This would be pathetic if it was not so sad. I wish that I had been asked to this meeting so Mr McCarthy and Joe Wagner would have been challenged on their version of the funding mechanism. Other than during the tour of the old CHS with State Treasurer Grossman, I have never spoken to Jack McCarthy let alone said what is shown as a direct quote. There was no rush to judgment~~~this was carefully and rigorously reviewed prior to the MSBA contract signing. The City Council, Building Commission and School Committee agreed with this position. The MSBA concern was noted and their approval was then given to move forward based on the $38 million estimate from the project managers. My concern was to cap this project at the estimated cost and everyone was told that the $38 million was the ceiling. We simply would have to make do with the approved amount. Unfortunately the projection of costs is not an exact science as I learned with the Comp project running $24 million over budget due to design flaws in the original plans. Reality is that actual costs are not known until the bids come in. Kos and Wagner have made it clear that they intend to blame my administration as much as possible whenever issues come up. Since it is asbestos removal that seems to be driving the cost estimates perhaps the city should be seeking funding for removal from other sources as a possible solutions. Much better to seek solutions than play the blame games. Its too bad for Chicopee that the haters seem to be letting their personal feelings blind them.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Mar 2014 19:04:15 +0000