Finance subcommittee advances mayoral appropriations for elevator repair, fire truck deposit, library and trail maintenance

The Leominster City Finance Subcommittee reviewed and recommended approval of multiple mayoral appropriation requests and routine year-end transfers at a brief meeting focused on capital needs and department operations. The subcommittee advanced requests that would fund an elevator replacement and lighting upgrades at the Gallagher Building, seed a future fire engine purchase, sustain library and visitor-center programs, and return certified year‑end funds to utility capital accounts.

The meeting opened with the chair outlining the first item, C54, a $5,600 appropriation from the cable-access fund to upgrade the council-chamber sound system, noting microphone problems and recommending approval. “The funds will be used to pay for upgrades to the sound system in the council chambers,” the chair said; committee members voiced agreement.

On C56, the chair said the Gallagher Building elevator experienced a hydraulic piston leak that burned out the oil pump and created smoke in the building, prompting the mayor’s request for $175,000 from the Gallagher Building Fund to cover elevator replacement and the city’s portion of a state-sponsored lighting upgrade program. The transcript lists the elevator contractor’s initial estimate at about $87,000 and the purchasing agent’s negotiated figure near $70,000; the chair emphasized replacement may be more feasible than repair. The subcommittee discussed documentation on the negotiated elevator price and sought details of the lighting-program incentives; the chair noted the city anticipates about $17,000…