RON RIX
WESTFIELD – Two City Council committees will recommend passage tonight of a resolution that would allow Mayor Daniel M. Knapik to enter into a multi-year lease for 6,000 square-feet of office space to house the School Department administration.
The Legislative & Ordinance Committee and the City Property Committee both discussed the resolution to allow Knapik to negotiate a lease based upon proposals received by the city in May.
School Department financial officer Ron Rix said the current lease for 6,000-square-feet of space at the Hampton Ponds Plaza is set to expire this fall and the property owner has to be notified if the department does not plan to extend that agreement.
Under the current lease the department is required to provide custodial services and maintenance supplies, as well as pay for utilities, such as electricity.
“But the space is not effective,” Rix said, describing paper-thin office walls that end an inch from the ceiling and a room configuration that does not provide effective working and meeting spaces.
BRIAN P. SULLIVAN
Rix said the city issued a request for proposals and received one for an inclusive lease at about $14 per square foot, $3,500 more expensive than the cost of occupying the Hampton Ponds location, but janitorial services, bathroom supplies and other items, for which the department was paying, are included in the proposed lease.
At-large Councilor James R. Adams asked Rix if the School Department has “a long-range plan” to meet the office space needs of the administration, currently spread across the city in four buildings, including city hall.
Rix said the district assessed all of the city-owned properties, including several vacant former school buildings and found that the cost of rehabilitating those buildings was prohibitive.
Two are former schools, the Parkside Academy, which was St. Casmir’s Church before it was purchased by the school district, and the other was the Moseley Elementary School. The recommissioning of the buildings would trigger improvements to meet energy efficiency and Americans with Disabilities Act access.
DAVID FLAHERTY
The resolution would authorize Knapik to negotiate a five-year lease with two two-year options to extend the lease.
At-large Councilor David A. Flaherty, who attended the joint meeting, suggested that the language of the resolution be amended with a cap of $14.
“I’d make a motion to amend the resolution not to exceed $14, which for a fully-loaded, all-inclusive space is pretty good in today’s market,” Flaherty said.
L&O Chairman Brian Sullivan and City Property Chairman Brian Hoose both agreed with Flaherty, but felt that the amendment should be made from the City Council floor when the resolution is discussed tonight.
The City Property Committee voted to refer the issue to the Legislative & Ordinance Committee because resolutions are brought out to the floor by the L&O.
