The heating and air conditioning system in the public safety never worked well.
CHICOPEE — Police and firefighters may soon have some relief from sweating in the summer and freezing in the winter since city officials have agreed to replace the faulty heating, ventilation and air conditioning system in the public safety complex.
Police Chief Thomas Charette said he has worked in the station for more than 20 years and does not ever remember a time when the air conditioning or heat has worked properly.
When one city councilor asked if there was ventilation in areas of dispatch and cell areas, Charette responded: “We have ventilation in those areas but it doesn’t work.”
The City Council voted to spend $240,000 to replace the system. It already has been designed and will now take between six to eight weeks for equipment to be ordered and installed.
The public safety complex was originally designed to include district courtrooms on the third floor, but plans had changed and a separate courthouse was built across the street. The problem was the heating and air conditioning system was never modified to fit the changed building, Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette said.
“This is to fix a dinosaur,” City Councilor Dino A. Brunetti said. “Between the Police Department and the Fire Department, the air quality is poor.”
Adding to the problem is that windows in the building do not open. Councilors said they may be interested in looking at replacing windows in the future.
Bissonnette and the City Council have placed replacing the police station on its priority list, but with an estimated cost of $24 million and other projects, including the building of the senior center, happening now, it will take some time for it to move ahead.
About a year ago the City Council rejected a plan to spending $280,000 to take the land bordered by West Main, Grove and Oak streets by eminent domain for a location of a new police station. The council had a number of concerns about the property including not being ready to build the station.
“This will buy us some time. It will give the city taxpayers a little break,” Councilor James K. Tillotson said.