Renovating Torrington’s Municipal Buildings

Marie Soliani is a member of the Torrington City Council.

The Municipal Building Committee was created and charged with investigating all city buildings and with devising a plan for renovating and making changes required to keep the City of Torrington in compliance with both state and city codes. We were also charged with prioritizing the buildings and properties in need of repair. After assessing all the properties, the committee determined that City Hall, the Public Works Facility on Arthur Street and the Winthrop Street Barn as those requiring the most immediate attention.

Our City Hall is in need of major upgrading of its electrical distribution and plumbing systems and fire protection, and the replacement of the building’s heating and cooling systems. There is a great need for adequate storage, both secure and general storage areas. As with many old buildings, there is a lot of wasted space in height that could be utilized through modern design. Replacement of doors, windows, a new roof and fire escapes, as well as renovation of the marble within the building will certainly do a lot for Torrington—not only in presenting an impressive front door to our city, but most especially for the safety of all who work within its walls and those who come to do business. There have been no major renovations to the City Hall since it was built in the 1930s.

The City Barn, as you well know if you have cause to drive or walk by the Winthrop Street site, is an aged facility in disrepair. It requires significant upgrading or replacement to meet not only the future needs of the city, but also its current needs. City equipment stored there needs to be accessed daily by city workers. Because there is limited space on the Arthur Street site, equipment must be brought back and forth to Arthur Street from Winthrop Street, thus using employees’ time that could be used at a job site instead of shifting pieces of equipment from place to place. Recommendation is thus made to consolidate the vehicles and equipment now stored at the City Barn at the Arthur Street site.

The Public Works Facility on Arthur Street is in need of consolidation within its own area. It has become too small to house all of the departments and storage responsibilities placed within its jurisdiction. We need to develop and construct a new adequate salt/ sand storage structure to meet state requirements. The property is in need of reconfiguring to accommodate current and future needs of the City of Torrington. Too many expensive pieces of equipment are left outside, at the mercy of the elements, because the garage is just not adequate to house them. The equipment and vehicles owned by the city are expensive and need to be protected in order to keep them in good condition for as long as possible.

The Municipal Building Committee is at this point negotiating a contract with an architectural firm that has been used by Torrington a number of times. The firm will help the committee put together a plan that is cost-effective while still meeting the needs of the city—not just its current needs, but also its future needs. This plan will be presented to the people of Torrington through public hearings, with questions and comments by the taxpayers, before the plan is brought to the City Council and referendum.

I hope that you will follow the progress of this committee and ask questions and take an active part in the public hearings. I am very proud of Torrington, and I will work on this committee in an effort to bring the City Hall back to being the impressive building it once was.