Westfield City Hall (File photo by Frederick Gore)
WESTFIELD – The City Hall elevator will be shut down today to allow repair of a pump which is leaking, creating a safety concern which city officials hope is addressed by Wednesday, with the elevator back in service by Thursday.
The elevator, the only one in city hall, is needed by people who are mobility or COPD challenged and who need to reach the business offices on the upper three floors. The elevator, with handicapped access in the basement, was closed for nearly three weeks, beginning on March 24, after failing a state certification inspection.
Building Superintendent Jon Flagg said the custodian foreman Tom Curran discovered the oil leaking from the pump and called in the technician who determined that the pump needs to be replaced.
“This is something we found after the state inspection when Tom was cleaning up,” Flagg said. “None of the things cited in the noncompliance notification by the state inspector were safety issues.”
“This is a safety issue. A pump that sprung a leak and needs to be replaced,” Flagg said. “The pump replacement work is being done by Baystate Elevator.”
Flagg said that the prior three-week shutdown was because the city’s elevator contractor, ThyssenKrupp “took that long to get the paperwork to Boston to get an inspector back here. That was part of their contract, but they just dragged their feet.”
Flagg said the corrective steps were completed the day after the state inspection, but the city would not return the elevator to service until the inspector signed off on the recertification.
The elevator is located on the east side of City Hal, adjacent to the parking lot. There is clear wheelchair access to the entire first and second floors, but the third floor has an elevated section. The building was brought into compliance with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) when two wheelchair lifts were added to either side of the elected third floor section but that system requires the elevator to function to get people to the third floor.
Ward 4 City Councilor Mary O’Connell raised the ADA issue in April while the City Council conducted two public hearings while the elevator was out of service, preventing people who need that service from attending the hearings.
Three meetings slated for today have been rescheduled or cancelled. The License Commission rescheduled its meeting, while the Council on Aging and the Police Commission cancelled their meetings. The Commission for Citizens with Disabilities, slated for Tuesday night, also cancelled their meeting.
