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Date: 3/1/2023
BELCHERTOWN – Belchertown was awarded approximately $4.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to help the community’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
Since November 2022, the Select Board has hosted three meetings with department heads and committees to listen to their requests to use ARPA funds for their projects.
Before November 2022, the Select Board approved repairs to Chestnut Hill Community School, town and school hazard pay to its employees, repairs to the parking lot at Town Hall, a new ambulance, AEDs placed in town, lake clean-up, fiscal year 2023 budget and a salary for an economic development coordinator.
These purchases brought the overall available balance down to $2.24 million with more than 25 requests remaining.
At its Feb. 21 meeting, the Select Board discussed every request they had on their spreadsheet again and approved 10 projects leaving the final balance available at $465,880.
The projects approved were new cameras and security system at Belchertown schools, hydro-raking and water quality assessments for the town lakes, phase one of the North Main Street Department of Transportation project, a new dump truck, a new ventilation system in the highway garage, an EMS/Fire emergency generator, a budget for the economic development director, Chestnut Hill Recreation Area infrastructure improvements and an update to the towns cyber security.
The school cameras and security system are desperately needed, according to Superintendent Brian Cameron.
“[Select Board Vice Chair] Ron Aponte and I went to talk to Police Chief [Kevin] Pacunas about the existing systems at the schools. The result is clearly something needs to be done. This is not a serious request and the amount requested may not be enough,” Select Board Chair Jim Barry said.
The request for $300,000 was approved to the schools but according to School Committee Chair Heidi Gutekenst, the project will cost more than that and the rest will be covered by the committee.
“Our current security system is nine years old and in need of upgrades to improve the safety for our students. It is a priority of mine.” Cameron said.
Belchertown schools currently have an analog security system with their recordings sent to DVRs and Cameron is looking to increase the imaging of the cameras by switching to IP cameras.
IP security cameras send their signal over a network and can record at a higher resolution. When zooming in you would not create a blurry image but rather a very clear one according to Cameron.
Cameron said that the imaging on the current cameras makes it hard to clearly see what is going on and who is involved in certain situations they watch.
The Lakes Committee was awarded $40,000 for two requests. The first request is to perform hydro-raking at the Lake Metacomet outlet and the second request was to perform a tri-lakes water quality assessment.
Lakes Committee Chair LeeAnn Connolly explained that there is no flow with the water and it is quite stagnant.
She added, “You have Lake Metacomet, Lake Arcadia and Lake Holland that all go into Bachelor Brook. If we can get that brook and outlet flowing again, that would help benefit the water flow for all three lakes.
Hydo-raking and is used to clear accumulations of unconsolidated bottom muck and debris. It removes all organic debris from the bottom of a pond, making it an ideal choice for routine maintenance that will help to prolong or prevent the need for future dredging.
Connolly said the other request for the five-year water quality assessment plan will get someone to study what is wrong with the lakes and hopefully come up with a permanent solution.
The DPW was awarded approximately $783,000 for multiple projects.
One project involves a reconstruction of North Main Street and will work on a mile of road from Route 9 to the center of town near Town Hall, according to DPW Director Steve Williams.
Williams said the project will include narrower travel lanes to reduce traffic speeds, reset curbing, reconstructed sidewalks that are wider to allow for walking and bicycles, added parking, reconstructed crosswalks, new signage and road markings.
The board approved $237,700 to go toward phase one of the project, which is a partial design and a sign of commitment to the project.
Williams said the new dump truck would cost $275,000 and be used for road repairs, graveling, plowing and putting down salt or sand to reduce icy roads.
Regarding the ventilation system, Williams said, “this is my number one priority” and Aponte added, “this regards employee safety and needs to be addressed.”
The funds would go toward setting up a negative airflow system with fans and suction tubes to pull exhaust fumes and air out of the highway garage maintenance area while it is being used.
“Currently we do not have a very good ventilation system. When we are maintaining or starting up trucks in the morning, the exhaust is going through the building and administration areas. It is a health and safety concern,” Williams said.
The Select Board approved $50,000 as a salary for a new economic development coordinator and another $125,000 as a budget the coordinator can use.
Town Planner Doug Albertson said the coordinator’s main responsibilities would be working with groups from in town that would put on events to attract people from out of town.
Other responsibilities include marketing, advertising and branding to help Belchertown come up with an identity, Albertson said.
Albertson added, “We had an economic assessor come to town and they said we are a wealthy residential community. We need to be able to have places to go and things to see, so residents do not have to drive anywhere else to fill their needs.”
The Select Board approved $500,000 the Recreation Department to work on the Chestnut Hill Recreation Area infrastructure project.
The improvements to the area behind Chestnut Hill Community School would include adding more parking spots and extending the roadway to get closer to the basketball and eventual pickleball courts.
The town is in the process of adding pickleball courts that should be ready by this spring or summer according to Recreation Department Director Kyle Thibeault.
Select Board member Ed Boscher said that the parking is already a safety concern, and the additional activities would only add to the problem, so he wanted to see this project be funded.
Information Technology (IT) Director Kevin Hannon discussed the ARPA request he submitted.
The IT Department has been awarded $16,000 to have someone conduct a cybersecurity assessment for the town.
Hannon will hire a virtual security officer to come investigate the town building computers for a period and put together the pieces for a cybersecurity policy.
He added by doing this assessment, it would make the town eligible for more grants to implement a cyber security policy.
Barry said that some of the remaining funds may be used for the fiscal year 2024 budget and other projects.
According to Aponte, the ARPA funds do not have to be incumbered until December 2024 so the board has time to make decisions on other projects on the spreadsheet.