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Date: 10/11/2023
AGAWAM — A month into the fall high school sports schedule, city councilors expressed concern on Oct. 2 about spectators crossing the street near Agawam High School’s stadium.
Councilor George Bitzas said the town was supposed to install a crosswalk and blinking lights, powered by solar energy, on Mill Street between the school campus and the parking lot of Agawam United Methodist Church, which has the closest non-handicap parking spaces to the stadium.
“See if we can do that as soon as possible,” he said. “It’s very dangerous and I hope something can be done.”
Council President Chris Johnson said that crosswalk beacons installed elsewhere in town were part of larger projects. He said the town is exploring how much the lights cost when acquired individually. Once that information is known, Mayor William Sapelli will come back to the council to ask for an appropriation, Johnson said.
Councilor Rosemary Sandlin thanked the mayor’s office for following through with her request for lights at that crossing. In the interim, she said she hoped the town could at least paint crosswalk lines, or “any temporary thing to save people’s lives crossing that street.”
She also said the town got approval to lower the speed limit along that stretch of Mill Street, but didn’t know when that proposal would come to the council.
“We have to do everything that we have in-house, in our DPW bag of tricks, to keep that area safe,” she said.
Speaking after the council meeting, Sapelli said he shares the councilors’ concerns about pedestrians crossing Mill Street from the Methodist Church parking lot to the high school stadium on game days for sports such as lacrosse, soccer and football.
“It’s a dangerous road to cross when vehicles are going up to 40-45 miles per hour,” Sapelli said. “It’s not a specific incident that happened, but it’s a potential.”
During games with large crowds, such as the Agawam-West Springfield Thanksgiving game, which sees over 3,000 people, several officers are on duty to assist with traffic and keep the road safe for pedestrians, Sapelli said. But officers tend not to be on duty for smaller games.
“You can’t count on it,” said Sapelli.
Several options are being considered, he said. The mayor’s office is talking with the police chief about putting in a crosswalk, as there are some issues relating to the school being public property and the church being private property.
“We’re going to work it out, we’re going to deal with that,” he said.
The mayor’s office also wants the area designated as a school zone. In May, The Reminder reported on a proposal to impose a 20 mph school zone speed limit.
Sapelli said the Massachusetts Department of Transportation is going to supply a solar-powered flashing speed limit sign, valued between $18,000 and $20,000, which the town will install. He said he believed the signs would arrive in August, but they have not arrived yet. He is encouraging the town’s Engineering Department to pressure MassDOT on this matter.
The mayor’s office is also considering other improvements, such as button-operated crosswalk lights that would signal traffic to stop. Sapelli said he wants to find a solution “sooner than later.”
“Hopefully, this will come to fruition shortly,” he said.
In other business, the City Council approved resolutions to establish property tax work-off programs for seniors and veterans. The programs will allow 20 seniors over 60 and 20 veterans to volunteer for the city and earn a maximum deduction of $1,500 in property taxes. This means a maximum of $60,000 can be deducted, if all 40 spots are filled. Spouses of deceased or disabled veterans would also be eligible to earn the abatement. Participants would be chosen by lottery if there are more applications than spots available.
Bitzas said the veterans program will be money well spent.
“They give their lives, some of them, or their legs and arms, so they should have some kind of compensation,” he said. As for the impact on the town budget, he added, “the $60,000 per year, it’s not much.”
Sandlin said giving seniors a break on their property taxes would help them age in place and to not be priced out of their homes. She noted the town will not only lose tax revenue, but will have to spend money to manage the program, though “I think it’s well worth it. … It’s something I’m looking forward to doing.”
“Hopefully, we will keep our seniors in place and in their homes, and our veterans who deserve every bit,” she said.
Both resolutions were passed unanimously, with 10 “yes” votes. Councilor Robert Rossi was absent.