A $32,000 project in 2009 repaired a structural support in City Council Chambers.
Buckets have been place on stairs to catch water leaking in Westfield City Hall.WESTFIELD – Officials will move quickly on emergency repairs to City Hall if the City Council gives final approval Nov. 3 to a $3.4 million bond to address deteriorating conditions in the building.
The council gave preliminary approval Thursday night to the bond request. That action follows pitches by both Mayor Daniel M. Knapik and City Purchaser Tammy B. Tefft that at least two sections of the slate roof must be repaired or replaced before winter weather arrives.
Failure to act immediately could force the closing of two areas of City Hall to the public, Knapik and Tefft told several City Councilors last week.
Those areas involve a rear entrance to City Hall, one that leads to the Retirement Board and the other is an area that currently allows rain to seep into a records storage area.
Several city officials have said significant repairs and maintenance to the building has been lacking for at least the past 30 years.
The overall bond will allow the replacement of the entire slate roof which is beyond repair, Tefft said. It will also allow repair or replacement of windows in the building, re-pointing of the brick facade and new gutters around the building.
Water damage inside the building causes, by some estimates, the placement of up to 50 buckets throughout the building to catch water. Mushrooms are now growing in at least one ladies’ room on the building’s first floor.
Thursday's preliminary bond approval is expected to lead to a published ‘request for proposals’ quickly to address the issue.
Knapik said Friday he wants to be in a position on Nov. 4 to sign an emergency contract for the repairs.
“If the City Council grants final approval on Nov. 3, I want to be able to launch this project immediately to prevent further damage,” Knapik said.
City Hall, built in the 1800s, was once part of Westfield State College, now Westfield State University, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings. The city’s Community Preservation Act committee has allocated $400,000 toward repair of the building.
In 2009 the city launched a $32,000 emergency repair involving a support beam in the City Council chambers on the second floor.
City officials are planning interior renovations of the building once the exterior is repaired and water tight.