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Date: 9/28/2021
EASTHAMPTON – The issue of a single dollar prompted a citizen’s assertion that the city of Easthampton is nickel and diming its library resources.
During the City Council’s public hearing regarding a $1 transfer from the Reserve Fund that Councilor Homar Gomez explained would account for a discrepancy in the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners’ calculation on library appropriations, one resident took the City Council to task on the city’s funding for library services.
“While on the surface this seems like a very simple $1 appropriation, I think this provides us the opportunity to have a larger discussion about what I think is a pretty concerning situation in Easthampton,” said Eric Poulin, a professor of library and information science and former president of the Massachusetts Library Association. “While Councilor Gomez is correct that there is a formula for minimal municipal appropriation for library funding in order to stay certified with the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, Easthampton has historically for as long as I can remember in all of my years here funded our library to the absolute bare minimum to stay certified. In this case, it’s we need one more dollar to stay certified. We don’t ever fund it $1 more, we don’t ever fund it a cent more.”
According to the fiscal year 2022 budget, an appropriation of $218,927.36 was approved, an increase of slightly less than $5,500 over the FY21 budget of 213,466. That appropriation, the budget’s narrative explains, supports 57 percent of the Emily Williston Memorial Library’s total operating budget with the remainder supplemented by fundraising efforts. The budget also states that eight of the library’s 12 employees are paid at the state’s minimum wage.
“The Board of Library Commissioners sets a very, very low bar for the financial responsibility for a municipality to stay certified with the state,” Poulin said.
According to information provided by Poulin, Easthampton is one of 53 municipalities with between 15,000 and 25,000 residents and of those communities, the city ranks 51st in amount spent per capita. Compared to all 351 cities and towns statewide, Easthampton’s per capita spending ranks 325th.
“Now, for a city that likes to fashion itself as thriving as a result of a creative economy and a knowledge economy, I don’t think this funding reflects our priorities at all and it has been said many times that a municipal budget should reflect the priorities of our community,” Poulin said. “I think there’s a pretty wide disconnect here when Easthampton is claiming to be a thriving community where the knowledge economy is such a big thing for us.”
Poulin went on to assert that libraries support the city’s most at-risk populations, offering resources to residents who would otherwise lack access and implored councilors, “Please try to do better.”
“As we’re funding it right now, we’re literally just ensuring that the lights are on and the doors are unlocked,” he said.
Councilor JP Kwiecinski thanked Poulin for the information, which he said he would take under advisement, but no other councilors commented before unanimously approving the $1 transfer.
The council also approved a $230,000 appropriation from the Cannabis Stabilization Fund, which will be used for police details and construction oversight, bridging the difference between the contracted amount and available Chapter 90 funding for the upcoming paving and drainage project and installation of new pedestrian signals on Main Street from Park Street to South Street.
The total cost of the construction is just over $1 million, with $950,343 covered by FY21 and 22 Chapter 90 funding.
“We had a $70,000 or so shortfall in what we could fund with Chapter 90 and what we needed to do the entire stretch of road. The entire stretch of road needed to be done,” Department of Public Works (DPW) Director Greg Nuttelman told the council, adding the goal was to have the road milled by the first week of October. When completed, he said the pavement should last 20 to 25 years.
The funding would also cover a survey of the intersection at Main and South Streets, which Nuttelman said the department wanted to further study pedestrian and vehicle access for the new school building.
During the public hearing on the topic, resident Donovan Lee objected to the amount of money utilized on police details, stating it was more cost-effective to use civilian flaggers. Gonzalez said it would be a conversation with the DPW in the future. Councilor Salem Derby also said Lee’s suggestion made sense and encouraged Nuttelman to explore work detail options that could reduce costs.
The council unanimously approved the appropriation as presented.
The City Council also passed a series of motions that pave the way for Easthampton to purchase 5.5 acres on Reservation Road for open space protection.
“This property is important because it’s been thought of as an important parcel for over 20 years,” City Planner Jeff Bagg told the council. “It’s on the foothills of Mount Tom [and] it’s in a really key area for the city. We recently updated our Open Space and Recreation Plan and the area around and adjacent to Mount Tom is pretty much the highest important areas Easthampton resident seem to be focusing on.”
Bagg also indicated that the city had recently received a necessary $245,412 land grant ahead of schedule. As part of the process the city had to appropriate the funds and the grant would act as a reimbursement. The $245,412 was transferred by unanimous vote from the General Fund.
Another vote approved the use of $121,588 from Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding. Previously, the CPA Committee had unanimously recommended use of those funds.
“The way it works is the land grant covers 68 percent of the costs of the acquisition, so the city is paying the remainder,” Bagg explained.
Gomez told the council that the Finance Committee had voted in favor of both funding efforts.
The council also authorized Mayor Nicole LaChapelle to purchase the property and enter into an option agreement that would afford the city extension beforehand, which Bagg explained would allow the city nine months to perform due diligence and survey the property before closing.
Councilor Thomas Peake, representing Precinct 1 where the property is located, reflected on how important preservation of the land was to his constituents, especially considering past discussions regarding its development.
“I received about as much email about this as anything else that we’ve addressed over the past year,” he said. “I really do believe the mountain is the maybe the singular greatest natural amenity that we have here in the city and there is sort of a feeling that there would be a huge loss to see it developed into something that wasn’t as ecologically important or as naturally beautiful.”
Councilor Erica Flood said while she appreciated the importance of preserving the land, she wished members of the community reacted as strongly to the idea of developing affordable housing options in Easthampton.
Donal Carbough, a resident of Reservation Road, was among the residents who spoke at the meeting in favor of the acquisition. He said there was a “coalition of people who are strongly in support of this” and a petition in support has more than 1,600 signatures. Fellow Reservation Road residents John and Greta Holbrook and Peter Steinberg also voiced strong support.
“It’s a tremendously rich resource in terms of the different wildlife habitat,” Carbough said of the land. It’s kind of an informal easement between the city and the state reservation, which many people use.”
City Council President Peg Conniff called Carbough and instrumental figure in coordinating efforts between neighborhood residents and Bagg.