City officials say it could cost as much as $1.7 million to put a new roof and install new windows and doors on the school.
AGAWAM – The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday on an emergency basis to appropriate $60,000 to pay for designs and a structural study for a new roof on Agawam Junior High School in order to meet a state deadline to be eligible for about $1 million in reimbursement.
The council took the vote after hearing from Patricia A. Cavanaugh, assistant school superintendent for business and human resources. She told the council that the city must get designs done by Aug. 15 in order to maintain eligibility for a Go Green grant from the Massachusetts School Building Authority for about $1 million for the project, now estimated at $1.7 million.
City Councilor Robert E. Rossi initially expressed qualms about taking an emergency vote, saying, “It is no secret we have needed a new roof for a very long time. I don’t think this is the council’s emergency.”
City Councilor Gina M. Letellier countered that instead of playing the “blame game” and trying to figure out who may have made an error the council should just approve the funding.
“We can’t say no to this kind of money in this kind of economy,” Letellier said.
Several other councilors also expressed that sentiment.
“I don’t want to lose the state funding on this,” City Councilor Robert A. Magovern said.
Cavanaugh said the project took longer that expected because the state did not tell the city until mid April that it had to get votes from both the City Council and the School Committee authorizing spending $15,000 to hire a so-called owner’s project manager. An owner’s project manager is an official who works exclusively for a municipality, looking out for its interests.
Meanwhile, Mayor Richard E. Cohen said Wednesday he is very pleased the council approved the funding. He said the Junior High School is more than 40 years old and has not had any major work done on it.
The Go Green grant will also pay for new doors and windows for the structure to make the building more energy efficient.
Putting on a new roof has been a capital improvement city officials have wanted to see done for some years now, Cohen said.
The vote had to done on an emergency basis to allow the council to approve the measure without a second reading as waiting until the council’s Aug. 1 meeting would be too late to get designs and a structural study done in time to meet the state’s deadline, according to Cohen.