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Date: 11/30/2023
AGAWAM — City councilors agreed to borrow $2 million to finish the police headquarters construction project, to make up for cost increases in other projects.
Councilors had originally voted to fund the renovation of 1070 Suffield St., Agawam, as a new police station with $11 million in borrowing and $2 million in federal aid from the American Rescue Plan Act, a coronavirus relief bill passed by Congress in 2021. The ARPA money, however, was later redirected to other infrastructure projects in town that ran over budget.
The council voted unanimously on Nov. 8 to approve the extra borrowing, which like the original $11 million will have to be paid back by taxpayers. Construction began in October, and Mayor William Sapelli said at the time that the new police station should be ready in July 2024. The new station is being built in the former home of Hub Insurance and the Oaks banquet hall, and will replace the current station on Springfield Street in Feeding Hills.
Councilors also unanimously approved accepting a grant of $26,400 from the U.S. Department of Justice to the Agawam Police Department for bulletproof vests.
“This is the largest amount of money we’ve gotten in a while,” said Councilor Rosemary Sandlin, who chairs the council’s Finance Committee, which recommended the vote.
In another unanimous vote, the council accepted a $653,125 donation from Eversource, representing a reimbursement of half of the cost that the town incurred repaving Springfield Street after the utility company replaced a natural gas line from the Morgan-Sullivan Bridge to Agawam Junior High School.
Council President Christopher Johnson explained that the town and Eversource had agreed to share the cost of the project, which repaved the entire width of the roadway. He said Eversource would only have been required to repave the parts of the road it dug up, rather than the whole width.
The council also voted unanimously to schedule public hearings on Dec. 4 for three proposals: a school speed zone at Agawam High School, the annual vote to set the tax rates for residential and commercial properties, and an ordinance to allow residents to keep hens on residential zoned properties, which was also referred to the town Planning Board. All three public hearings will be at the council meeting at 7 p.m. in the Senior Center, 954 Main St., Agawam. All residents are welcome to participate.