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Date: 4/17/2023
PALMER — At a meeting on April 10, state Sen. Jacob Oliveira (D-Ludlow) and state Rep. Todd Smola (R-Warren) appeared before the Town Council for a legislative update.
Oliveira told the council that he was available to help the town with any special legislation, and would “get pieces of legislation over the finish line as soon as possible.”
He reported that the governor’s budget announced on March 1 allotted $4 million for the Palmer rail stop as part of the East-West Rail project.
Oliveira said they would soon be announcing office hours once a month at the library during which the public could meet with him.
Commending the growing number of creatively based businesses in town, Oliveira said, “Palmer is actually emerging as a community that is part of the creative economy.”
Smola told the council the Ways and Means Committee had wrapped up its schedule in Boston, and the house version of the budget will be available to the public within the week. Smola cautioned that “additional pools of money are not coming back to cities and towns as it did during the pandemic financial impetus,” so towns should plan accordingly.
Smola also spoke about the housing crisis in Western Massachusetts, saying, “As the new administration moves forward we will start to see some visionary stuff, so expect to see that.”
Council President Barbara Barry asked Oliveira and Smola about changes to the finance law regarding the opioid money, and if allowing the towns to spend this funding was on the horizon. Currently, the finance laws require communities to put the settlement money in a stabilization fund and is not yet available for towns to utilize. Oliveira said as the supplemental budget moves forward they are looking to open up the funding more to towns to use.
“Special ed costs — what are you doing to address that in the budget?” Barry asked. Smola said they have tried to warn municipalities about this money not being available any longer, and the municipalities need to make sure they are investing in capital — not in jobs or things that would have to be funded every year.
Oliveira said special education costs are not sustainable for school districts, and they are trying to work on areas in the legislature and “taking a whole scale look at how we fund special education in the commonwealth.” Oliveira said they are committed to passing more legislation around mental health supports in school districts, colleges and universities, as well.
Smola and Oliveira encouraged the council to reach out to them with anything they needed, and stressed that they were there to be of service to the community and town.
Emergency Hazard Mitigation Plan
Emergency Management Director William Bernat appeared before the board to discuss the grant the town received from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency to update the town’s Emergency Hazard Mitigation Plan. Bernat said the updated plan is good for five years before it needs to be reviewed again. The council approved the updated plan.
General business
The council appointed Kathy Scarglia to the Cultural Council for a term lasting until 2026.
The first paving project for this year is slated to be on May 1 on Beech Street, Town Manager Ryan McNutt reported, and a schedule of paving projects will be announced at a later date. McNutt said the paving projects will be picked from a rating study that was done, starting “from the worst to the best.”
The council encouraged residents to participate in the Earth Day townwide cleanup on April 23.
The council especially encouraged residents to pick up their own yards and streets, saying that every little bit helps and makes the town much more enjoyable to look at while driving through.