GREENFIELD — Despite scrutiny by City Councilors Brickett Allis and Isaac Mass, the proposed public safety complex lived to see another day.
A growing disenchantment with the bid process wasn’t enough to deaden the project that’s been estimated at either $19.3 million in a 10-year purchase or at $59 million in a 30-year loan. It was enough to suggest to Mayor William Martin to further assess the current plan with more input from the city.
The council voted by a majority Wednesday night against committing to the proposed lease. Instead, the mayor now has the option to consider other construction opportunities and proposals without killing the current plan.
The public safety complex, if approved as proposed, would bring the city’s police and fire departments together in a building on Main and Wells streets. It would also include a dispatch center and could lead to the eventual construction of a new public library.
“Right now, I feel pressure because I want the library, but this is not the best thing for Greenfield and I’d like to go back to the drawing board,” Councilor Sheila Gilmour said.
If the original proposal does go forward, it could demolish the buildings at Main and Wells streets and construct a new building on the corner of the two streets to wrap around an existing building.
The vote was a tough decision for the council, some of whom wanted this project to ensure a new library with the recent $9.4 million grant.
Before the vote, Allis reiterated a point that it’s unclear to him what the facts are from the mayor on whether a new library is contingent upon building this proposed public safety complex.
“I’m not able to trust the answers I’m getting in most cases,” Allis said. “I’m not getting answers that are making sense.”