Framingham: Saxonville Library Work Has Been Ongoing For Years

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Framingham officials were posed with a question at last month's City Council meeting: What's happening at the old McAuliffe Branch Library? Councilor George King told Chief Operating Officer Thatcher Kezer he noticed, "relatively extensive renovation," through the windows of the building and pressed him for answers on the cost. Kezer responded on Monday with a memo to the City Council that said, in part, that work on the library had been going on for years.

The most recent renovations started several weeks ago in preparation for the Capital Projects and Facilities Management (CPFM) Division to move into the building, as part of the shuffle to make room for the Health Department in the Memorial Building. The building, located on Nichols Road, has been empty since 2016, when the library moved to Water Street. Facilities workers have been using the building for about a year — only the administrative workers were in the Memorial building.

According to the city's memo, an electrical permit was pulled on May 6 to begin establishing electrical circuits to accommodate the office space. A preliminary building application was submitted to Inspectional Services on May 1. Remediation work in the building involved the removal of ceiling and floor tiles under a Department of Environmental Protection permit. A building permit was issued on May 28, allowing the CPFM staff to, "continue interior fit up for the administration space," according to the memo. The memo also noted that the majority of the work would be done by internal staff with a goal of finishing the project by mid-July.

The city's memo puts the cost of the interior renovation at $38,000, funded by savings in the Capital Projects and Facilities Management FY19 budget. "Back in October, Mr. Paolini assumed that the Health Department issue would have costs associated with a relocation and that we would need to identify a funding source for this move," the memo reads, "He has indicated that he should have the ability to absorb the balance of the cost associated with the build-out of his office space in the former McAuliffe Library in the current fiscal year from other savings created by being financially responsible."

On top of the recent renovations ahead of the CPFM move into the building, there has been work done to the building over the years to mitigate asbestos in ceiling and floor tiles as a result of water damage from a leaking roof, the memo said. The damage resulted in ongoing repairs of the facility with permits dating back to January 2017, according to the memo.

"Mr. Paolini and his staff have worked incredibly hard to address the challenge of accommodating the relocation of the Health Department," the memo reads, "Not only having to assist determining the best available options, preparing the new space at City Hall and physically relocating the offices but also giving up their own office space at City Hall when there were no viable options elsewhere."