Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 4/11/2019
CHICOPEE – After much debate that has taken place over a period of months, the City Council agreed to allocate $1.325 million for a 12-bay garage that would be constructed at the site of the Central Maintenance Garage on Meadow Street at its April 2 meeting.
The new garage would be built to specifically house 12 of the city’s sanitation/recycling side loaders.
Mayor Richard Kos said the vehicles, which cost $300,000 each, are sensitive to the weather.
“The reason we’re doing this is that it just makes sense,” Kos added.
Elizabette Botelho, the superintendent of the Department of Public Works (DPW), explained the construction job would be put out for bud by mid-summer and should be built in time for the next winter.
The council also approved another allocation for the DPW: $250,000 to pave an area that will be the site of a drop off center for certain recyclables.
Botelho explained in a letter to Kos “extensive paving of the areas is needed.”
The council also took the steps to extend the City Hall parking lot by approving $100,000 to buy the house at 288 Front St. between the two parking areas for City Hall. The house is owned and operated by the Valley Opportunity Council (VOC) and in an email to the mayor’s office, VOC Executive Director Stephen Huntley wrote, “The timeline of when the tenants will be relocated is still not finalized, however we anticipate by the end of June, we will no longer have a use for the property. We are aware that the appraisal of the property could exceed this value and are comfortable with this agreed upon purchase price.”
Huntley added the house’s design is “antiquated and does not align with our mission to help people escape poverty.”
The council then approved another $100,000 for the demolition of the house and the construction of the lot. Lee Pouliot, the city’s director of Planning and Development, told the council there would have to be an assessment of the house for asbestos and lead paint prior to demolition. He added with the construction of the lot there would be a “comprehensive lot’ for City Hall that could make the sale of the former library building more attractive and could serve downtown businesses at night.
The council approved an appropriation for $10,000 for the Chicopee Cultural Council that will be used to leverage grants for the council’s activities.
The General John J. Stefanik Memorial School will finally get a playground through a $15,000 grant accepted by the council from Kaboom!, the non-profit organization that builds playgrounds. The playground build is also being supported by a $5,000 grant for the Fest for All committee. Stefanik was the only school in the city without a playground and Councilor William Courchesne invited his fellow councilors to volunteer for the construction when it is scheduled.