FALL RIVER — Windows at One Government Center have been an on-going topic in the city — including the “Window-gate” controversy related to improperly authorized windows that is under state investigation — and the issue was brought up most recently by the City Council this week concerning public safety.

During an early February wind storm, a glass window located on the sixth floor of Government Center in the Human Resource Department broke and crashed to the Third Street sidewalk. No one was injured in what is normally a busy front entrance.

Since then, yellow tape and orange and yellow sawhorses have cordoned off the front door of Government Center, forcing the public and city staffers to use alternative entry ways.

City Councilor Cliff Ponte on Tuesday introduced a resolution requesting an update on the progress to repair the six floor window and other potentially unsafe panes before the Public Safety Committee, calling it “a serious public safety concern.”

Ponte’s resolution received push back from some fellow councilors, such as City Councilor Linda Pereira who questioned the need, saying the administration was handling the issue. However, after a debate, the matter of the sixth-floor window was sent to the Committee on Finance and that issue of the state of the building’s windows will be discussed in the pubic safety committee.

Department of Community Maintenance Director Kenneth Pacheco said the replacement window is being custom made and should be installed along with another replacement window in two weeks. The cost of the work is just under $10,000, with renting a lift the biggest expense.

While the six floor window is set for repair, Pacheco said there are 60 more windows out of Government Center’s approximately 280 windows that are identified as being damaged and in need of replacement.

The Herald News found three large panes on the second floor outside City Council Chambers on Wednesday, including one located over the handicap walkway on the Sullivan Drive side of Government Center. The window is in such disrepair, a gap is visible between two pieces of broken glass.

After Ponte was shown the damaged window by a reporter, he said that it was just one example of why he brought the resolution to the City Council.

“There is no question it’s a public safety issue. The purpose was to bring to light the potential public safety concerns that currently exist,” said Ponte. “The public doing business on a daily basis at Government Center have a right to have a safe and secure building that won’t hurt anybody.”

Any damaged window in Government Center should be boarded, Ponte said.

Pacheco said he attempted to address the issue of windows in city hall after it came to light that around May 2013 that someone in city hall gave the go-ahead to allow a local businessman who owed a half-million in back taxes to install 22 windows in the corporation counsel department and part of the mayor’s office without state procurement laws being followed.

Former Mayor Will Flanagan denied knowledge of the installation when it was discovered that contractor Moses Rapoza, who owns Fall River-based Global Glass of New England, had installed the windows without a contract or payment from the city.

Both former City Administrator Shawn Cadime, now City Council president, and Pacheco had said the work was underway before it came to the attention of department heads.

The issue came to light after a police investigation led to charges against Rapoza of larceny over $250 by a single scheme and nine counts of uttering false checks on allegations going back to 2012. Rapoza allegedly bilked David Morse, owner of M&M Construction of Westport, out of $50,000. Rapoza used part of that money for work on the windows. During the investigation it was found the administration had no paperwork on the window installations.

The case was taken up by the state Inspector General’s Office for an investigation. Several calls to the agency on the status of the investigation went unanswered.

A citizens group recently presented Mayor Jasiel Correia with a petition calling on any report from such an investigation to be released publicly.

None of the windows installed by Rapoza are identified as those being damaged.

Pacheco said that at the time there was concern the new windows may not have been properly installed and decided to pursue a request for qualifications to hire a company to do an assessment of all the windows in Government Center.

One company responded and a representative spent half-a-day inspecting the windows and came back with a $20,000 bid.

“I brought it upstairs,” said Pacheco, referring to the mayor’s office, “and it never went anywhere. Now I’m going to resurrect the plan.”

Pacheco is set to take on his new role as Director of Buildings and Grounds as part of Correia’s reorganization plan for DCM. He will transition to the new position after the administration hires his replacement.

For the upcoming Fiscal 2017 budget, Pacheco said he’s included in a five-year facilities plan the funding for the formal assessment and the replacement of windows “one floor a year.”

Email Jo C. Goode at jgoode@heraldnews.com