23.249 An Order to Appropriate $30,000 Free Cash for City Hall Campus Space StudyCity of Northampton
Massachusetts
_________
In City Council February 16, 2023
Upon the recommendation of Mayor Sciarra
23.249 An Order to Appropriate $30,000 Free Cash for City Hall Campus Space Study
Whereas, the City of Northampton owns a cluster of buildings in downtown Northampton functionally known as the “City Hall Campus,” that includes City Hall, the Puchalski Municipal Building,
and Memorial Hall. These buildings house multiple city and Northampton Public School departments that provide services to city residents as well as public meeting spaces for the City
Council and city boards and committees; and
Whereas, more than one hundred municipal and school employees currently work and are based out of offices housed on the City Hall Campus; and
Whereas, the buildings of the City Hall Campus have significant maintenance needs, and the priority is to conduct all work to help reach our Climate Resilience and Regeneration Plan
decarbonization goals, and to that end assessment of space and usage is needed; and
Whereas, in the past year, the City has created or proposed additional staff to deliver critical services to Northampton Residents, including the transition of the Health Department
to the Department on Health and Human Services including the division of Community Care and the Climate Action and Project Administration Department, which have put pressure on existing
spaces; and
Whereas, multiple city departments have significant storage needs for documents, personal protective equipment (PPE) stockpiles, elections equipment, and other bulky community assets,
including those that must legally be kept on campus and whose storage directly competes with municipal employee desk space on the City Hall Campus; and
Whereas, an external, independent evaluation is necessary to recommend how to maximize the efficiency and equity of allotted space to each department according to their staff and storage
needs relative to the available space in all buildings on the City Hall Campus; so
Now, Therefore be it Ordered, that
The sum of $30,000 be appropriated from the FY2023 General Fund Undesignated Fund Balance (Free Cash) to complete a study on uses of municipal space in the City Hall Campus area, with
recommendations on efficiency of use.