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Date: 5/16/2023
CHICOPEE — The Chicopee License Committee and City Council called in representatives from the Memorial Drive Walmart on May 8, to discuss the licenses they currently have, including compliance with restrictions imposed upon any of the licenses.
The issues for which Walmart was called before the committee included the excessive trash, public safety and expansion concerns.
These orders were filed by Ward 6 City Councilor Derek Dobosz and President Frank Laflamme.
The meeting began with public input, in which resident Dan Hackett said he has attended a few meetings now to discuss the Walmart trash on his property.
Hackett said he has 15 years’ worth of photographs of the trash that has accumulated in his yard.
After going to Walmart to share his concerns, Hackett said they told him, “I don’t have time for you.”
He noted there has been no action with the manager and no one has returned calls from him and his concerned neighbors.
School Committee member Sam Shumsky said he drives by Walmart every day and sees the shopping bags flying in the trees and around the property. He also pointed out the issues with speeding and traffic in the area.
Laflamme said this issue had previously gone before the Planning Board. After that meeting, Laflamme visited Walmart to take photos of the outside property, as well as the day of the May 8 meeting.
Wendy Hubbard, manager of the Chicopee Walmart, said she cleans up the parking lot about three to four times a week.
For the sake of the neighbors, Laflamme said something needs to be done and suggested implementing a higher fence to eliminate the problem between Walmart and its abutters.
As the store is in Dobosz’s district, he said, “My No. 1 issue with Walmart is the plastic bags and the litter,” which has been ongoing for years.
Dobosz asked that a current and up-to-date contact list of Walmart officials be kept by the City Council Office. That way, if there is an issue, Dobosz can speak with a manager privately before it comes to a public hearing.
“I’m willing to work with Walmart if they’re willing to work with the residents,” he said.
He went on to discuss the issue with plastic bags in the trees. Since Walmart issued a proposal for expansion, Dobosz said they “did a good job” cleaning some of the trees but there are still issues.
“If I had it my way, I would push for a total plastic bag ban in the city. I know the Springfield Walmart uses paper bags which I think break down a little bit better, so I encourage Walmart to look into that because a plastic bag ban may come down the line anyway,” Dobosz said.
He shared that he is also looking for Walmart to hire a police detail for at least eight hours a day at the store’s expense. The hours of detail would be subject to the police chief.
Based on a report over 21 months — between June 1, 2020, and March 8, 2022 — there were 939 medical emergency calls to Walmart, which is about 54 calls per month. Compared to other stores, Home Depot had 296 calls and Big Y had 224.
Dobosz noted that the report also includes car accidents, theft, assaults and more.
“Walmart is by far number one for 911 calls,” he said.
Dobosz expressed concern regarding Walmart’s decision not to hire police officers in Chicopee. With an expansion, he said this will create bigger issues and believes the addition of security will make the store safer.
Ward 4 City Councilor George Balakier agreed and said with an expansion there could be more issues if the current ones are not addressed.
Councilor at Large Robert Zygarowski said he also notices the number of plastic bags and believes something needs to be done. He asked how long it would take to get an answer about switching to paper bags, to which Walmart representatives said it should take about 30 days.
Hubbard recognized the trash issue and said that perhaps they could look into better ways of keeping it out of the neighbor’s yards. However, she said not all the trash comes from Walmart, as there are several other businesses in the plaza.
“I don’t necessarily think it’s fair that Walmart is the only one that is being asked for an answer to the trash question,” Hubbard said.
When asked about how many people visit the Chicopee Walmart — on average — daily, Hubbard said it is between 7,000 and 8,000 people.
To provide Walmart with the appropriate time to get answers to the questions surrounding paper bags, fencing and security issues, a motion was made to postpone the hearing. Walmart must respond to all the questions by June 8.
The Walmart representatives said they would provide a contact list of its officials to the City Council.