WESTFIELD – The Community Preservation Commission voted Thursday night to approve contingency funding for the exterior renovation of the Westfield Historical Industries Preservation Project (WHIPP), Inc. which will be located in the city’s remaining whip manufacturing facility at 360 Elm Street.
The CPC had awarded $72,500 in 2010 to WHIPP for the feasibility study to develop a business plan and assess the viability of establishing the living museum.
Carol Martin, whose family owns the Westfield Whip Manufacturing Company, said at the July meeting that WHIPP recently merged with Westfield Museum Inc., a group formed to showcase the city’s industrial history, thus expanding the scope of the original living museum concept to include a display area that will be used to other aspects of the city’s industrial past.
The building was constructed in the late 1800’s when there were 40 active whip-manufacturing plants in the city. The building is the last of those plants and still uses much of the machinery from that period in its current whip production, machinery that was designed and built in Westfield. Patent documents for that technology will eventually be part of the museum display. The building, constructed in 1894, is currently listed on the National Registry of Historic places and the state registry, as well.
The City Council approved the appropriation of $737,470 from Community Preservation Act accounts at its Feb. 25 session, with $379,985 coming from the CPA reserve for historic preservation account and $357,485 from the undesignated reserve account.
The appropriation included $27,000 for contingency funding.
Thursday night Martin said that during the current exterior renovation additional damage was discovered, including damage to the downspouts.
The original contract included funding for lead abatement, but during present renovation work it was discovered that asbestos may also be a potential asbestos problem in the window caulking which needs to be assesd and, if confirmed, abated as well.
“The $27,000 contingency is available to us subject to your approval,” Martin said to the CPC members. “The asbestos triggers a need to provide the (Department of Environmental Protection) with an alternative work plan.”
City Planner Jay Vinskey said that contingency funding was part of the appropriation approved by the City Council and will need no further council action to be released.
Martin said that “substantial completion of the exterior work is expected by Dec. 15” by the prime and subcontractors, all local companies.
The board voted 6-0 to release $15,137 of the contingency funds to address the problem discovered during the renovation project.
