Bissonnette appeals to state, feds for federal stimulus money

Date: 6/2/2009

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor



CHICOPEE -- Mayor Michael Bissonnette released more details this week about the repaving of Route 33/Memorial Drive and although he is not exactly sure whether it will be paid for with state highway money or federal stimulus funds, the money will not come from the city's coffers. he said.

In a letter to Mass Highway officials sent May 26, Bissonnette noted the repaving project is in the design stage and asked the state to include a re-paving of James Street and Westover Road as well as the removal of the railroad tracks at the Westover Road rotary.

Bissonnette explained to Reminder Publications the repaving of Memorial Drive should spur more economic development along the city's retail corridor and assist in the development of Chicopee Crossing near the Memorial Drive entrance to the Massachusetts Turnpike.

The mayor believes because the Memorial Drive project is "design free" -- essentially just a repaving -- it will be selected to be funded by federal stimulus dollars allocated this summer.

Bissonnette said he hopes the state will complete the design work for the next phase of the reconstruction of the Deady Bridge. Although the bridge is now complete, the two intersections at the ends of the bridge need a re-design of lanes and a re-configuration of traffic signals.

Bissonnette has also appealed another branch of government for an allocation of federal stimulus funds. In a letter also dated May 26, he asked Peter Green, the Secretary of the Army, to consider allocating $2.6 million to the city to pay for additional rehabilitation to the city's dike system and for the cost of the accreditation submission to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

If the money cannot be allocated, Bissonnette asked for an extension of the process to Jan. 31, 2010.

The city was ordered by the Army Corps of Engineers to "correct the maintenance deficiencies" on the dike on Jan. 31, 2007. The city invested more than $6 million to upgrade the flood control system.

Now the dike repairs are scheduled to be inspected by the Corps of Engineers on June 3 through 5.

"The city simply does not have access to another $2.6 million," Bissonnette wrote.

"If the city can not meet the inspection standards FEMA is expected to "demarcate the 100-year flood zone in residential, commercial and industrial areas of Chicopee as though the Flood Control Works are not present. As a result, homeowners and business owners, especially those with federally backed mortgages, will be charged high premiums for mandated flood insurance. In Chicopee, this policy change will negatively impact hundreds of homes and businesses and dramatically affect the financially disadvantaged who least can afford it," Bissonnette wrote Green.

The mayor predicted that some businesses might close or reduce their workforce if the dikes don't pass the accreditation process.