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Date: 11/26/2019
HAMPDEN – Town Administrator Robert Markel began the Nov. 25 Hampden Select Board meeting by telling the board that the $25,000 Community Compact Grant they had been awarded to design a sidewalk project stretching from the senior center to Centennial Commons could not be redirected for another sidewalk project.
Markel had reviewed the issue with Sean Cronin, the senior deputy commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. The town can choose to return the money or to use it for its intended purpose.
Selectman John Flynn questioned whether the sidewalk was needed infrastructure or if they were “building a bridge to nowhere.” To this Becky Moriarty, executive director of the Hampden Senior Center told the board that seniors do walk to the center.
Three options were laid out to pay for construction. The first option would be to use town funds. Second, the town could apply for a Complete Streets Grant, which allows for up to $400,000 for a town-wide sidewalk plan. Or, Markel said, the town could pursue a pending sidewalk project with a budget of $39,000.
“Concrete sidewalk is expensive – my guess is we’re looking at six figures plus,” for construction, Markel said.
Flynn said they would only have to do from the senior center to Rediker software company on the corner of Wilbraham Road because the rest of the distance is lined with private businesses and many had committed to paying for a sidewalk on the frontage of their property.
Selectman Mary Ellen Glover asked if there was a timeline attached to the funding, but Markel said there is none of which he was aware. She called the sidewalks “a questionable value” and expressed reservations about the number of “big ticket” items that have been put forward at recent town meetings. Flynn said Glover’s argument is the reason they should use state money if possible.
“We have an opportunity to do some growth-work,” Flynn said.
Another logistical issue with the proposed sidewalk is crossing at Main Street. Markel promised to discuss options with Tighe & Bond and said Flynn’s suggestion of a flashing light at the intersection would be in the interest of public safety.
Markel informed the board that the town’s contract with Republic Services for trash and recycling removal from the transfer station to the Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in Springfield would not be renewed at the current rate. He said Republic Services was losing money due to the bottom falling out of the recycling market. Instead of being paid for recyclable materials, the waste companies now have to pay to have the recycling taken away.
Markel related a message from the state Department of Environmental Protection that “the town is going to have to accept the significant increase,” in cost.
Markel laid out two options to deal with the issue: raise the bag fees “significantly” or increase the tax rate. He warned that due to 90 percent of residents contracting with private companies for waste removal, most voters would find an increase in the tax rate unfair.
A decision must be made by Jan 31, 2020.
Moriarty, Community Coordinator Heather Jolicoeur and Mary L. Jenewin-Caplin, director of the Area Agency on Aging at the Greater Springfield Senior Services, met with the board to encourage them to pursue age-friendly designation from the World Health Organization.
Jenewin-Caplin explained some of the ways that towns work to become age-friendly including assuring businesses serve the needs of aging populations, that banks know how to help customers with dementia, and adopting Complete Streets initiatives that serve seniors.
She said one of the good things about the age and dementia-friendly designations is that towns are allowed to design their own programs and infrastructure.
Jolicoeur enumerated some of the steps that have already been taken in town, such as the Memory Cafe at the senior center, walking trails from the senior center to Thornton W. Burgess Middle School, and the proposed sidewalk project to the senior center.
Moriarty said the town is already close to becoming “dementia-friendly” because the fire department is scheduled to have Alzheimer’s training and the banks in town have committed to dementia training.
The 2020 Community Compact Grants can help with age-friendly projects.
“It’s not a race, it’s a marathon,” Jolicoeur said of the timeline to make age-friendly changes. She noted that 30 percent of Hampden is over the age of 60 and said investments were made in schools in the 1960s and now age-friendly investments need to be made for that same generation.
As a parting gift, the board was given t-shirts emblazoned with “Live your life, forget your age.”
In the town administrator’s report, Markel noted that the tax rate has been set at $20.15. The town is looking for a volunteer with a disability for the Americans with Disabilities Commission.
The board was updated on the tree warden's use of the $100,000 that was approved for tree removal. Markel said 207 trees have been removed while 197 still need to be taken down. Of the emergency tree funds, $31,000 remains.