Holyoke receives $230,000 grant

Date: 8/8/2014

HOLYOKE – Holyoke has recently been awarded $230,000 in competitive Green Community funds that will go to improve energy efficiency in a number of city buildings.

Rory Casey, Mayor Alex Morse’s chief of staff, told Reminder Publications that goal is to get the improvements competed before the heating season.

The three buildings to receive the upgrades are City Hall, the City Hall Annex, the Exhibition Hall, home to the Volleyball Hall of Fame and the Children’s Museum and owned by the city.

Fifty-four thousand dollars will go toward replacing the Exhibition Hall’s rooftop HVAC units; $98,000 will go toward insulation and boiler and control replacement in City Hall; and the remaining $78,000 will go toward boiler and control replacement in the City Hall annex.
   
Casey explained the grant money would help complete projects that have been planned for a while.
   
Holyoke was among 43 communities across Massachusetts to be awarded a Green Communities Competitive Grant.
   
“That Holyoke has once again won this award speaks to our commitment to a greener future. I commend the head of our Department of Public Works Bill Fuqua and our Senior Planner Claire Ricker for their hard work in securing these funds, and I thank the state for its continued support,” Morse said.
   
“These improvements to our City Hall, City Hall Annex, and Exhibition Hall are an important step in our ongoing efforts to make our government more efficient and effective,” Morse added
   
In the award letter, Deputy Director of the Green Communities Division Lisa Capone commended Holyoke’s “efforts to create a greener energy future for your community for the Commonwealth as a whole.”