Ward 5 'listening tour' draws few residents

Date: 10/19/2010

Oct. 20, 2010

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor

CHICOPEE -- Looking out at a largely empty auditorium at Chicopee Academy, Mayor Michael Bissonnette said, "I hate it when the staff and elected officials outnumber the citizens.

Bissonnette, city department heads and members of the City Council were at the Ward Five "listening tour" meeting, one of several the mayor is conducting throughout the city. Although the dozen or so residents may have been small in number, they did present issues that concerned them.

Before taking their questions, Bissonnette gave a status report on the former Chicopee High School building. He said that renovations to convert the building into a middle school should start sometime next spring or summer. Creating a middle school on that side of the city would save taxpayers about $200,000 in annual busing fees, as middle school students are transported to Fairview Veterans Memorial Middle School, the mayor explained.

The project should cost $15 million and extend the life of the building by decades.

He also explained there will be a redesign of the Lincoln Grove Park and the addition of a skateboard park there.

Among the questions he was asked was the subject of the Belcher School. The new location for the Belcher School, the former St. Patrick's School, will open Oct. 25. He called the $4 million project "a great investment for the city."

Replacing the school with a new building would have incurred $20 to $22 million in construction costs, he said.

When asked what would happen to the original Belcher School building, he said it might be the temporary home of the Chicopee Academy. After that use, the city has no plans for the structure and it would be put out to the market place. He said it could be used for either office space or converted to housing.

Residents also complained of speeding on East Main Street and Police Chief John Ferraro said he would move the city's portable radar speed sign to the area.

One resident asked if a guard rail could be installed on the street, as her home has been hit by motorists five times and other houses have been hit as well.

One other traffic concern on East Main Street is the number of people in motorized wheelchairs who do not use the sidewalk, but drive in the street.

A resident voiced concerns that drivers might not be able to see them in the road. Ferraro said he would alert officers in that area about the issue.

The next "listening tour" meeting will be for Wards Two and Four at the city library on Front Street on Oct. 25 at 6 p.m.