Saturday, January 15, 2022

The Monitoring the Agenda

Two more resolutions of interest have appeared on the agenda for next Tuesday's Common Council meeting: one regarding 400 State Street; the other for the Dunn warehouse.

The resolution for 400 State Street authorizes the mayor to enter into a contract with Lacey Thaler Reilly Wilson LLC to do a feasibility study on the adaptive reuse of the 204-year-old building as Hudson's City Hall. The choice of architectural firms is an interesting one. This is the same group that did the feasibility study for making 520 Warren Street, the current City Hall, ADA compliant and the feasibility study for transforming the John L. Edwards school building into the "Hudson Civic Center," which would include City Hall. The choice is interesting because Council president Tom DePietro has in past questioned the reliability of the firm's work. In October 2019, when asked if the three less expensive plans proposed by Lacey Thaler Reilly Wilson (there were four all together) would satisfy the ADA requirements, DePietro responded, "Do you think they do? . . . I don't think they do, but I'm not an expert." Since then, of course, it has been decided that the City will pursue the least expensive of the plans for making 520 Warren Street ADA compliant, while simultaneously doing the feasibility study for moving City Hall to 400 State Street. 

The feasibility study for 400 State Street is being financed with $100,000 from the Galvan Foundation, which wants to donate the building to the City.

The resolution for the Dunn warehouse simply authorizes the mayor to issue a request for proposals (RFP) for the adaptive reuse of the building. There is no indication if the RFP has already been written and whether or not it includes the three City-owned parcels north of the building. If the RFP has been written, it has not been made available for review by the public.
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5 comments:

  1. peterJanuary 15, 2022 at 3:50 PM

    Galvan figured out that they bought a white elephant and is hoping that they can unload it on the City. I'd love to see that structure restored, but not if it would impose another big tax hike on us.

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  2. John K. FriedmanJanuary 15, 2022 at 7:10 PM

    They have $100k to gift the city along with a building … but needs out tax money to do his “development.” This guy is so clearly on the grift.

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  3. John KaneJanuary 16, 2022 at 11:07 AM

    Why is the Common Council even entertaining this clearly awful idea when there is actual work that the community needs them to do?

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  4. P. WinslowJanuary 16, 2022 at 7:27 PM

    Anyone with half a brain would take that $100k and build a nice wheelchair ramp at the back of City Hall, with a handicap parking spot, or one down the side of the building. The building on State Street would be a good site for a local historical society and museum. Spending 100K for yet another "study" seems like such a waste of money. What is there to study? Any house inspector could go through the building and for $1,000 create a list of what is needed in terms of updating and repairs. Galvan must be in need of some big tax deductions.

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  5. Cheviot ViewsJanuary 17, 2022 at 9:55 AM

    Think you're onto something. Ramp at the rear or side, was wondering about that myself. Though, 400 State St. is pretty complex, no?

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