Councilors were presented an update to the construction renovation of Fitchburg City Hall —-or the “Taj Mahal” as the Mayor referred to it ;-)—- at our December 17th Council Meeting. Here are the slides:
Here is the FATV coverage of the meeting with presentation at the beginning of the meeting starting around 15 minutes.
Councilors and Councilors-Elect were invited to a construction tour of the New old Fitchburg City Hall building and old Bank of America Building- New Legislative Council Chambers building on Friday December 20th, 2019.
By Elizabeth Dobbins | edobbins@lowellsun.com | Lowell Sun
PUBLISHED: February 5, 2018 at 12:00 am | UPDATED: July 11, 2019 at 12:00 am
FITCHBURG — Over the course of a single term on City Council, each councilor weighs in on scores of issues, but few will match the impact of Tuesday night’s vote to give final approval on a $22.5 million renovation of “old” City Hall.
The $22.5-million loan order is the final piece needed to fund the project.
“This is pretty much a done deal once the vote is finalized,” said City Council President and Ward 4 Councilor Michael Kushmerek.
Supporters say the renovation would be a game-changing investment in the city’s downtown and key to economic revitalization.
Opponents point to the deteriorating condition of other city infrastructure, such as roads and schools, and say the project is a luxury the city can’t afford right now.
Chances look good for those who want to bring City Hall back to 718 Main St., which housed municipal government for 150 years until a beam cracked in 2012.
At a Committee-of-the-Whole meeting earlier this month, the body voted in favor of the loan order in at 8-1 vote, with At-Large Councilor Sam Squailia casting the only “nay.” At-Large Councilor Anthony Zarrella, whose father owns a business on Main Street, recused himself.
The vote total repeated itself at a City Council meeting the following week when the body approved a smaller $1 million loan order funding the project.
https://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/2018/02/05/fitchburg-city-council-faces-key-vote-on-city-hall-project/
Sentinel & Enterprise Article 1-12-2018
Voices raised for, against Fitchburg City Hall renovation
Council hears from residents on $23.5 million project
'It was standing room only in the Memorial Middle School library as residents, public officials and local leaders weighed in on the proposed $23.5 million City Hall renovation Thursday night.
Of the 50 people who spoke during the comment period, about 30 expressed support for renovation. Most of the remainder spoke against putting money toward the project, at least this year.
The City Council, in an 8-1 vote, turned down a petition signed by about 50 residents calling for an extended public comment period on the proposal. Only At-Large City Councilor Sam Squailia voted in favor of the proposal.
Following the comments from both the public and city councilors, the Council as a Whole recommended a $1 million appropriation and $22.5 million loan order to the City Council. To pass, the council must vote on the proposals twice: at the upcoming City Council meeting on Tuesday and again on Feb. 6. Squailia was the only councilor to vote against the recommendations.'
https://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/2018/01/11/voices-raised-for-against-fitchburg-city-hall-renovation/#ixzz53yhD7HH7
By Elizabeth Dobbins PUBLISHED: January 9, 2018 at 12:00 a.m. | UPDATED: July 11, 2019
City councilors want schools better prepared to combat cold weather
A challenging first week back continued into a tough second as a burst sprinkler head caused administrators to close Longsjo Middle School on Monday, making it the third school in the district to cancel classes due to damages since Jan. 2.
The school will also be closed Tuesday, as ceiling tiles affected by the leak undergo testing for asbestos, according to Fitchburg Schools Superintendent Andre Ravenelle.
Some city councilors blame days of historically cold weather for the closures, others point to the need for more dollars spent on school repairs. Several want more answers.
At-Large Councilor Sam Squailia who believes the problems might be caused by a combination of issues.
"The sheer amount of problems that we're having with a very large number of our school buildings show, to me, that we have a maintenance issue," she said. "Regular upgrades to schools and proper maintenance is going to be crucial going into the future."
The proposal -- which will appear on City Council agendas for discussion this Tuesday and Thursday -- is phrased by some opponents of the City Hall project as a choice between it or fixing the schools.
During a presentation to City Council (Nov 2017) City Auditor Calvin Brooks described a means of funding that could pay for the City Hall, fund $6 million of the proposed $31.3 million public library renovation project and pay the city's portion ($12M) of a $60 million renovation to Crocker Elementary School.
...Squailia argues the City Hall project will make a difference in funding, especially if the Crocker location becomes not just an elementary school, but a school for kindergarten through eighth graders, as school officials have recently suggested.
"If we need more money for Crocker, does that come out of the school budget? Does that come out of the six million for the library?" asked Squailia. "The $22 million borrowing for the City Hall affects the amount we can borrow for all other municipal projects. One could make the argument we are putting City Hall before the schools."
But Kushmerek, as well as some other councilors, aren't convinced and say these issues should be evaluated individually and in context.
"We can't be too reactive to what's happened in the past month,"
https://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/2018/01/09/fitchburg-city-councilors-weigh-in-on-recent-school-building-issues/
Sentinel & Enterprise Article January 7, 2018
Petition pushes to delay Fitchburg City Hall vote
By Elizabeth Dobbins | edobbins@lowellsun.com | Lowell Sun
PUBLISHED: January 7, 2018 at 12:00 am | UPDATED: July 11, 2019 at 12:00 am
FITCHBURG — Over four dozen people signed a petition asking City Council to approve an extended public comment process regarding the proposed $23.5 million City Hall renovation.
“I don’t think City Council has been particularly responsive to citizens, so if the informal email and calling doesn’t work then you’re looking at the formal mechanism. (It’s) an attempt to raise issues, raise concerns,” said Stacey Fenton, a Fitchburg resident who collected signatures and submitted the petition with her partner Robert O’Brien.
The petition — which will come before the City Council on Tuesday — makes two requests.
First, the four newly elected City Councillors “be fully briefed” by the architectural firm Lamoureux Pagano & Associates, which completed the study outlining five options for City Hall and presented their findings to prior City Council in mid-November.
Second, the petition requests three public meetings held with a 14-day notice and “adequate advertising” through newspapers, the city’s website, electronic road signs and other venues. Both viewpoints should be given 30 to 45 minutes to present their case, the petition reads.
O’Brien said the petition is a response to the public process of weighing the City Hall project last year, which he called “sneaky,” noting he believes the advertising for the November meeting on the project met legal requirements, but did not adequately inform the public.
“I don’t think unsatisfied begins to cover it with an issue of this magnitude,” O’Brien said. “Saying that I was unsatisfied is like saying the sailors at Pearl Harbor were unsatisfied about the early warning on Dec. 7.”
City Council President Michael Kushmerek said, though meeting attendance was relatively low at about 50 people, the November presentation to councilors and the public was advertised on the city’s website, in the newspaper and on “numerous” Facebook sites. The City Council also moved from its usual venue in Memorial Middle School to an auditorium at Fitchburg State University to accommodate a larger crowd.
More notice, better advertising and improved awareness of the project’s price tag would bring hundreds of the people to meetings, said O’Brien. He also noted the city’s website where information was previously posted was difficult to use.
Kushmerek said City Council will likely elect to move voting on this petition to the Committee-of-the Whole meeting on Thursday.
“All petitions are always referred to committees,” he said.
The petition was moved on the agenda to be read before the reading of two City Hall-related agenda items, which propose funding for the City Hall. If the petition is approved, the discussion of these later two agenda items could be delayed, according to Kushmerek.
“If councilors vote to (approve the petition), while we might not necessarily be bound in that moment to do so, I think the council would generally adhere to (the request),” he said.
Even if the petition is not passed, Kushmerek said the public will still have three opportunities to comment on the project before City Council takes a votes: once at the Thursday Committee-of-the-Whole meeting and two more times at separate readings during City Council meetings.
Addressing the second part of the petition about briefing new councilors, Kushmerek said the four City Councilors who were sworn in this year were all present at the November presentation and have also been briefed by city officials on the project. These officials are also expected to make a similar presentation at the Thursday meeting, he said.
Fenton and O’Brien both oppose the City Hall project, which they say will use funding better spent toward tens of millions in repairs to the city’s schools. O’Brien said he has a middle school student in the district’s schools.
Their complaints come after several months of public concern regarding the school district’s infrastructure, spurred this fall by severe roof leaks at Longsjo Middle School, which caused the closure of the building’s top floor. The concerns continued this week with the temporary closure of two elementary schools and several classrooms in two other district schools following damage sustained during the freezing temperatures.
Though city officials have previously said Fitchburg has the debt capacity to pay for the City Hall, Crocker Elementary School and a portion of the Fitchburg Public Library renovation projects, the two petitioners point to needs at other schools and say a new City Hall is a luxury.
“We have something in 166 Boulder that is good enough,” Fenton said. “For a hard scrabble working-class city, ‘good enough’ for right now is fine. We need to get onto the schools.”
Fenton said even if City Hall is approved, she believes she will see a change the conversation in the city.
“I think there’s been an assumption as citizens that these things were being taken care of for us and I think a lot of people are waking up to the fact they do not share the same values as we do,” she said. “Even if the appropriation passes … I think there will be an ongoing conversation about what the future of Fitchburg should be. Where we put our money and what we hold dear.”
Regarding the City Hall Loan Order on the 11/21/2017 City Council agenda:
'As per legal requirements for advertising and the current city council schedule would undoubtedly continue this Order into the new 2018 City Council', It has been determined by Bond Counsel, that the current City Council cannot start deliberation on a Loan Order, and have the new 2018 City Council vote on the same loan order.
Therefore, they are likely to withdraw the loan order, and resubmit in the new year, on January 4th 2018.
I start speaking at 16:53
I start speaking at Public Comment Starting 1:54:20
Celebrating #CityHallSelfie day today by
Engaging Local Government Leaders in @FitchburgMass
with a little #Fitchburg City Hall History!
From Fitchburg's Current City Municipal Offices at 166 Boulder Drive to our First Meetinghouse location built in 1766.
See Pictures for more Historical & Future Locations! Enjoy!
@ELGL50
#localgov #CityHallSelfieDay
Celebrating #CityHallSelfie day today in @FitchburgMass with a little #Fitchburg City Hall History!
Here is Fitchburg's Current City Municipal Offices at 166 Boulder Drive.
See thread for more Historical & Future Locations! @ELGL50 #localgov #CityHallSelfieDay
This #CityHallSelfie is @FitchburgMass
4th Meeting House and Official City Hall built in 1853 at 718 Main St; abandoned in 2012 due to structural roof failure from longtime roof leaks. $23.5M was appropriated in 2018 to rehab & we expect to reopen late 2020. @ELGL50
This building is @FitchburgMass
2nd Meeting House which was moved from the point of the Upper Common where the First Parish Church now stands (see next). The Oldest Building in the city; it took 99 meetings to agree on location & built in 1796. #CityHallSelfie @ELGL50
This #CityHallSelfie is at the original location of our 2nd Meetinghouse at 923 Main St (now moved to 900 Main St). This 'new' church was built in 1837...and then served as our '3rd' Meeting House until our 1853 City Hall was built at a cost of $40k. @ELGL50
Lastly, this is the approx location of @FitchburgMass
First Meetinghouse, built in 1766 at a cost of $166, on land donated by Thomas Cowdin at the corner of Blossom and Crescent St. @ELGL50
