Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 7/10/2015
CHICOPEE – The expansion plans of the Pride truck stop on Burnett Road and restrictions placed on the license of Vanguard Consignment were two of the most discussed topics at the City Council meeting on July 7.
The council accepted a report from its License Committee about the license currently held by Vanguard Consignment on new Ludlow Road. The business has made headlines with reports of not paying its consignees once their items have been sold.
Ward 9 Councilor Gerry Roy said that former Holyoke Mayor Daniel Szostkiewicz is acting as a “community liaison” to help move the business forward while working under restrictions placed on its license.
Among the changes Szostkiewicz has helped implement is an escrow account to hold the funds needed to pay consignees.
“They’re aware we’re not playing games,” Roy said. “We’re giving them a little bit of the leash and see how it works out.”
Councilor Shane Brooks said among the improvements is an easier to understand contract between Vanguard and the consignees. Brooks emphasized Vanguard will be under scrutiny by city officials.
“All eyes are on them right now,” he said.
Councilor James Tillotson warned the council and other city departments have “bent over backwards” to help this business.
He added, “we’re getting too involved in this” and suggested if Vanguard doesn’t live up to the restrictions placed on them, no other efforts should be made and the license should be pulled.
The council also accepted the reports from the License Committee on three measures involved in major changes in the Pride truck stop on Burnett Road. Pride Convenience Inc. has applied to change its license from having 23,000 gallons of fuel in two tanks to 25,000 in one tank; the re-configuration of the two driveways into the station, along with open air parking and the replacement of the diesel canopy and pumps to alleviate the “stacking” of trucks on Burnett Road awaiting entrance to the fueling area; and changing the lighting sequence at the corner of New Lombard and Burnett roads to try to ease truck traffic.
Some of the councilors expressed concerns on how the plan involving some of these issues change from meeting to meeting. Brooks said, “There is still a lot of work to be done” and called the truck stop “a recipe for a bad accident.”
Roy said the changes wanted by Pride are in a process of being reconciled with concerns of both the Fire Department and the City Engineer.
The council passed an order from Mayor Richard Kos to allocate $342,327 from Charter Community Franchise Account to pay for feasibility study for the repair of the stained glass windows in City Hall.
Councilor Frank LaFlamme noted the city gets an annual franchise fee from Charter and currently the city has more than $970,000 in the account. The funds will be used for assessment and design.
Kos wants to make the auditorium a TV studio for City Council and School Committee meeting broadcast, as well as use it for other community functions.
In a letter to Kos from City Planner Lee Pouliot, the funds would pay for a stained glass survey and report, a laser scan of City Hall to complete an architectural assessment and to produce a detailed drawing of the building, and provide a comprehensive historic structure report. The amount would also include a 10 percent contingency fund
“I think it’s a great idea. We need to do it,” Laflamme said.
“I think in the long run this is needed,” Tillotson said.
The council approved voted to accept $200,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency to pay for the brownfield cleanup of the former Racing Mart Gas Station on Center Street.
The council also approved $160,000 of stabilization funds to pay for the initial design process for site clearance and redevelopment of former Navy housing near Westover Air Reserve Base for a solar farm that could supply the base with five percent of its electricity when constructed.
The council accepted a grant of $7,500 from MassDevelopment to help pay for a block party to help attract people to downtown.
Brooks said the effort would help “showcase” downtown.