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Date: 6/23/2021
EAST LONGMEADOW – The East Longmeadow Town Council’s first in-person meeting since the pandemic began was also Councilor Donald Anderson’s last. He was honored at the June 15 meeting by his colleagues with a plaque to recognize his nearly 30 years of service to the town between the Planning Board and Town Council.
The council took up the question of whether to make June 19, known as Juneteenth, Emancipation Day or Black Independence Day, a town holiday. Councilor Patrick Henry said that he was “puzzled” that Juneteenth was a state holiday in Massachusetts. He incorrectly stated, “This is the date that Texas freed its slaves, whereas all the slaves in the country were freed two years before by Lincoln,” with his signature of the Emancipation Proclamation.
He added that “the needs and aspirations of the Black community” are already recognized by Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth excludes recognition of “other subgroups, such as Native Americans, LGBTQ, Latinos, Asians. It’s very specifically oriented toward Texas, that happened 150 years ago.”
The Juneteenth holiday commemorates the end of slavery as an institution in the United States. According to the National Parks Service, “On June 19, 1865, US Brigadier General Gordon Granger and his troops landed at Galveston, Texas, confirming the news that the Civil War had ended and that enslaved African Americans were now free.” Texas was the last state to be liberated.
Rather than the four states that Henry claimed recognize Juneteenth, the actual number is 45 states and the District of Columbia. Two days after the council meeting, President Joe Biden signed a bill into law declaring Juneteenth National Independence Day to be a federal holiday.
Councilor Ralph Page said that because the declaration of a municipal holiday would involve contracts and financial compensation for those who work that day, the holiday falls under the purview of the town’s executive branch and Town Manager Mary McNally, who was not present at the meeting. The topic was tabled until Aug. 10.
Several financial matters were approved by the council. The previous approval of $17,696 to replace damaged firefighter gear that was not originally covered under insurance was rescinded. Eventually, the insurance company paid the full amount and the money was not needed. The sale of school buses had returned $340,200 to the town, which the council transferred to pay down the debt from the purchase of buses.
The amount of $210,338 was transferred from the Water Enterprise General Fund and the Sewer Enterprise General Fund into the vehicle funds for each of those services. Town Accountant Steve Lonergan explained that cash was supposed to be transferred to the vehicle account incrementally since 2016, but was not. Instead, vehicles purchased over the past five years have been paid for from the enterprises’ general funds.
Page asked if the money could be used to pay for the recent partial bonding of a truck. Lonergan told him that was the council’s choice.
Councilor Kathleen Hill encouraged her colleagues to approve the extension of a liquor license for Redstone Pasta at 642 North Main St. She explained that the business is “on the cusp of being able to open,” but, like many restaurants, is having trouble hiring waitstaff. She noted that the owner has paid for a liquor license for three years, despite not being open.
Town Council President Michael Kane suggested extending the license through the end of the year as employment issues are expected to last into the fall, he said. Henry Suggested a more conservative 90 days, at which point the license could be extended again. This would keep control of the license with the town. The body voted for a Dec. 31 expiration, with Henry dissenting.
The council completed the second public reading of a zoning bylaw amendment requiring special permit holders to be current with state and federal requirements. A related public hearing set the fees for dog kennel licenses. Town Clerk Jeanne Quaglietti told the council that nearly 10 percent of the town’s 1,400 ballots were cast by mail or absentee. All eight ballot questions, which resulted from the town’s recent charter review, passed. The winners of two council seats were incumbent Thomas O’Connor and Connor O’Shea. Sarah Truoiolo was re-elected to the School Committee.