City departments and employees back to city hall, dedication ceremony mid-October draws large crowd

The Diversity Council will resume meeting in city hall in January. Its meetings have been at the Bristol Public Library during renovations. | Archive photo

Posted By: Staff November 3, 2023

Most city employees completed the move back to the newly renovated city hall by Nov. 1, according to the schedule released from the mayor’s office earlier in October. The exceptions are the office of the Registrar of Voters and the office of the Town and City Clerk, which will wait until after Tuesday’s municipal election to move back.

The scramble to unpack boxes and acclimate to the new environment will take some time, but for all intents and purposes, city hall is open for business.

The public, over a 100 of which participated, was invited to a building dedication ceremony and open house in mid-October. City council members from this administration and the previous one which initiated the renovation, Public Works employees who were integrally involved in the renovation, members of the Public Works board, and principals in the architectural firm and construction firms that worked on the project joined members of the public, filling the new lobby and balconies of the three floors to capacity.

Mayor Jeffrey Caggiano moderated the ceremony, which included speeches from the mayor, project leader for the city, principal of the architectural firm responsible for the design and principals from the construction company which completed the project.

During the ceremony, two members of the family of former Mayor James P. Casey, grandson Ryan and son Dan Casey, presented the mayor with a proclamation from the city council upon the death of Mayor Casey. A long-serving mayor who died in office, Casey was instrumental in getting city hall built as part of the administrations involved with the revitalization of the city after the flood of 1955. The proclamation will be hung in the newly renovated city hall.

Clockwise from upper left, Raymond A. Rogozinski, director of Public Works, who oversaw the project, Mayor Jeffrey Caggiano, who moderated the ceremony; Caggiano receiving the proclamation from Ryan Casey, grandson of former Mayor James P. Casey, who was in office when the first building was constructed, Frank Stawski, member of the Board of Public Works (center) and to his left, city councilor Cheryl Thibeault, Thomas Arcari, principal with the architectural firm of Quisenberry Arcari Malik (“QA+M”) i and David Patrick, President, Downes Construction Co., which worked in a joint venture with D’Amato Construction, Downes+D’Amato, which completed the project under budget. Tony D’Amato from D’Amato Construction also spoke| Laura Bailey

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