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Date: 2/13/2023
HOLYOKE — A question about procedure dominated almost two hours of the three-and-half hour City Council meeting on Feb.8.
Councilors Kevin Jourdain and Linda Vacon led the discussion about the effort to move a proposal about increasing vacation benefits to a list of 21 city employees not covered by collective bargaining from the Ordinance Committee before the committee could complete its due diligence.
Normally, a committee discusses an issue assigned to it, reaches a recommendation and then presents it to the council for a vote.
In this case, the council, after much discussion, voted to take the proposal out of the committee and advance it to the Law Department to be written into the proper language and return it to the council for final consideration.
Vacon called the effort to sidestep the work of the committee as “highly irregular.”
Councilor Juan Anderson-Burgos said that many city employees feel they deserve more vacation time. Councilor Tessa Murphy-Romboletti said the Law Department had missed out on several hires because of the vacation issue.
Jourdain said the proposal would create an opportunity for the mayor of Holyoke to create more vacation time for an employee up to and including 30 days of vacation a year.
“Citizens of Holyoke are you getting 30 days of vacation?” Jourdain asked. “Thirty days because 10 is just not enough when you start a job.”
Jourdain questioned the notion the city is not being competitive with the private section in attracting good candidates on the basis of benefits such as vacation time. Jordain asserted some city employees received 15 sick days and 13 to 15 holidays and three personal days. He added the latest discussion has been around flex time and a 35-hour work week.
“The question is who the hell can afford this?” he asked.
He charged the city solicitor us “beating the drum for her own vacation.”
Jourdain said recent financial information about the city indicates the city has now assets and $237 million in liabilities. He added the city is “being propped up by ARPA” funds and that the free cash account is depleted.
He noted that city councilors, who make $10,000 a year, have not received an increase in their pay for 25 years. “We can’t afford one,” he added.
He asked the council to allow the Ordinance Committee to do its work.
Vacon said, “It is our duty to do our due diligence what effect will be on the budget.”
Councilor Joseph McGiverin said there was an “urgency” for the council to take such a step. “There are positions we’re losing,” he added. The increased vacation benefits are “extremely important for our government.”
In other action, the council approve two new cannabis businesses is the city. Evergreen Industries LLC at 1 Cabot St. is a new cultivation facility, while Infused Element LLC also at 1 Cabot St, is a manufacturing facility.
Both businesses will operate under the following conditions listed in the especial permit: “That the owner of the building always pay the commercial property tax rate to the extent allowed by federal, state, and local laws for the duration of the Special Permit. That the business retains a minimum 30 percent Holyoke residents for non-security jobs. That the hiring preference be given to security personnel that are retired Holyoke police or are a retired member of another police department that now lives in the city of Holyoke.
There shall be no marijuana consumption allowed on site. That the hours of operation be set according to city ordinances. That the applicant must abide by Massachusetts General Laws and guidance’s from the Cannabis Control Commission. That the petitioner/applicant shall conform with city and state health laws, rules, and regulations, including odor nuisance controls, for the duration of the permit. That if substantial progress has not occurred within two years of issuance of the Special Permit, an extension shall be required.”
Vacon praised the application of Evergreen Industries LLC for its completeness, while Councilor Israel Rivera noted Infused Element LLC is owned by Holyoke residents, something he likes to see.
The council also approved the sale of city surplus property at 297, 301 and 303 Elm St. for $25,800 to Carrie and Arthur Naatz. The properties are contiguous parcels of vacant land on Elm Street at the corner of Sargeant Street. The intent of the developers, both Holyoke residents, is to eventually create 24-32 apartment units on the parcel. They own apartment buildings adjacent to the property. The couple also purchased the apartment building at 123 Pine St.
The development of 297, 301 and 303 Elm St. is dependent on water infrastructure improvements for the neighborhood planned for 2024 or 2025.