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Date: 3/15/2023
CHICOPEE — After months of deliberations, the City Council voted in opposition to the purchase of the MassMutual Conference Center on 350 Memorial Dr. for Chicopee Public Schools’ new administrative home during their March 7 meeting. The proposal was originally approved by the School Committee on Oct. 19, 2022.
The school department would have spent $8.3 million of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds awarded in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic to acquire the space. The funds would derive from ESSER III, making up 34 percent of the funding round’s resources.
Chicopee Public Schools 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 the city as a surplus property while city leadership weighs whether to repurpose or sell the space via a request for proposal (RFP).
The 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, 2022 meeting. The property was the only applicant to respond to the school district’s RFP. Since that meeting, the committee discussed the possibility during several regular and subcommittee meetings and also toured the space.
During the Oct. 19, 2022 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.
They viewed the 75,000 square foot property as an expansion opportunity of some school department services, such as a welcome center for English learners and refugee families and a family engagement center, while also including wrap around services from organizations like River Valley Counseling Center, the Department of Children and Families and Behavioral Health Network.
“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.
Still, the purchase could not occur without approval from the City Council.
The City Council first discussed the potential acquisition during their Nov. 15, 2022 meeting. Members of the council agreed that they needed to learn more about the educational and financial components of the purchase before voting, ultimately sending the discussion topic to the Education Committee and Finance Committee.
Additionally, Ward 6 City Councilor Derek Dobosz declared his immediate opposition against the proposal.
“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 building being unnecessarily large for the administration’s needs and a desire 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.
The Education Committee met on Dec. 23, 2022, to further discuss the school department’s vision for the space. Education Committee Chair Mary-Elizabeth Pniak-Costello said Chicopee Public Schools views the MassMutual Center as an opportunity to relocate several departments located within school buildings. The public access TV station ChicopeeTV, the Parks and Recreation Department and the Instructional Technology (IT) Department would have each had a new office in the property, allowing for expansion of services in several schools.
“[The relocation] would free space in schools to expand educational opportunities for schools … This would allow for the expansion of additional shops for career and technical education,” said Pniak-Costello in a January 2023 interview with Reminder Publishing.
The Finance Committee met on Feb. 23 and voted 6-0 to recommend a denial of the purchase. City Councilor At-Large James Tillotson expressed concern with using ESSER funds to purchase a new school administration home. He said the monies would be better utilized to support educational endeavors.
“I thought this money was given to us to improve the education of the schools … Our reading scores are not as high as they should be. Our math scores are not as high as they should be,” said Tillotson.
Other city leaders, such as Ward 4 City Councilor George Balakier and Chicopee Mayor John Vieau, advocated for the school department to find a more accessible location. Vieau suggested open space in Chicopee Center as a potential good fit.
“I would love to see the school district potentially locate downtown. It would be a boost to our center, and I believe there are potential locations,” said Vieau.
The council’s final deliberations took place during the March 7 meeting.
City Councilor At-Large Robert Zygarowski, who chaired the Finance Committee meeting, said that councilors were not convinced the purchase would be an improvement for Chicopee Public Schools.
“We did not feel the school department sold us a better bill of goods,” said Zygarowski.
The councilor stressed the committee “was not satisfied” with the school department’s educational vision with the space. They also took issue with the utilization of a significant portion of ESSER funds and the existing three years left on the school department’s lease at Dulong Circle.
Pniak-Costello also expressed concerns with the potential purchase.
“It just is not working out … There are too many questions, and those questions lead to how much money and how effective that money would be for direct student services. Are the students going to receive better quality services? There is doubt about that,” said Pniak-Costello.
The City Council unanimously approved the unfavorable Finance Committee report in a 12-0 vote. City Council President Frank Laflamme did not participate in any discussion on the purchase due to working for the property owner.
The City Council will meet again on March 21.