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Infante’s name removed from wellness center
By Jordan Cohen
NILES
The Wellness Center in Waddell Park will no longer carry the name of the city’s ex-mayor who is under criminal indictment.
Council unanimously voted Wednesday to repeal the original name – Mayor Ralph A. Infante Wellness Center – and replace it with the Niles Wellness Center.
Infante, who served as mayor for 24 years, awaits trial on more than 50 counts including bribery and theft in office.
Mayor Thomas Scarnecchia had pushed for the change shortly after taking office last year, arguing that retaining Infante’s name on the center as the prosecution moves forward “sends the wrong message.” Several council members said at the time they felt such action would be premature, but neither the mayor nor any council member made any public statement just before the vote.
The rationale appears in one sentence in the ordinance. “Council believes it is in the best interest of the city at this time to rename the Wellness Center,” it states without any elaboration. The ordinance was sponsored by “council as a whole.”
Infante had spearheaded the move to build the center, which opened in 2010, but has lost money ever since. The city, in fiscal emergency since October 2014, has been saddled with debt on the note that financed construction. An attempt to lease the facility for the cost of the debt failed earlier this year when no bidders came forward, requiring Scarnecchia to develop an alternative.
Council has another problem to worry about – actually 14 of them. That is the number of municipal buildings under a comprehensive review by architect Bruce Sekanick, some of which appear in serious need of repair. The most important is the facility that houses the police and central fire stations, and municipal court where council has its meetings.
“This is a 40-year-old building, and I would say it’s been cracking for 35 of those 40 years,” Sekanick told council Wednesday. “Real repairs are needed [and] you have to address and fix this, [because] it’s getting progressively worse.”
The architect assured council the justice center is safe to use, but with a caveat. “You can’t let this go on forever,” he said, adding that problems with some of the other buildings are adding up. As examples, Sekanick estimated the total cost of roof repairs at two other city buildings at $80,000.
He said his firm will complete its analysis of all 14 next week.
“Do we need all the buildings we have?” asked Sekanick. “You need to decide the most effective way.” He told council consolidation may be one solution.
The architect will discuss his analysis and its associated costs at a council roundtable scheduled for Wednesday. He said he expects his findings will leave council with some tough financial choices.
“You need a master plan,” he said. “[Doing] it the way we’ve always done it may not be the right answer going forward.”