MASON SQUARE LIBRARY ADVISORY COMMITTEE is currently on hiatus. MSLAC will resume meeting soon on the last Thursday of each month from 6 to 7 pm at the Mason Square Health Center, corner of Eastern Ave. and Wilbraham Rd. Everyone interested in supporting and improving our neighborhood library is welcome to participate.
Special session of Library Commission to address eminent domain taking of 765 State St. on Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 5:30 pm, Central Library community room (ground floor). All interested parties are invited to attend this public meeting.
November 5, 2008 - ReminderCity Drops Library BombshellBy G. Michael Dobbs Managing Editor SPRINGFIELD City Councilor Timothy Rooke plans to refile his order asking Mayor Domenic Sarno to initiate eminent domain land taking proceedings on the present headquarters of the Springfield Urban League to re-establish the Mason Square branch library in its former location. Rooke's announcement came just hours after the Springfield Library Foundation meeting on Thursday at which Foundation member and City Councilor Patrick Markey presented a document that "shocked" Foundation President and former Mayor Charles Ryan. Rooke told Reminder Publications that earlier this year five of the nine city councilors supported the measure and he believed others would join in as well. Ryan said the revelation of a confidential agreement between the Springfield Urban League and the Attorney General's office that paved the way for the AG to approve the sale of the Mason Square Library to the Urban League in 2003 pushes discussion of other potential library sites "off the table." The legal counsel for the foundation, John Egan and Paula Trudeau, along with City Solicitor Edward Pikula, analyzed the provisions of the agreement that was obtained by Markey. Markey said he had heard rumors about an agreement and requested the document through the state's Public Records Law. The agreement states, "In the event that the Urban League desires to offer the premises for sale to third parties, the Urban League shall first offer the Premises to the SLMA [Springfield Library and Museums Association] (the "Right of the First Offer")." The agreement continues to state the SLMA "shall have the right to purchase the Premises for the sum of seven hundred thousand dollars," plus the increase in the consumer price index -- about 15 percent of $700,000 -- and reimbursement for any improvements made to the building. If the city takes over the library functions of the SLMA -- which it did shortly after the sale of the building in 2003 -- the agreement stipulated, "the SLMA's Right of First Offer shall be assignable to the City of Springfield." Egan explained the agreement establishes a value and puts an "absolute cap on the fair market value" of the Urban League building. Egan added that in eminent domain issues, the city takes possession of a building on the day of the filing of papers. A check is written to the property owner based on the appraisal of the property. The owners then have three years in which they could file a dispute over the size of the settlement. Egan said that with current court schedules, a lawsuit could then take another three years to settle. Generally, he added, courts approve the taking of properties for public uses such as police and fire stations, schools and libraries. Sarno, who attended the meeting, asked repeatedly if anyone in the Ryan Administration or members of the foundation board knew of the existence of this agreement. The answer from everyone at the table was no. Ryan said he recently spoke with the legal counsel of the Springfield Museums and they were not aware of the agreement. Ryan said that as mayor he had tried to negotiate a sale price of the building with Urban League President Henry Thomas. The city made offers in excess of a $1 million. Prior to the discussion on the agreement of the letter, architect Stephen Jablonski presented his findings to the foundation board on the Muhammad's Mosque #13 building as a site for the new library. Sarno had named the mosque as his preferred site for the library earlier this year and had requested the foundation to use funds from the library's endowment to purchase the building for $950,000. Jablonski said converting the building into a library would cost $4,100,400, which would include alterations to the building including a new heating and cooling system, a new elevator and stairs to satisfy current building codes, as well as landscaping. He compared that building to the former library building and noted the former library building has more space and the property is larger as well. Sarno said after the meeting that he was "very shocked" at the existence of the agreement and that "without this information, [taking the building through] eminent domain would have been a difficult situation." Although he and Ryan have had disagreements on the location of the library, Sarno said the two men concurred, "The whole point is to get the library they need A.S.A.P." |
The revelation last week of a secret agreement reached during the sale of
Springfield's Mason Square library probably shouldn't have come as such a big
surprise.
After all, the sale of the library was cloaked in secrecy and bad faith from
the start. In 2003, when the Springfield Library and Museums Association—the
privately run, publicly funded group that controlled the city libraries at the
time—sold the Mason Square branch, at 765 State Street, to the Springfield Urban
League, it did so with no community input or notice. Instead it was a
clandestine deal, signed off on by a group of out-of-towners—including
Springfield Republican president David Starr and Big Y CEO Donald D'Amour, both
very influential figures in the SLMA—who showed no respect for the city
residents who used and paid for the library.
Since then, Urban League President Henry Thomas has defiantly hunkered down
in his new home, rebuffing repeated calls for his organization to find a new
space and free up 765 State Street to be returned to its original use. That was
no surprise; Thomas got the building for a steal. The Urban League, at the time
facing eviction from the shabby city-owned building where it had enjoyed a
rent-free existence for years, paid just $700,000 for the library, which only
two years earlier had undergone a $1.2 million renovation, more than half of it
from city bonds.
Last week's news suggested another reason why Thomas would be loath to leave
his plush new digs: two months after the sale, an agreement was reached between
the Urban League, the SLMA and the Attorney General that ensured that Thomas
could not turn around and sell the building for a big profit. Under the terms of
the agreement, should the Urban League want to sell, the city (which took
control of the libraries from the SLMA a few months after the Mason Square sale)
would get the right of first refusal. In addition, the Urban League could charge
the city no more than the $700,000 it paid for the building, plus a percentage
added to reflect the increase in the Consumer Price Index over the time it owned
the building and the cost of any building improvements it had
made.
If the city opted not to exercise its right of first refusal, the agreement
continued, the Urban League could sell the building to a third party, but any
profit it made over the original $700,000 would be paid to the
city.
The revelation of the agreement gives new life to a scenario some residents
and politicians have been pushing: for the city to take 765 State by eminent
domain, paying the Urban League fair market value for the building. While that
idea has been gaining strength—in July, the City Council passed a non-binding
resolution supporting it—many have dismissed it as a costly and lengthy process,
especially given Thomas' indication that he would legally fight a taking.
The secret agreement, however, appears to significantly weaken the Urban
League's case, and sets a cap on how much the city would have to pay for the
building.
*
News of the agreement quickly overshadowed what was supposed to be the center
of attention at last Thursday's meeting of the Springfield Library Foundation: a
report by an architect to determine how much it would have cost to transform the
mosque building at 727 State Street into a new library for Mason Square.
The foundation had hired the architect, Steve Jablonski, after Mayor Domenic
Sarno announced plans this summer to buy the mosque for $950,000. The foundation
controls a trust fund that Sarno planned to tap to buy the mosque, as well as a
$334,000 legal settlement earmarked for a Mason Square library. That money was
won for the city by then-City Solicitor Pat Markey, who, under then-Mayor
Charlie Ryan, sued the SLMA over the sale of the library.
The mosque building, Jablonski reported, would need substantial renovations,
including a new stairway to the second floor, an elevator, a fire sprinkler
system, windows and skylights. The HVAC and electrical systems would need
"considerable updating"; a boiler, heating system and at least three buried oil
tanks would need to be removed. Total price tag, including the sale price: $4.1
million.
Sarno's plan to buy the mosque was poorly received in some corners even
before Jablonski's report. City Councilor Tim Rooke criticized Sarno for
committing to a price for the building without first investigating the
renovation costs or getting an appraisal. (City assessors place its value at
$400,000.) Sarno's choice to buy a new building rather than pursue eminent
domain was also politically sticky; earlier that summer, he'd accepted from
Thomas a $500 campaign contribution, the annual maximum allowed by
law.
Rooke, a long-time advocate of taking the old library, told the Advocate he
intends to file an eminent domain resolution at the next City Council meeting,
and early calculations suggest he'll get the necessary votes. The Springfield
Library Foundation has already hired attorney Jack Egan, an expert in the area
of eminent domain.
In an interview last week, Charlie Ryan, who's now chairman of the
Foundation, was reveling in the news of the agreement. Rumors of the deal had
been circulating around the city for a few months but only came to light after
Pat Markey, now a city councilor, hunted it down through the Attorney General's
office. "When we got it, we were stunned," Ryan said.
At deadline, neither Sarno nor Thomas (who hasn't returned calls from the
Advocate) had weighed in on the matter. Also still unanswered are questions
about what initially prompted the agreement (which, according to the document,
was created "upon the request of the Attorney General") and, more intriguing,
why it was kept secret. In its final line, the document states that the Urban
League and AG "shall maintain the confidentiality of the Agreement at all times
to the extent permitted by applicable law."
"I don't understand how the AG enters into a confidential agreement," Ryan
said. The agreement, he noted, was designed to protect the city's interests.
"How is the city of Springfield supposed to benefit from this if we don't know
about it?"
By MIKE PLAISANCE
mplaisance@repub.com
SPRINGFIELD - A lawyer who specializes in eminent domain cases told
a City Council committee Wednesday the city could seize and occupy the
Springfield Urban League property at 765 State St. for a public library very
quickly.
The dispute over a public library for the Mason Square area
continued at City Hall with residents lamenting their neighborhood's lack of a
full-scale branch library since 2003.
The
private, nonprofit Springfield Library & Museum Association sold the Mason
Square branch library at 765 State St. to the Urban League for $700,000 in 2003.
A much smaller version of the branch library remains housed in the building.
"We were horrified that the library was stolen out from under us and we
want it back," said Kathryn A. Wright of the Mason Square Library Advisory
Committee, during Wednesday's meeting. Mason Square residents formed the
committee to deal with library issues.
An Urban League lawyer earlier in
the day questioned why those considering an eminent domain taking failed to
weigh the thousands of people affected if Urban League programs must cease or
move.
League lawyer A. Craig Brown also reiterated the city faces a
battle if eminent domain is pursued.
"We would be very aggressive in
fighting any attempt," Brown said.
The meeting of the State and Federal
Government Relations Committee was scheduled as officials said they were still
trying to figure out an eminent domain-related development that came to light
last week.
At a meeting Oct. 30 of the Springfield Library Foundation,
officials said they learned of a previously unknown 2003 agreement that appears
to give the city a $700,000 price tag for taking 765 State St. by eminent
domain. A set price tag could considerably reduce the city's legal costs of
determining a fair price for the property, said John J. Egan, lawyer for the
nonprofit Springfield Library Foundation. The foundation was formed in 2004 to
provide a way for the city to receive financial gifts for library use.
The document that prompted Wednesday's meeting was signed June 20, 2003,
by Brown and Jamie Katz, then an assistant state attorney general. It seems to
cap the fair market value of the property at the building's original sale price,
with allowances for inflation.
Brown said the fair market value cap
provision was included in consultation with the attorney general's office, but
with the firm understanding of the Urban League that it has no intention of
selling 765 State St.
"It's the position of the Urban League that that
provision does not have anything whatever to do with (an eminent domain) taking
because it's only operative by the Urban League to sell the property and that's
not going to happen," Brown said.
As for the provision, Brown said, "I
asked for it to be confidential ... because I, pretty generally speaking,
thought it was nobody else's business."
Egan was asked to shed light on
the matter.
Egan, who was praised by officials at the meeting for his
experience in eminent domain cases, said the provision about the fair market
value cap means the city would have to pay that amount and about another
$100,000 to cover inflation costs, for a total of about $800,000.
The
attorney general's office was involved in the sale of 765 State St. because that
agency regulates nonprofit groups, Egan said. The attorney general staff
probably wanted the provision to ensure the Urban League didn't turn around and
sell the property for a big profit, he said.
Egan said seizing 765 State
St. by eminent domain is doable because a library is a public purpose.
"That's like a fire station, a police station. That's not a close call,"
Egan said.
Also, he said, the city could occupy 765 State St. almost
immediately regardless of Urban League litigation.
"The taking is a very
quick process," Egan said.
The provision was included under previous
Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly. Harry J. Pierre, a spokesman for current
Attorney General Martha M. Coakley, said Wednesday he had no knowledge of the
provision.
He
called it a game changer in the five-year struggle to restore expanded library
service to Mason Square.
The property was the site of the Mason Square
Branch Library until 2003 when the Springfield Library & Museum Association
sold it to the Urban League for $700,000. A portion of the building is reserved
for a lending library, but there are complaints that it is not the same as a
full branch. City officials and residents have been trying to locate the branch
in a new home and had been viewing the mosque as the most likely candidate.
Foundation lawyer John J. Egan and city solicitor Edward M. Pikula
indicated that the newly discovered agreement could clear the way for the city
to obtain the Urban League site through eminent domain. Egan, who said he has
handled about 100 eminent domain cases, said it can take six years of litigation
to determine the value of a property sought under eminent domain.
In
this case, he said, "you have this agreement that sets a maximum that they (the
Urban League) can realize," he said.
The Urban League has resisted
attempts for the city to regain the property, and league President Henry Thomas
III has said the group would fight an eminent domain attempt. He could not be
reached for comment Thursday night.
City Councilor Patrick J. Markey,
former city solicitor under Ryan, said the document came to light after he
submitted a public information request to the state Attorney General's office.
"There had been rumors of this," but nothing in writing, he said.
He and Ryan said they could find no one on the city side who knew about
it.
The final paragraph in the document states "the Urban League and the
Attorney General shall maintain the confidentiality of this agreement at all
times to the extent permitted by applicable law."
Sarno said he found it
hard to believe no one in city government knew about it. Several times at the
meeting he asked "And no one knew about it?" He said he will have the city Law
Department review the agreement document before deciding what happens next.
City Councilor Timothy Rooke, who was not at the meeting, said he will
re-file a motion at the next council meeting to recommend the city initiate
taking the property.
The council voted 5-3 in favor of such a move in
July, and it was taken under consideration by the Springfield Finance Control
Board.
A land-taking was never pursued after Sarno in August announced
plans to purchase Muhammad's Mosque 13 at 727 State St. for a library site.
The purchase of the mosque appears to have been derailed after Stephen
Jablonski, the architect hired by the foundation to examine the property, said
it would need $3.15 million in structural improvements beyond the $950,000
proposed purchase price to be suitable for a library.
August 26, 2008
SARNO ANNOUNCES MASON SQUARE LIBRARY
SITE
The
following is a copy of Mayor Sarno’s remarks in announcing 727 State Street as
the site for the New Mason Square Library:
I don’t need to tell you that the matter of
the Mason Square Library is one that has languished for far too long –remaining
unresolved under the Ryan Administration and inherited by me upon taking office
in January.
I am pleased to announce today that the Sarno
Administration has brokered an agreement with owners of the property located at
727 State Street, commonly known as Muhammad Mosque #13, for the sale of that
building to the City of Springfield for the sole purpose of a Mason Square Library for a sum of
$950,000.00.
It is my goal to schedule a closing with the
Registry of Deeds as soon as possible; and to finally get, as I have always
said, the residents of Mason Square the library they deserve.
To that end, I will immediately request that
the Board of the Springfield Library Foundation release funding for the
building’s purchase.
I am especially pleased to make this
announcement today because it is 100 percent aligned with the recommendation
brought forward by the community as
it is represented by the Mason Square Library Steering Committee.
After a seven-month search process of
investigation and consideration of over a dozen sites, that committee
recommended on July 24, 2007, that the new Mason Square Library be located at
this property.
The original asking price was $1.2 million. Subsequently, the offer was taken off the table when the owners of 727 State Street decided not to sell.
Throughout the summer, I have been in contact
with Minister Yusuf Muhammad, who serves as president of the Muhammad Mosque #13
board and the newly formed Black Leadership Alliance, represented by retired
Mass Mutual V.P. Ron Copes, who helped me facilitate this deal. I am truly grateful for their efforts.
I am thrilled that our talks have led not
only to the minister’s reconsideration of selling the property,
but also at a lower cost to the
City.
I fully expect the Springfield Library
Foundation to support this development with the level of enthusiasm and
commitment they demonstrated last July following the committee’s recommendation
to locate a Mason Square Library at this site.
In its recommendation, the Mason Square
Library Steering Committee cited several key factors in identifying the mosque
as the preferred location for a library.
Some of those reasons include: its status as
a modern building in terms of electrical, heating and cooling facilities; its
location near the heart of Mason Square; and its close proximity to schools.
This location also fits exactly within the perimeters of the Annie Curran
endowment.
This is a good day for all residents of
Springfield, but especially for the residents of Mason Square who have endured
six years without having a full library to call their own.
This announcement represents the first step towards closing that chapter of Mason Square’s history.
May 27, 2008
Mayor Sarno has requested structural and hazardous material assessments on the old Mason Square Firehouse and the McKnight Mansion (former funeral home) to see if a new branch library could be made at either site. We are awaiting word. The MSLAC is 'on hold' until a decision is made.
The Mayor promised a decision on a site for the Mason Square Branch Library "very soon" - that was in January. The situation is complex, but we are assured that Mayor Sarno does, in fact, want this issue settled. So do we. This community deserves a FIRST CLASS LIBRARY, as we once had. We have been waiting too long already.
NOTE: As of April 9, 2008, it has been FIVE YEARS since the Mason Square Branch Library was sold by the Museums Association to the Urban League with zero public input.
A rally is scheduled for 6 pm, Wednesday, June 11 at Rebecca Johnson School, on taking back the original library building at 765 State Street by eminent domain. This meeting has been called by Mo Jones and Bud Williams, who have said they are against converting the old Mason Square Firehouse into a new Mason Square Library.
ANNUAL CELEBRATION AT MASON SQUARE LIBRARY:
The MSLAC held our annual celebration of National Library Week in April at the Mason Square Library. The "Mason Square Radio Players" (3 children and two adults) did a dramatic, semi-costumed reading of Dr. Suess's "Horton Hears a Who" for Mrs. Anderson's first grade class from William DeBerry School.
The children from DeBerry School presented the branch librarians, including manager Reggie Wilson, with hand-made cards (in the shape of open books) thanking the library for the books and stories. Brownies and chocolate chip cookies were served after the performance. Both the first graders (above) and the radio players (below) had a good time.
January 8, 2008: Resolution passed by Bay Neighborhood Council, McKnight Neighborhood Council and Old Hill Neighborhood Council:
January 1, 2008: It is proposed that the public, through the neighborhood councils surrounding Mason Square voice an opinion to support Mayor Sarno's deciding on a site for our branch library as soon as possible. Being considered is the historic McKnight Home, 684 State St (cor. of Thompson).
Report: 12/21/07 Meeting with Domenic Sarno on the Mason Square Branch Library:
On December 21, Domenic Sarno met with a few members of the Mason Square Library Advisory Committee at the Family Kitchen. Jean Foggs, Stephen Gray, Ceil Lewonchuk, Jim Llewellyn, Bill Malloy, Pat Markey, Liz Stevens and Kat Wright were able to attend. We were anxious to hear what Mr. Sarno had to say about selecting a site for a new branch library in the Mason Square area and his timetable for doing so. We also wanted to know if he had an opinion about the possibility of taking by “eminent domain” the former Mason Square library building. He said he wanted to “listen”.
We had a general discussion about the sites that were proposed to Mayor
Ryan’s site search committee (that met every other week from January to July),
including the former branch library, Mosque No. 13, the old fire station, the
lot near MCDI, the AIC sharing proposition, 11 Andrew St. and the DeBerry School
playground.
We told him the same thing we told Charlie Ryan at our last meeting – we
will support whatever site the mayor chooses. We simply want a full-service branch
library back in the neighborhood.
We discussed again the advantages and disadvantages of the various sites.
We agreed that any effort to take by “eminent domain” the former branch
library at 765 State Street would be met with strong opposition from Henry
Thomas of the Springfield Urban League and could lead to a lengthy court
battle. In addition, it came to our
attention that, since only public money can be used to make an “eminent domain”
purchase, the City could not tap into the private Annie Curran Trust Fund for
that purpose.
Sarno did not seem interested in considering the old fire station as a
library site; he was not aware of the two different recommendations to solve the
parking problem at the fire station.
Then someone asked about the old William McKnight home (former Byron’s
Funeral Home) that was purchased recently for $75,000. We told him that this site had been
looked at several times but was not recommended because it was under pending
sale contract when the site selection committee was doing its work. We now know that the contract fell
through and the company from Waco TX that owned the building wanted to demolish
it. When their application to the Springfield Historic Commission for a permit
to demolish failed, the Waco company sold off the property.
There was general agreement at the meeting that the McKnight Home would
be a fine place for a library.
There is room in the building for a branch library on the first floor, a
return of the ‘Read Write Now’ literacy program, plus extra room for community
meeting and office space. Jean
Foggs suggested there might be room to bring the Mason Square Senior Center back
to Mason Square. Given the recent sale price, a City purchase of the property
might now be affordable. Sarno
indicated that taking this property by “eminent domain” would be
considered.
What do the rest of you think about this property on the corner of State and Thompson becoming the new Mason Square Branch Library? Sarno asked us to speak to others in the community and get a sense of support for this idea from the Mason Square area neighborhood councils. It is our hope that this proposal can be on the agenda for every January council meeting. If he receives word from the community in support of the McKnight Home as a site, Sarno stated that he would move forward quickly to negotiate for the property and make a purchase.
Now is the time to be heard if we truly want a full-service library branch for our neighborhood. Please! Attend your January neighborhood council meeting, bring up the issue and be involved in the discussion. Please let us know what the consensus is at your neighborhood council. The Mason Square Library Advisory Committee will meet on the last Thursday of January to discuss our support for the McKnight Home as a site. Please plan to attend that meeting also. Let’s not take another FIVE YEARS to restore a library to our community. Let’s get this issue settled!!!!!
~ Liz Stevens, chair MSLAC
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