Fix City Hall!! Don't Move!!

I hope the City Council will use the cost of the recent bids for construction at the Verizon Building as a basis to reverse this extremely poor idea of moving City Hall from its present location.

There are things about this deal I just can't believe right thinking people would agree with. How this project has gotten this far is beyond me.

The City taxpayers are paying rent of $30,000 per month for a building we aren't occupying? I would never advise my real estate clients to do this.

Did the City Council authorize the payment of rent when they authorized the Mayor to sign the lease? If not, how are these payments authorized?

City taxpayers will pay $600,000 for renovation of someone else's building for 3 years occupancy? This is on top of the $900,000 3 year lease. Cost for these two elements alone total over $1.5 million. I think it is highly likely that a project like this will also have unexpected or unanticipated costs that will surface once work begins. Change orders and more cost.

Once completed the Verizon Building will not have a room suitable for a Council meeting? The NYS Office of Court Administration manages the City Court and Rensselaer County manages the County Building and Courthouse. Will these entities allow the use of their facilities? Without cost? I think not. (In fact it was the vagabond nature of City Council meetings back in the 1970's that contributed to the need to build City Hall in the first place.)

What about the additional costs for relocating phones, computer, changing letterhead, providing parking (if you use the 5th Ave garage for City workers you reduce the supply of parking to support redevelopment of Proctor's, Quackenbush Building etc.)

All this so City Hall can be demolished with NO concrete proposal or developer to rebuild or redevelop the Riverfront site? No plans for a City Hall to be relocated back to the Riverfront IF the new development ever happens. Once we demolish the City Hall building we don't have a backup plan when all these "promises" fade away. (See "The Hole in the Ground" from Urban Renewal days).

As I see it the City Administration has a pot of $1.5 million available to make improvements. Why not put a new roof on City Hall (estimated cost $500,000) and demolish the upper parking deck then use the balance of funds to replace the carpet and upgrade the insulation of the windows etc. With some good planning and judicious investment, saving the existing City Hall at its Riverfront site will prove to be a much better long term solution for the City and for the taxpayers.