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City hall to be repaired, Wellness Center ruled out
By Jordan Cohen
NILES
Mayor Thomas Scarnecchia has recommended that council authorize repairs for the 89-year-old city hall instead of renovating another structure or constructing a new building.
The recommendation followed an opinion from Law Director Terry Dull advising council against renovating parts of the Wellness Center to house city offices.
Asked by council President Robert Marino for direction during a public roundtable meeting Tuesday, Scarnecchia said he favored remodeling over the other options.
“We should put the money back into the building because I don’t see where we can afford anything else,” the mayor told council during a public roundtable meeting.
Niles has been in fiscal emergency for nearly two years.
Auditor Giovanne Merlo said renovations of another building or a new city hall would require significantly more money from the already strapped general fund than repairs to the existing building. Merlo said the fund will cover 10 percent of the repair costs to the current building.
City hall is in need of roof replacement, repairs to the brick veneer exterior, the basement and mold removal. The mold issue led to a one-day closing of the building last month. Architect Bruce Sekanick of Warren has estimated the costs of renovations at $550,000.
Council Ryan McNaughton, D-at large, called the situation “a dumpster fire” because of the age of the building and other infrastructure needs. “There will be dumpster fires in the future,” he said, “so why not talk about something new?”
Though there was sympathy for McNaughton’s position, no one appeared to support construction of a new city hall.
“We’ve got to move on this,” said James DePasquale, safety service director. “The cheaper way out is to remodel the building. DePasquale has been authorized to go ahead with the $64,000 replacement of the heating and cooling systems on the roof. Bids on the roof replacement are to be opened later this month.
Council effectively ruled out the Wellness Center after Dull said such action would violate restrictions in the deed that granted the land to the city in 1929.
“Waddell Park is a public park and using [the center] as city hall could cause the deed to revert back to the heirs of [the Waddell family],” Dull told council. “That’s why I don’t recommend it.”
Several council members agreed but for another reason.
“Seventy-five percent of the people I talk to don’t want it out of downtown Niles,” said Michael Lastic, D-at large. Other council members reported receiving similar feedback.
The $550,000 figure does not include other modernization renovations including installation of an elevator to bring the 1927 building into compliance with federal disability laws. “That could add another $100,000 to the price tag,” Sekanick told council. The architect said completely gutting and renovating the building could cost as much as $1.4 million.
Sekanick has been instructed to focus on immediate repairs and study the additional renovations including the elevator as future projects.
“In the end, we could get 30, 40 or 50 years out of the city building,” Marino said.