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.
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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?"
