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Date: 9/17/2015
CHICOPEE – The City Council approved an unusual allocation of funds from the stabilization fund at its Sept. 15 meeting: it is loaning nearing half a million dollars to an outside organization.
With a vote of eight in favor and five opposed, the council approved $425,000 to be loaned to the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council to pay for permitting work that would allow for the eventual sale and development of its Westover Airpark South property.
The 100-acre parcel is off of Burnett Road.
Councilor James Tillotson advocated for the loan admitting it would use taxpayer funds to help a nonprofit organization.
He said the organization does not have the funds to do the assessment it needs to do. If the city doesn’t help with a loan, it may miss out on a developer who would ultimately put the property on the tax rolls and provide jobs.
“Otherwise the land is going to sit there. Nothing is going to happen,” Tillotson said.
While some councilors, such as Shane Brooks and Gerry Roy of Ward 9, didn’t necessarily want to approve the measure until they received more information.
Councilor Adam Lamontagne said there has been no formal agreement shown to the council that would detail the conditions of the loan.
Other councilors admitted the move was “a gamble.”
At Large Councilor Jerry Roy noted that not a single tenant has moved into the technology industrial park on East Main Street operated by the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council.
Councilor Timothy McLellan said he would rather see the parcel remain as green space.
In other action, the council approved an additional $200,000 for the reconstruction of Dale Street. The funds will pay for drainage repairs, new sidewalks, tree removal and curb realignment. The amount will be reimbursed from the city’s Chapter 90 highway funds.
During his briefing preceding the meeting, Mayor Richard Kos asked the council to approve the purchase of two F550 dump trucks with snowplows at a cost of $118,000. This expense is not covered by Chapter 90 state highway funds.
The size truck is necessary, Kos explained, to handle the amount of snow seen in the city last winter.
The council approved the request.
The council also allocated $75,845 from the stabilization fund to pay for software upgrades to the city website that Kos explained would allow for easier on-line permitting for businesses.
Provisional Fire Chief Dean F. Desmarais said the new software would streamline the application of permits, pushing it from one department to another and advocated the passing of the request.
He said city inspectors would be able to sign off on a permit at the site by using a tablet and can generate a permit to be sent to an applicant by email.
Desmarais said he was “very excited by this e-permitting.”
The council also approved the appointment of former city Treasurer Ernest Laflamme Jr. to the Council on Aging. He is replacing June Landa, a long-time council member.