Getting Answers: Employees concerned of falling debris at a Springfield courthouse garage

SPRINGFIELD, MA. (WGGB/WSHM) - About 60 employees park in the garage located under Roderick Ireland courthouse on a daily basis. On Friday, employees said pieces of the concrete ceiling crumbled down, hitting multiple cars.

Some of the parking spots in the garage have been marked off due to the debris. One employee told us she was worried about the safety of others while walking under the crumbling ceiling.

Rosemary Saccomani, the Hampden County Register of Probate, told us she parks her car there along with other colleagues.

“I was notified Monday evening via email, that there was concrete that had fallen from the ceiling of the parking garage,” said Saccomani.

She tells us she’s nervous about the people who may be walking through the garage on any given day.

“It’s also where prisoners come in and get dropped off,” said Saccomani. “It’s also where they escort juveniles from juvenile court to the hall of justice as well, and they actually walk through. Automobiles are just things, and they can be repaired. My concern really is for the safety of those that are down in the basement.”

The spokesperson of the Massachusetts Trial Court sent us a statement about the situation.

“On Friday, a piece of concrete fell from the parking garage ceiling around and behind a couple of parked vehicles. Trial court facilities department staff were onsite that day and performed an inspection and cleared the debris. Over the weekend, facilities staff removed any concrete that appeared to have the potential of falling. A specialty concrete vendor was at the parking garage today to inspect the ceiling and will provide guidance to the facilities department.”

The State Trial Court explained they had a structural engineer on-site Tuesday, and they advised the trial court that the structure of the garage is safe.

Saccomani said she is hopeful this issue with the garage will be considered when the assessment of the building is completed, a required step in the courthouse settlement between the trial court and multiple employees which came out of a lawsuit over toxic mold found inside the building. It’s something that had forced the courthouse to shutdown for period of time for cleaning and review. This latest assessment is supposed to determine if they will repair the courthouse or build a new one.

“My concern is when any building debris falls, especially from the inside, that there are some concerns there. I’m not an engineer, but that’s not good,” said Saccomani.

Western Mass News is told the settlement coordinator, former Judge John Payne, has been made aware of the garage issues and will act accordingly.

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