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Date: 6/8/2021
CHICOPEE – The Chicopee City Council met to discuss a variety of topics such as parking lot construction issues, public safety, controversial land conservation and extremely high water bills on June 1.
During Mayor John Vieau’s briefing, he introduced his Mayoral Order of a $47,000 appropriation to the Planning Special Account for the Front Street parking lot. According to Vieau, there have been some issues found during construction of this parking lot, which runs along the City Hall annex on Front Street. This money will cover the unexpected costs.
Lee Pouliot, director of the Planning Department, spoke more on this project. According to Pouliot, there have been drain issues discovered during construction.
“What we’re requesting tonight is funds to cover that $22,000 in labor, so we can complete the drainage for the other section of the project. And then just in case anything else should come up as we move towards trying to complete this, an additional $25,000 in contingency so we can get to the end of this project,” said Pouliot.
Pouliot said that they hope the project will be completed this summer and that no other issues will arise. The new parking lot will have 77 parking spaces. It has cost over $720,000 to build this parking lot so far.
“We’ve had a parking problem downtown for a number of years and, granted, nobody’s happy with the cost, but sometimes when you take an old parking lot or you go to the subsurface, you don’t know what’s underneath,” said City Councilor George Balakier in response to the issues and appropriation of more money. “There were a couple of surprises, but it’s gonna look good and it’s going to enhance downtown, it’s going to alleviate parking problems and it’s going to enhance this new building.”
The City Council also accepted a grant from the Massachusetts State Police to the Chicopee Police Department in the amount of $132,168. The Chicopee Police Department is a sub-recipient of the FY21 Byrne Jag Grant Program.
These funds will be used to make sure that Chicopee has a visible and strong police presence in certain areas during the summer months. Its goal will be to deter crime and keep people safe. It will focus specifically on preventing gang and gun violence.
The funds from this grant will be divided over two fiscal years.
“It will assist us in overtime costs as we work collaboratively with the Mass State Police through these efforts and it does cover the remainder of this fiscal year and next fiscal year,” said Captain Henry of the Chicopee Police Department.
City Councilor Robert Zygarowski expressed his gratitude for this grant money.
“This money is coming just in time and I commend the Police Department for going after these grants and this is such an important one because of what’s going on. It should help us out during both summers,” he said.
The money and increased police presence around certain areas of the city will also work to help another big issue that Chicopee has faced in recent months: speeding and illegal dirt bikes.
The meeting then focused on the highly controversial parcel of land located at 0 Fuller Rd. This land has been frequently discussed by the council and concerned residents over the past few months. The land was purchased in 2009 and is currently owned by the Westover Metropolitan Development Corporation (WMDC).
At the June 1 meeting, Councilor Derek Dobosz proposed a vote that the City of Chicopee’s intention be to obtain the parcel located at 0 Fuller Rd. and donate it to permanent conservation instead of developing the parcel.
According to Dobosz, there is an active petition started by residents for Vieau to buy back this area and protect it. The petition has more than 700 signatures.
“I was asked to file this by constituent requests and I’m very proud to. This is a lot of support and it’s just common sense. The land was sold very cheaply in 2009 and we’re getting $30 million from the government as part of the CARES Act and I believe this is within the realm of uses for that funding and I’m encouraging the mayor to buy the land back,” said Dobosz.
With this order, Dobosz said that they would be asking city employees to change their attitude towards the parcel and work toward putting it as conservation land.
Many residents came out to the City Council Meeting to show their support for preserving 0 Fuller Rd. as conservation land and also for Dobosz’s dedication to this issue.
In the end, the council voted to approve this and hopes that Vieau will work to buy back the land in order to please the council, residents and give Chicopee necessary green space.
The meeting also touched on the issue of high water bills in the city. Many residents have complained of unusually high water bills over the past few months. According to Dobosz, he spoke with one resident who had a $6,000 water bill.
The council voted that the Water Resource Committee is to meet and discuss issues with the Water Department billings and meters. Councilor Robert Zygarowski emphasized that the public be diligent with checking their water meters and noticing any issues or sudden changes.
The meeting then continued with routine zone and ordinance changes.
Those interested in viewing the City Council meeting in its entirety are encouraged to visit the ChicopeeTV Facebook page.