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Date: 6/26/2019
CHICOPEE – The City Council approved $408,000 to begin the process of removing the lower dam for Bemis Pond at its meeting on Jun 18.
In a letter to Mayor Richard Kos, Department of Public Works Superintendent Elizabette Botelho said the funding would be for the design and permitting phase of the project that would remove the lower dam and reestablish a natural stream located in Szot Park.
While the city must approve the $408,000, it would be reimbursed with $236,300 in grants, she explained.
Director of Planning Lee Pouliot told the councilors the design and permitting process will take between 12 and 18 months.
State officials have told the city something must be done with the dam. City Councilor Stan Walczak said the dam gates can’t be opened and the concrete is eroding.
Kos told the council the city’s choice was either to repair the dam or remove it. Repairing it would be much more expensive and Kos said, “I just thought why?”
He added, “Having the water meander through there isn’t going to hurt anything.”
Councilor Jim Tillotson recounted playing hockey on the pond formed by the dam, something many residents of his generation did.
The council also approved the next step in the demotion of the Uniroyal complex. Pouliot asked for an appropriation of $370,000 in order to complete several tasks including the abatement of hazardous materials in buildings 15, 27, and 42 and the preparation of the final site closure documentation for the former Baskin site.
Kos told the council the building directly behind the administrative building is structurally sound to be re-developed after abatement of hazardous materials. The plan would be to seal the structure as the city had done with the administrative building to preserve it for re-use.
Councilor Joel McAuliffe proposed an order that would make available to residents the opportunity of renting an additional trash barrel.
Social media has reflected how some residents, especially those with large families, are not well served by just one 35-gallon toter. The city made the move to encourage greater recycling.
Currently if a household has additional trash it must buy additional trash bags.
In a social media post before the meeting, McAuliffe said people with whom he has spoken are “sick and tired” of the system. He said people have told him that instead of buying an additional bag, residents will seek room in a neighbor’s bin for their trash.
McAuliffe has proposed a rental fee of $65 for each additional toter. The rental fee would cover the costs the city must pay for trash removal.
He believes people would rather pay $65 a year rather than seek out the extra bags.
The order was sent to the finance and public works committee for a public hearing.
In other action the council approved $105,934 to pay for two unmarked police cruisers and one K9 SUV.
The council also approved an appropriation of $70,400 for 10 solar-powered driver feedback traffic signals and two crosswalks signals.
In a letter to the council Botelho wrote. “The driver feedback signals notify drivers of their speed and have been used in an attempt to deter speeding where it has been demonstrated a speeding problems exists. The crosswalk signals will be placed in high pedestrian use intersections such as Grattan Street at Providence Street to ensure safe crossing at busy intersections.”