Dear Editor,
For the past several years, it
has been discouraging to read over and over again about Haverhill’s
historical structures and lack of attention to maintenance the
City of Haverhill has had towards its properties. One would think
that Mayor Fiorentini would take a leadership role in assuring
Haverhill’s assets are preserved similar to a typical homeowner
who would assure their largest single asset (their home) is maintained.
Professional management knows that small investments today mitigate
major future repairs.
This thought process has been
further solidified by recent stories of the crumbling parking
deck, and the unknown plans, if any, of the current Fiorentini
administration to replace/renovate the Hunking School or Whittier
Middle School for that matter. And to think of what the savings
would have been if the city had conducted regular maintenance
on the High School and Nettle, both of which have undergone complete
and expensive renovations these past few years. Apparently, Mayor
Fiorentini has what he thinks is a capital improvement plan,
which was drafted in 2005, but there is no evidence that this
outdated document has been used to effectively reduce the millions
of dollars of deferred maintenance that continues to plaque our
public buildings. Maintenance which is deferred may result in
increased safety hazards, poor service to the public, higher
costs in the future, and inefficient operations, all of which
are evident in Haverhill.
The City of Haverhill needs a
strategy and a plan; John Michitson, candidate for Haverhill
Mayor has the plan where the City of Haverhill must proactively
start a recurring capital improvement and maintenance program
to address our huge backlog of deferred maintenance. This plan
will require the city to invest in future preventative maintenance
and specific capital improvement projects to avoid the complete
makeovers required for the High School and Nettle, with a replacement
for Hunking looming. We know from our experience maintaining
our homes that the premise of making small investments periodically
now to maintain an aging School makes better sense than having
to, for example, borrow/bond millions of dollars in the future
to replace or significantly refurbish this same School. Lest
we forget, the High School renovations will cost Haverhill at
least $10,000,000 (and the State’s share is approximately
$25,000,000; that’s me and you) and Haverhill is expected
to have an annual bond payment of approximately $800,000 for
20 years (again, that’s me & you!) This is a no brainer:
how can Mayor Fiorentini justify sitting on his hands today knowing
that these large payments are expected several years from now
that will reduce our capacity to provide basic services to citizens?
To summarize using his terminology, Mayor Fiorentini would rather
have one more Policeman//Fireman/Teacher today ($75,000/yr) by
deferring maintenance even if it means that a future Haverhill
Mayor will be forced to cut about 10 Policemen/Firemen/Teachers
($800,000 per year) down the road because another building had
to be completely renovated or replaced.
Haverhill is a wonderful city
and Haverhill needs a strong leader like John Michitson who will
do the right thing for Haverhill now and in the future.
Ginger Gendron
Haverhill, MA
