In a press release issued Tuesday, Mayor Joseph Solomon announced that he is moving ahead with plans to reopen the Buttonwoods Community Center and relocating some of the city offices temporarily housed in the former Greene School on Draper Avenue.

Solomon disclosed that an unnamed contractor has offered to donate the time to replace the center roof and that the city will appropriate up to $5,000 for roofing materials and $1,640 for rigging crane services to remove the HVAC units from the roof, a necessary step before the new roof is laid.

The restoration of the building will not only offer a community room but also will “protect the integrity of this city building and facilitate improving the public health and safety of our employees and taxpayers by moving City offices to this building,” Solomon said in a statement. The release goes on to say the Draper Avenue facility requires a series of costly interior upgrades to comply with public use and occupancy requirements.

Reached yesterday, Solomon did not have specifics on the building code violations at Greene but said they were not at a level that could impair the health and safety of employees or those visiting the offices.

“It’s not a good situation,” he said. As for the safety of the premises, he said, “I would never put people in harm’s way.”

Citing costs of $400,000 to repair the roof and make other improvements to the building, former Mayor Scott Avedisian closed the Buttonwoods center, relocating senior programs to the Pilgrim Senior Center and ending the lease it had with Westbay Community Action. City human service offices were also relocated.

Avedisian intended for the city to sell the property, but gaining council approval appeared remote after Ward 7 Councilman Steve McAllister spearheaded efforts to save it. Mayor Solomon as well as McAllister’s fellow council members likewise agreed saving the building is the desired path.

Solomon offered no timetable for repairs or what offices might be relocated from the former Greene School where annex offices were moved in January in the wake of flooding caused when a pipe froze and burst.

No longer-term solution for annex offices has been announced although Solomon has said renovating the former building does not make sense financially.

In the release he pointed out that Buttonwoods is in need of emergency repairs to stop a series of roof leaks that are threatening the integrity of the structure and which could lead to further damage and potential mold issues if the damage is not addressed.