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Date: 7/12/2022
SPRINGFIELD – Under the agreement reached between the Executive Office of the Trial Court and the plaintiffs led by Register of Deeds Cheryl Coakley Rivera, the state agency was supposed to perform a “deep cleaning” at the Roderick Ireland Courthouse.
According to the attorney representing the group of employees as well as photos sent to Reminder Publishing, what was done at the courthouse did not meet the specific requirement of the settlement.
Attorney Jeffrey Morneau explained to Reminder Publishing the situation involving the courthouse now reverts back to the settlement coordinator, and depending upon that decision, the lawsuit become active again. The decision should be within a 14-day period.
Morneau said, “The deep cleaning didn’t happen. They didn’t move anything. They didn’t move any books. You can’t deep clean without moving things … it was just a surface wipe.”
In the photos, there is enough dust and grime on shelves for a person to write “Hi.” Dust and potentially mold are covering an air duct. Wads of what appear to be lint and dust are in computers. Stained ceiling tiles are in place.
Morneau added the responsibility of fulfilling the requirements of the cleaning falls not on the cleaning company, but on the Trial Court.
The courthouse has been the center of controversy because of issues with dirt and mold that some people believe have caused illnesses among the people who work there.
According to the settlement, there were specific areas noted where mold remediation had to take place, such as carpets. The settlement lists the locations of where this work was needed.
The settlement notes, the “deep cleaning shall include but not be limited to cleaning of all carpets within the courthouse; using high tech HEPA filter vacuums to sanitize officer monitors, desks and keyboards; cleaning light fixtures and switches; cleaning back of office electronics and appliances; disinfecting the kitchens, bathrooms, toilets; cleaning interior windows; wiping office partitions, dispensers, doors and tile rails; mopping the floors; wiping down bathroom doors and handles; dusting window blinds; cleaning and disinfecting sinks; dusting and wiping all hand railings; emptying and relining wastebaskets; removing cobwebs from the ceiling and other surfaces; cleaning glass surfaces throughout the courthouse.”
The Executive Office of the Trail Court must also replace all water-stained and damaged ceiling tiles in the building and must fix the roof of the building to stop water leaks. In addition, windows must be repaired and re-caulked. Damaged sheetrock and wood trim will be replaced. Potential sewer line overflow must all be addressed with inspections, with a report coming out that inspections.
All of this cleaning was supposed to renew the building and give the employees greater confidence in working there, Morneau said. He compared it to the experience of having a car detailed.
Additional pressure
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno continued his push for the construction of a new court house last week.
He reacted to a statement from the state Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) issuing a request for proposals (RFP) “for a five- to seven-year lease for a 172,000 square-foot facility, with the estimated combined cost of the lease for a temporary location and renovations for the current ailing Roderick L. Ireland Courthouse totaling approximately $170 million.”
Sarno said in a written statement, “It makes no financial sense, nor is it timely or cost effective. To expend this amount of money, which in essence, would be nearly two-thirds of what it would take to build a new, state-of-the-art courthouse within four years and creating a tremendous spin-off component of economic development projects, boggles my mind. I can understand doing what needs to be done short-term for the current courthouse, but the employees, patrons and our residents deserve a new courthouse in Springfield.”