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Date: 6/26/2023
EASTHAMPTON — At its June 21 meeting, the Easthampton City Council approved funding for several citywide improvements.
At the top of the list is $1 million to make water and sewer improvements on Union Street. This will happen at the same time that the state of Massachusetts is completing other improvement projects which means that the street will only need to be torn up once.
In addition, the police department will receive $159,327 to purchase two new hybrid Ford Police Interceptor Utility cruisers which will replace two older, gas-powered cruisers with over 100,000 miles on both of them. The older vehicles will be traded in as part of the new purchase. This purchase will also help the city move toward its goal of more energy-efficient and electric vehicles. Councilor Brad Riley noted that the city’s efforts into purchasing electric vehicles are being noticed across the state.
The city will also use $159,323 to improve its financial software to a web-based version.
The council also voted to appropriate $750,000 of Community Preservation Act funds to future affordable housing projects.
“The money can only be used to fund affordable housing projects,” explained Councilor Daniel Rist, who chairs the finance committee. “The CPA and, I hope, the council really supports affordable housing.”
Members also appropriated $200,000 in CPA funds for Treehouse Properties to perform an energy retrofitting. Providing this money to Treehouse Properties will also help them to secure more grants and funding from the state. The project is currently slated to begin in Spring 2024.
Outside of approving appropriations, the council also moved one to the finance committee for $150,742 for a legal settlement with South Hadley Electric Light Department for fiber network design and services. The council was scheduled to host a public hearing on this matter on June 28.
The council also approved allowing civilian traffic controllers at construction sites. Easthampton is now the second municipality in Massachusetts to allow this. The civilian controllers will have no police powers but will serve a vital role in keeping traffic flowing and allowing construction projects to move forward.
Police Chief Robert Alberti explained that currently these positions are going unfilled. Police officers would still have the right of first refusal for any open traffic controller jobs.