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City Hall may be inaccessible for up to 9 weeks

City Hall is not expected to be accessible for several weeks over summer for those who can’t use the stairs.

An elevator modification is expected to require the lift to be out of commission for up to nine weeks, which impacts visitors and employees.

Other add-alternate bids include a ramp and a security system on the lobby. In all, the projects are estimated to cost $650,000, but nobody knows much about how access to meetings will go, according to leaders on council and administration officials.

“Nothing has been provided as far as updating the repair schedule by the administration,” said Randall J. Allison, city councilman.

“I believe, in general, the city needs to explore our current building for future facility needs of the administrative and public safety sides of city government,” Allison said.

“If someone called state Department of Labor and Industry and made a complaint, they would have a case,” said Joseph Gerardi, city codes administrator.

Mayor Gabriel J. Campana had no comment.

Trade and Transit Centre II can be used for council meetings, said William E. Nichols Jr., city finance director and general manager of River Valley Transit, which owns the building.

A ramp was promised by the administration as a means of providing full accessibility to the building, according to officials with the Center for Independent Living, who said they spoke frequently to committees, mayor and administration.

Bids are going out on the elevator modification and add-alternate bids also to contractors on the ramp and security improvements, Nichols said.

“Once they come back, we will provide council with the costs and council can do nothing, approve elevator modification, elevator security or elevator ramp,” Nichols said.

A pre-bid meeting on the three projects is expected to take place on the final Wednesday this month.

Reynolds Construction Management, Gannett-Fleming and the city officials are expected to be at the pre-bid meeting. The meeting is held to provide contractors interested in bidding on the projects the rules, Nichols said.

Council will have final say on what projects get funded, Nichols said.

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