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Library's Expansion | Newspaper Articles
Councilors vow to push mayor for more information next time
Matthew Bruun, Telegram & Gazette, October 12, 2006
LEOMINSTER— Members of the City Council said Mayor Dean J.
Mazzarella can expect closer scrutiny of major funding
requests and budgets after the saga surrounding cost
overruns on the public library expansion.
The council voted 7-1 Tuesday to ratify the mayor’s
requested loan authorization worth $1.3 million. But the
wide margin of the vote belies the discontent that was
visible in the council chambers over the cost of the library
and the mayor’s handling of the funding request.
“I felt like I was backed into a corner and there were no
options,” Councilor Dennis A. Rosa said yesterday. “We could
have been more partners in this particular situation. I’m
never going to be put into this position again.”
Mr. Rosa was one of several councilors who suggested
alternative funding sources for the library cost overruns —
including free cash — that would have paid for the overage
without raising taxes.
Mr. Mazzarella pledged to councilors that he would look for
alternatives but stopped short of committing to specific
revenue sources. He has defended the timing of the bond
authorization request, saying he asked for the permission to
borrow as soon as the scope of the overrun was defined.
Library officials echoed that sentiment Tuesday, noting that
only days passed between their accounting of the situation
and the mayor’s petition to the council.
The bond authorization approved Tuesday night will make sure
the project’s costs are covered even as alternatives are
sought. Delaying the vote, Mr. Rosa explained, would have
added costs associated with bonding the project.
Councilor David E. Rowlands said he was confident the mayor
would seek alternative funding sources, adding the pressure
from councilors makes such an effort mandatory.
“I don’t care if he wants to brag about it, just do it,” Mr.
Rowlands said yesterday.
Several major capital projects loom on the horizon, such as
a water filtration plant and a new police station, with a
major project at Leominster High School also being
discussed.
As those projects move forward, Mr. Rowlands said, the mayor
can expect greater scrutiny from the councilors, who
indicated frustration they were not told the scope of the
library overruns until weeks before they had to vote on the
borrowing authorization.
“I’m not waiting for information,” Mr. Rowlands said,
referring to coming building projects. “I’m going to ask
more questions to get more information.”
He said he was upset the library was 80 percent completed
before the funding request was made.
“I’m going to be more proactive,” Mr. Rowlands said.
As for the library, Mr. Rowlands said the edifice would cast
a large shadow in the city as future projects are debated.
“People are going to walk into this building and they’re
going to say, ‘Wow,’ ” Mr. Rowlands said. “That’s good and
that’s bad. It all depends on what you believe the city’s
priorities are.”
Library supporters will revel in the beauty of the building,
he said, while critics will see resources that could have
been spent on other public buildings.
Library Director Susan T. Shelton said she understood the
“wow” factor Mr. Rowlands described but defended the
building and its amenities.
“We were looking to select materials and build a building
that stands the test of time,” Ms. Shelton said yesterday.
“It truly is a community building.”
With the council’s vote, she added, library officials can
focus anew on finishing the expansion and renovation and the
ongoing fundraising effort. The library, which has been
operating out of rented space at Crossroads Office Park on
Mechanic Street during the construction, is expected to move
into the revamped downtown space in April.
Mr. Rosa voiced support for the library project but said his
no vote Tuesday was a reaction to the funding mechanism. He
said the issue would make him take a closer look at Mr.
Mazzarella’s future financial requests.
“It’s given me more perspective on being a team player,” Mr.
Rosa said yesterday. “It seems to me to be too one-sided.”
He said the mayor can expect closer scrutiny of funding
requests and budgets as a result of the flap over the
library.
“I think there are going to be a lot more questions,” he
said.
Council President Robert A. Salvatelli said his colleagues
have held Mr. Mazzarella to a high standard and would
continue to do so.
“The mayor will have to earn every single vote through the
merits of his proposals,” Mr. Salvatelli said, adding the
mayor has done so, including the library vote. “If I had any
suggestion to him it would be to communicate more.”
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