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Date: 6/22/2023
EAST LONGMEADOW — State Sen. Jake Oliveira (D-Ludlow) visited the East Longmeadow Town Council on June 13 to share his legislative priorities for his first term in office and hear about the needs of local officials.
Oliveira is the Senate chair of the Municipalities & Regional Government Committee, which hears petitions for charter changes. He is the Senate vice chair of the Tourism, Arts & Culture Committee and the Committee on Public Health. He told the councilors that Western Massachusetts is particularly affected by the issues before the former, as “one in six jobs in Western Mass. is directly tied to the creative economy.” Meanwhile the latter committee will hear bills regarding planning for future pandemics and learning what did and did not work during COVID-19.
The state House of Representatives and Senate have each submitted their version of the state budget, which will be negotiated into a final package.
Oliveira said he has filed 57 bills this session, many of which are focused on public education. He said some of the largest costs school departments face are related to special education. One example of this is the 14% increase in out-of-district placement tuition for the fiscal year 2024. The placements are utilized when a school department cannot meet the needs of a student with its in-house programs. Oliveira said the double-digit increase is “crippling” to many towns and regional districts.
To address special education costs, Oliveira filed a bill that would establish a committee to review and offer recommendations on how to overhaul special education funding in the state. Furthermore, he proposed bills that would fully fund the special education circuit breaker reimbursement program and regional school district transportation.
Councilor Marilyn Richards asked Oliveira about legislation to help with the housing crunch that East Longmeadow and many other communities are experiencing. The state senator told her that he had filed a bill that would expand the legalization and regulate tiny homes in Massachusetts. He said this would allow for “a much more affordable, a greener option” for people who want to age in place on a family’s property. There are also bills that double the senior circuit breaker tax credit, increase the rental deduction and include a low-income tax credit. Another measure would offer a tax credit to incentivize developers to “rehab aging facilities,” Oliveira said.
A change to the estate tax credit was proposed in the Senate. Under the existing law, the residents who receive more than $1 million from an estate are charged a surtax on the entirety of the estate. “A lot of middle-class families are being caught in the fold,” Oliveira said. The new version would raise that threshold to $2 million and limit the surcharge to the amount above that threshold.
Legislation would also double the earned income tax credit and dependent tax credit and eliminating a cap of two children. Oliveira said other planned tax credits had to be scaled back because there was a “dip” in tax revenue in April.
Oliveira was asked about the Massachusetts School Building Authority, an entity that reimburses approved districts for eligible costs of school building projects. He said the Senate voted to fund and additional $100 million for the authority to restart its Accelerated Repair Program and “ease the backlog” of projects. The additional allotment would be funded through the Fair Share Amendment, a “millionaire’s tax” approved by a ballot referendum in November 2022.
The council turned its attention to the issue of crumbling foundations, a problem that was found to result from concrete aggregate unknowingly contaminated with the naturally occurring mineral pyrrhotite. Richards said homeowners in East Longmeadow were afraid to test their foundations because a positive test would drastically devalue their homes. Oliveira told her legislation approved by the state Senate would reimburse property owners for the testing and a fund to help with the cost of replacing foundations is being discussed. For people who want to build a home, but are concerned the concrete might be contaminated, he said there was also language in a bill that would create a requirement to test quarries for the mineral.
Oliveira called Chapter 90, state funding for roads and bridges the “lifeblood” of communities. He said the state Senate’s budget created “more pot of funds that communities can access,” for roads, bridges, culverts and other essential infrastructure. Town Council President Ralph Page asked Oliveira if rumors were true that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation was considering running a railroad through East Longmeadow again.
“I have not heard that,” Oliveira told Page, but said he would investigate the matter. Generally, the state is interested in expanding rail, Oliveira said, particularly with the East-West Rail and north-south lines, such as the Valley Flyer, which runs from Franklin County into Connecticut. He called rail “essential” for the economy.
Zone change
The council heard from lawyer Josh Levine about a request to change the zoning of 312 Parker St., a nonconforming parcel, from Residential AA to Residential A. Levine said the AA zone was an “obsolete” holdover from before the town adopted town-wide water and sewer, and “has not been necessary for quite some time.”
The property owner wished to give a portion of the property to his daughter, whose property on Rollins Drive abuts 312 Parker St. The owner would then absorb a portion of 322 Parker St., which he also owns. This would create three conforming lots.
Resident Christina Bent said the plan was “fine on paper” but had concerns that the changes would leave her nonconforming property at 303 Parker St., which is also zoned Residential AA, “stranded.”
Richards assured Bent, “You are 43,000 square feet, you are 3,000 square feet larger than the minimum size for an AA parcel,” and “insufficient frontage is not going to hurt you” if the house was put on the market. Nevertheless, Bent said she would like her property rezoned because she felt, “left out in the cold.”
The issue was tabled because not enough members were present for a supermajority vote, which was required for a zone change.
Courthouse
The council discussed the property at 70 Maple St., which the town has purchased. Richards addressed the idea that the property could be taken to build a courthouse to replace the sick Roderick J. Ireland Courthouse.
“Do we have any control over whether we choose to use that land for that purpose?” Richards asked Town Manager Mary McNally. McNally said no one has contacted her regarding the property. She added that the contamination of the site made it an unlikely choice for the building.
Other topics
The ambulance rate was raised 3% for fiscal year 2024, which begins July 1. Fire Chief Paul Morrisette said the town works to be comparable to municipal ambulance rates in the surrounding communities. Page commented that he hears only positives about the ambulance service’s response times and quality of care.
A total of $1.98 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding was approved for use on water infrastructure projects. The town had already borrowed $326,600 for one project and the use of ARPA funding would reduce that debt.
The council discussed the dissolution of the Board of Public Works, which McNally described as “advisory” in nature and said the “town will not suffer without it.” A reorganization plan was read into the record and referred to the bylaw subcommittee.
Resident George Kingston was presented with a proclamation recognizing his work on more than a half-dozen municipal boards and committees over the years. Kingston chose not to seek reappointment to the Planning Board and will end his term this month.