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Date: 12/21/2021
EASTHAMPTON – The City Council approved a variety of requested funds for different projects across town on their Dec. 15 meeting.
The largest of which was a Community Preservation Act (CPA) intra-departmental transfer of $255,576 for HVAC improvements, boiler replacement, and electrical upgrades. These funds will match the funds City Space is providing for second floor construction and infrastructure improvements at Old Town Hall.
“They [City Space] have a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund that has to be used very soon or they lose it, and in order to use it, they need to have a match from funds that are already reserved by the CPA committee,” said council Vice President Dan Rist.
Rist then invited Burns Maxey, president of City Space to speak a little more on the funding.
“This was essentially part of the transformation campaign for the Old Town Hall, and this is a portion of that project that we found in this past year when looking into phasing the project. Previously our architect said that was not feasible but we went back to them and looking at a couple grants out there and they said actually, you can take this part out of the project and phase it in first,” Maxey said.
Another big approval of funds came with the $150,000 transfer from the Cannabis Fund to the Union Street TIP project easements. The TIP infrastructure project is a multi-million-dollar project that consists of 1,870 feet of Union Street.
Construction begins at the intersection of High Street, near Big E’s, and includes improvements to the signalized intersection at Cottage Street, Williston Avenue, and Payson Avenue, according to the town website. The project is tentatively set to begin construction in the spring.
Rist opened discussion saying the money would help go toward paying the 23 property owners who live where the project will happen.
“First step in is getting those and city attorney fees to get legal services done. This project is so important to the city and there will be a lot of legal issues with the number of houses involved,” Rist said.
City Planner Jeff Bagg expressed how responses he’s gotten from residents have shown him this is a commonly discussed project in town. He added that there were 32 properties in total involved with the project and that they have secured nine donations.
Bagg also said that the 23 owners who are owed compensation are receiving it due to easements to allow construction workers to be outside these homes and on their sidewalks during the project. These funds will be finalized with a vote from the council during their Jan. 19 hearing.
“We are trying desperately to keep the timeline for the project to go out for bid in March or April [2022], and a month after that construction would start,” Bagg said. “We are trying to hold onto the spring construction schedule and will come back to council to go through completely on Jan. 19 [2022].”
Twenty-seven thousand dollars from Free Cash for Phase III of the archival records project was approved by the council to assist in the city records management project with the money going toward funding labor materials and record at the public safety complex. These records will be re organized and provided though an index to help town officials and the community find public records in a better fashion.
Another funding approved that is of note was the $10,000 transfer from the Cannabis fund to the CRC for an educational public forum budget. Mayor Nicole LaChapelle spoke highly of the proposal sent forward from the Community Relations Committee. The money would be exclusively for the group and they would be responsible in creating and planning a budget with the money in offering new programs for students.
“I think it’s an appropriate use of funds. I hope these funds can be used to bring good programs to our schools,” said JP Kwiecinski, District 1 councilor.
A Heartfelt Goodbye
Toward the end of the meeting, Council President Peg Conniff gave a formal and public farewell as her time on the council comes to an end.
“This experience has been one I will forever be grateful for. To play a small role in guiding Easthampton forward was my pleasure,” Conniff said. “Stay awesome Easthampton.”
Rist followed the farewell with comments of his own.
“Madam President, I can’t say how proud I have been to be your VP and assisted you in your remarkable run as president. You have been fair and honest in your dealings with all of us and the public. You have demonstrated it is quite clear women can lead in any form of government with success.”
Councilor JP Kwiecinski seconded the comments from Rist and added his own.
“It should go in the record books that you and this council served during one of the most difficult times this city has experienced. The challenge of facing a new presidency and then be challenged during the pandemic I think was particularly relevant,” he said.
It was also the last meeting for newest Councilor Erica Flood, who in the words of Rist, “enthusiastically” filled a vacant seat on the council.
“Although your tenure was brief, it will not be forgotten,” Rist said.
“I want to recognize Flood as perhaps the only councilor to have never met in person in the history of the council,” Kwiecinski joked. “Thank you Flood for all your thoughtful opinions and your voice.”
Flood also mentioned she was happily the guinea pig for the ranked choice voting system the town just began and thanked the council for their time together.
Mayor Communications
LaChapelle made a few comments at the end of the meeting, including the incorporation of the “Notify Me” system on the town’s website.
LaChapelle explained that if you go to the town website and go to “Notify Me” it brings users to a check list of every department and public safety group in the town and allows for residents to sign up for email and text notifications for the specific town agency they are looking to follow. She also mentioned you can sign up for town press releases and all this system is meant to assist residents in staying aware of town government.
“This service goes through our encrypted website. We do not capture, sell or share data,” LaChapelle said. “It is solely for information, official and approved by the city going out.”
LaChapelle did add there was no automated call feature, or “robo call,” as part of the program after overwhelmingly negative feedback to those types of calls.