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Date: 1/10/2024
HAMPDEN — The Board of Selectmen met at its Jan. 2 meeting to consider how to use two pools of funding, one of which it came into unexpectedly.
Hampden was previously awarded a grant from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to have a sidewalk designed for a portion of Main Street. The $203,100 grant was contingent upon the state funding a $1.3 million project, which it has not. Because of this, Town Administrator Bob Markel said the commission would allow the money to be “reprogrammed” and used for another eligible project.
The town has also been unexpectedly allocated funding from the state’s Fair Share Amendement revenue. The voter-approved 2022 Fair Share Amendment, also known as the “millionaire’s tax” adds a 4% surcharge on income over $1 million with the caveat that the additional tax revenue be spent on education and transportation. The Healey-Driscoll administration distributed $100 million of this money to municipalities for roadwork. Hampden’s share was $132,747.
Because the Fair Share funding follows the same rules as Chapter 90 state said, Highway Superintendent Mark Langone said unused funding can be carried over for up to 10 years. As Board of Selectmen member Craig Rivest said, “We’re not under the gun to spend that money.”
The Gaming Commission funds are a different story. Markel said the commission has been pressing the town to identify a new project on which to use the funding. Otherwise, it will be rescinded.
Markel ran down the list of potential projects on which the consolidated funding could be used, including replacing the bridge on Main Street, constructing a sidewalk from the Senior Center on Allen Street to the Centennial Commons senior housing on Somers Road or designing a road safety audit of the intersection of Allen Street and Somers, East Longmeadow and Wilbraham roads.
Consulting firm Tighe & Bond previously designed the Allen-Somers corridor sidewalk and at that time estimated it would cost about $340,000, but Markel said the construction costs would have increased, while Rivest estimated it could be as much as $500,000, which the pooled funding could not cover.
At the Jan. 8 Board of Selectmen meeting, board member John Flynn reiterated his point that the Fair Share funding should be added to the existing Chapter 90 funds in the Highway Department budget. He said the annual budget does not contribute enough funding to meet the town’s needs. Langone had said he would like to see guardrail upgrades on Glendale Road.
Rivest suggested several other projects for the Gaming Commission funding, including the implementation of checkpoints and other impaired driving mitigation, efforts to lessen the likelihood of trafficking and money laundering and a tourism project to encourage hiking in Hampden. Board of Selectmen Chair Donald Davenport and Flynn agreed that the hiking initiative was desirable. In addition to the tourism project, the board decided to use $50,000 of the Fair Share money as the town’s match for a grant to repair the Main Street bridge, and a flashing light at the crosswalk outside the Town House, that Rivest had pitched.
The plan is to roll the remaining funding into the new round of grant from the Gaming Commission.
Cemetery Commission
There has been an unexpected change in the Cemetery Commission. Markel explained that the commissioners hired an administrative assistant during an executive session, without performing a background check or consulting with him about the appropriate compensation. When Markel informed the commission that the process would need to be repeated with the appropriate actions in place, the commissioners resigned, leaving the town without officials in charge of these cemeteries.
“I understand that independent boards have a certain amount of latitude, but that latitude only goes so far,” said Davenport, adding that board and committees must still follow the Open Meeting Law and abide by town policies and the compensation schedule.
The Board of Selectmen interviewed the previously hired administrative assistant candidate on Jan. 8, but had reservations regarding the individual’s hours of availability. There is also an open legal question of whether the board members can appoint themselves interim commissioners. A vote on the administrative assistant position was deferred.
The town is actively seeking people to be appointed as commissioners until the town election in May.