint Finance and Education committee meeting. Once the vote is returned to the council, a super majority of 9 yes votes will be needed to approve the purchase.
The City Council meets again on Nov. 29 for a joint meeting with the School Committee involving the selection of a new Ward 3 School Committee member following Saulo DePaula’s resignation.