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Date: 4/26/2021
HOLYOKE – A recent dispute between two city councilors and mayoral candidates was addressed during the most recent Holyoke City Council meeting.
During his president’s report at the April 20 meeting, Councilor Todd McGee discussed Congressman Richard Neal’s most recent visit and his delivery of $74 million for the city. McGee said $34 million would be used for the city while $41 million would be used for the city’s schools. He added that should the transportation bill pass, it would give the city additional funds.
In vaccine related news, McGee said there were 100 shots available for the city’s next vaccine clinic on April 21. Councilor and Acting Mayor Terance Murphy said once the news about the vaccine was released earlier, however, a majority of the slots had been filled, but they were still looking to fill about 50 vaccine appointments at the time.
McGee also addressed an earlier incident with regard to an interruption that took place at a recent subcommittee meeting. The incident, which took place during an ordinance subcommittee meeting on April 13 involved councilors Rebecca Lisi and Mike Sullivan.
While McGee did not mention names or specifics about the exchange between the two councilors, he said he understood it was an election cycle and “things get heated,” but asked councilors to “respect each other, debate the issues and move forward.” Additionally, he stated that should there be a conflict of interest regarding voting on matters, it was the responsibility of each councilor to disclose their own conflict. “We’re not the police of each other,” he said.
McGee added that they needed to stay on task to do the work their constituents required of them. Councilor Linda Vacon added that during the committee meeting several councilors asked an elected councilor to leave the meeting, and she felt it was out of order for the chair to say they would not recognize the councilor. Councilor Rebecca Lisi said while she was in favor of addressing campaign issues on the campaign trail, she felt it was inappropriate for campaign issues to be brought forth during the meeting.
Councilor Libby Hernandez called the situation “embarrassing” and said that several of her constituents had called her to address the situation. Councilor Howard Greaney said he felt as though they should “stop beating each other and get to the agenda.” McGee reiterated that they should all work together and referred to a council rule which they had adopted. He added that councilors should not be censoring each other and telling each other to not speak.
Councilor Juan Anderson-Burgos addressed the issue as well and clarified that councilors did not ask anyone to leave, but said he looked forward to working with other councilors to work through the agenda.
Murphy then went on to say that Holyoke Health Center was looking to have a mobile vaccine clinic. The van, he said, would travel to a variety of sites distributing vaccines among the city. Additionally, he said the city was looking to host a vaccine clinic on Saturday or during the evening to accommodate those who may be working during the weekdays. He encouraged residents to share information about their vaccine experience and to get their vaccine to protect themselves.
After an initial vote in favor of approving a petition for Mimi Mai for the renewal of a second hand license at 324 Appleton St. Sullivan asked that they reconsider their approval. He said he had been told that recently the address in question had been subject to a federal raid. Murphy said while he wasn’t 100 percent sure, he was fairly positive Sullivan was correct. The council then voted in favor of tabling the license renewal until they had enough information to confirm whether the business in question had in fact been subject to an investigation.
The council also approved a special permit application for Massbiology Technology LLC, which would allow for the operation of a marijuana cultivation and processing establishment at 6 Appleton St. The council then went on to approve a special permit application for EMB Natural Ventures LLC Marijuana Facilities-Culivation. The permit will allow for the establishing of a marijuana facility for cultivation at 140 Middle Water St.
The council then went on to approve the use of Community Preservation Act funds with $10,000 going towards the restoration of the JFK Memorial; $130,677 going to the restoration of fire engine #9; $210,000 being allocated for improvements to Mayer Field; $40,000 for an engineering study for Pulaski Park; and $60,000 for the restoration of the War Memorial facade.