Price vs. Value

This speech was delivered to the Waterbury Board of Aldermen on 2-5-2007

Members of the Board of Aldermen, Mr. Mayor, and my fellow citizens, I am here before you again to urge the proper restoration of our historic City Hall. This week we heard from the Waterbury Development Corporation about five potential options for this building, ranging from mothballing the building, to complete and appropriate restoration. Each option has its own price tag, its own benefits, and its own drawbacks. As a member of the Main Street Waterbury Design Committee, and as a life long resident, I feel that we need to consider the future of this landmark very carefully.
I make no qualms about expressing my support for either of the restoration options that are before you tonight. Regardless of whether or not you decide to keep the Fire Department here in City Hall, or if you move the engines and men next door, this building must be taken care of. It is absolutely disgraceful to even contemplate the mothballing or sale of this historic site. Not only is it a slap in the face to Cass Gilbert, and the members of the Cass Gilbert Society, but it is also a terrible signal for the city of Waterbury to send to its neighbors in the Naugatuck Valley.
Furthermore, neither of these options will save the city any money in the long run. Not only will the city have to spend close to one million dollars a year in rental space and utility fees, but the cost of construction will continue to rise. If we take Mr. OÂ’ConnerÂ’s estimate of 8% inflation a year then a $40,000,000 project in 2007 will cost $50,388,000 in 2010. In addition, the condition of City Hall will deteriorate exponentially the longer that it is left closed.
Finally, ladies and gentlemen, there is more to this issue then just dollars and cents. I am fully aware, as are my Main Street friends and constituents that you will hear from those who feel that any expenditure on this building, besides the bare minimum, is too much. These people will continually talk about the price of restoration, and the price of city hall, and the price of a new building. In response to them, I quote Oscar Wilde: “A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.”
Ladies and gentlemen, this issue is about more then the price of City Hall it is about value. The value that we place on our history, the value that we place on our community, the value that we place on our buildings, and the value that we place on ourselves. Members of the Board of Aldermen we need to look within ourselves and decide just what we value. Do we value the history of Waterbury? Do we value the pride that Waterbury used to feel and can feel again? Do we value our city and ourselves enough to stand up and say that this is the most important issue facing this city tonight? That this is what we believe in and that this is what we are willing to stand up for?
My fellow citizens, I know what I value. I value this city, a city that I have come to call home. The city that holds my past, and my future. This building is something I value, something that I am willing to stand up for. Something that I hope you will stand up for. After all, to paraphrase our motto, what is more lasting then the Brass City?