Damaged public buildings are often the last to get much-needed repairs

February 12, 2006

The walls come tumbling down: Damaged public buildings are often the

last to get much-needed repairs

By Rick Holland / Daily News Staff

Sunday, February 12, 2006 - Updated: 12:37 AM EST

Milford,MA

Every six weeks or so, Lofgren has an odd ritual when she

opens her desk drawer at the Department of Public Works office in

Bellingham.

She replaces a box of mouse poison.

" The mice eat it and then they're supposed to go outside where

they die, " said Lofgren of the procedure she uses to keep the

rodents from disrupting her work. Over the years, she has become

accustomed to using such remedies to cope with conditions which

would horrify most private-sector workers.

At the Memorial Building in Framingham, a torn-up section of

floor in the Planning Department office means that employees see

open ground where tile is supposed to be. The floor's condition has

been caused by repairs on an underground pipe which feeds the

heating system in the circa 1925 building.

" We're down to a dirt floor in part of our office, " said

Kathleen Bartolini, Framingham's director of Planning and Economic

Development. " We have plastic hanging from ceiling to floor to

prevent mold, dust and dirt from getting into the air. "

The heating system is being fixed, which will also put an end to

phenomena such as water coming from electrical outlets and steam

filling the men's room. Bartolini is grateful for the work, which

has also quelled the rancid smell of mildewed pipe insulation which

she said at one time " was so strong, you could taste it. "

But in MetroWest and Milford area towns with comparatively

strong revenue streams, the question is how and why do communities

allow their public buildings to reach such deplorable conditions?

" If something like a building already exists and it needs paint

or TLC, it's so much easier to put that off because it's still

functioning, " said Ken O'Brien, chairman of Mendon's Board of

Selectmen. " Water starts coming through the ceiling and people

say, 'It's only a leak, put a bucket under it,' but they don't

understand the ramifications of letting that continue: mold, rotten

wood and much bigger problems. " continue

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