North Adams Plans $350,000 Restoration of Library Belvedere
Trustees and Friends of the Library tour the structure in 2017. The belvedere offers a dramatic view of the city and its surrounding mountains but has not been open to the public.
Mayor Jennifer Macksey told the City Council on Tuesday that this funding comes from the Massachusetts Preservation Commission.
"This money in conjunction with the bequest of Gail Carridi will be used to repare the belvedere, estimated cost of the project is about $350,000," she said. "The initial architect design was completed by funding that was earmarked by Rep. [John] Barrett and we thank the representative for the $75,000 earmark and we are finally going to be out to bid to repair the belvedere."
The two-story cupola was not renovated during the overhaul and addition to the library 20 years ago and has long been deteriorating. The plaster walls are cracking and the wooden laths are exposed in some spots, it has no heating or air conditioning, and the paint is peeling from the exterior window moldings. A hand-carved, dust-covered winding staircase connects the two stories.
The bottom level was insulated in 2019 through Green Community grant funds.
The cupola was a favorite architectural feature during the 19th century; a number were removed from other North Adams buildings, such as the Blackinton Block, as time went on. The library's was designed by Marcus Cummings of Troy, N.Y., the architect for the 1865 Second Empire manse built by Sanford Blackinton. It was purchased in 1896 by the city's first mayor, Albert Houghton, and donated for use as a library in memory of his brother.
The structure was long used for storage and has not been open to the public.
State Rep. Gailanne Cariddi, who died in 2017, was generous to the library, naming it as a beneficiary in her will. It received some $266,651.56 as well as smaller targeted amounts, such as a $7,500 gift toward establishing an astronomy program.
The city is also repairing the leaking roof on Brayton Elementary School with $200,000 in the school budget. That work started Monday, the mayor said.
She also updated the council on some other grants and projects, including the closing out of a grant for the Northeast Hangar renovation at the airport, a request for proposals for Sullivan School and two grants for Western Gateway Heritage State Park.
The city has received two proposals that are currently under review for the vacant school on Kemp Avenue. Several RFPs have been issued for Sullivan, formerly East School, but the only one seriously considered, for housing, was rejected by the council. The school has been closed since the opening of Colegrove Park Elementary in 2016.
Macksey said she is waiting to hear on two grants for Heritage Park: one for the roof and painting on Building 3 which houses the state museum for the Hoosac Tunnel and the second to do the envelopes — paint, windows and roofs — on the other buildings.
The council approved the transfer of $56,171.35 from the land sale account as the city's share of the $753,000 project. The Federal Aviation Administration provided $566,000 and the state Aeronautics Division some $130,000.
"I really want to close out these grants properly. Instead of rolling the city share balance I want us to start funding them ... rather than borrow," the mayor said. "The Airport Commission is issuing an RFP for the hangar management and the use of the future. We're expecting to have revenue to exceed about $20,000 per year, which would mean that this will be paid back in less than three years. We cash-flow potential there."
In response to questions, the mayor said the land sale account would have about $550,000 left and that any revenue would flow into the airport's revolving fund and, depending on the fund's total, could be paid back into the account.
The city also received a 911 regional grant for $796,000. This is Phase 2 of upgrading equipment; the first phase was building out the 911 system.
"This funding will support our goal of enhancing emergency response communications," said Macksey. "It will also let us purchase 39 portable radios for the Fire Department and 40 portable radios for police to replace equipment that has been in use since 2005."
She reminded the council and audience that the Department of Public Services had partnered with Tighe & Bond on an inventory of lead and copper pipe material. This will require information from residents.
"We mailed a bunch of postcards out and we're urging residents to update photos of their service line and complete the survey. Everyone should have received a postcard," the mayor. "Don't think it's a scam. It is legit and we are looking for that data."
Tags: historic buildings, NAPS, state grant,
