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Date: 12/27/2022
HOLYOKE – The Holyoke City Council had a few lengthy discussions regarding housing and issues pertaining to the school district during their final meeting of 2022.
One discussion of note coming from the Dec. 20 meeting focused on the increasing requests from tenants in the city who expressed concerns of poor living conditions and the lack of affordable housing in Holyoke.
On Dec. 12 the Public Safety Committee conducted a hearing in response to a petition from citizens requesting a public meeting to discuss these concerns on housing.
Public Safety Chair and At-Large Councilor Israel Rivera said the meeting was “awesome” as the committee was able to receive so much information on living conditions and situations tenants are facing in the city. Many at the hearing called for a tenant’s bill of rights to help protect tenants from abusive landlords. Rent control was requested by many at the hearing and many also claimed their landlords are not complying with state building codes, leading to unsafe living conditions.
At-Large Councilor Tessa Murphy-Romboletti said she is one of two renters on the council, and it is not a word she is ashamed of. She added it was great to hear from residents and she hoped there would be future discussion regarding a rental registry to better handle situations like this.
Ward 4 Councilor Kocayne Givner said it was a great meeting and added she felt it was interesting to find out over 60 percent of Holyoke residents are renters.
“It’s a nice reality check. The complaints were really emotional and heartfelt complaints about deplorable circumstances tenants are living in,” Givner said. “I hope we are working to staff departments to address this.”
At-Large Councilor Peter Tallman said some of the claims he heard during the hearing were, “unbelievable” and added it was important for those facing these issues directly to speak out.
At-Large Councilor Kevin Jourdain added he was also happy to see so many come out and voice their concerns. He called the stories shared at the hearing eye-opening but not surprising.
“I know as a lawyer it breaks my heart seeing people have to live in those conditions. From a kid all the way up I was always a renter, so I know myself as a son of a single mom and going through those types of situations, you feel very disempowered and very vulnerable,” Jourdain said.
Jourdain added that one key solution to some of these complaints is educating the public of their legal rights. He said that a tenant bill of rights will not solve the issue alone, and there are already groups, legal counsels and opportunities to withhold rent and fight issues in mediation and housing court as just a few options tenants already had.
Jourdain also noted voters had denied rent control at the state level 20 years ago so there was little chance of that being a solution unless there was major change at the state level.
“What resources do we need to make sure people are doing their inspections so when these deplorable conditions come up people are held accountable,” Jourdain said. “It supports good landlords when we hold bad landlords accountable.”
Jourdain later made the case for a receivership program to help address neglectful landlords in the city and said it would protect landlords who followed the rules. He cited Springfield as a nearby community who uses the receivership program to effectively resolve issues like this.
“If half of what people are saying is true, these things are all totally illegal and in violation of state building code,” Jourdain added.
School bus company sued for excessive idling in Holyoke, Worcester
During an item that requested Holyoke Public Schools to go out to bid for a new 5-year contract for bus services, the recent news of a lawsuit against Durham School Services [who has been the bus contractor of Holyoke schools] filed last month by the Conservation Law Foundation was brought up.
The Illinois-based school services company is being sued for violations of the Clean Air Act as buses in both Holyoke and Worcester were observed idling for longer than five minutes on 93 occasions since 2019.
“Urban communities suffer disproportionately from toxic, polluted air,” said Director of Conservation Law Foundation’s Clean Air and Water program Heather Govern in a press release. “Holyoke and Worcester are two of the cities most burdened by negative health impacts like asthma because of this type of pollution. Durham School Services must own up to its role in this problem, stop violating anti-idling laws and commit to reducing pollution from its buses.”
State law prohibits motor vehicles from idling longer than five minutes except when being serviced, while making or receiving deliveries, or when engine power is needed for operations other than moving. The lawsuit claims that a Conservation Law Foundation investigator visited bus lots in Worcester as well as 103 South St. and William G. Morgan School on various occasions between Sept. 2019 and Sept. 2022.
Through the report and lawsuit, the investigator saw buses idling for longer than the allowed length in each visit. The lawsuit also noted that both Holyoke and Worcester have a higher rate of asthma in school-age children than the rest of the country. Holyoke is at 19.9 percent compared to the national average of 7.2 percent.
Conservation Law Foundation is requesting Durham School Services to pay $109,024 per day for each violation, the maximum specified in the Clean Air Act. Worcester ended their contract with Durham School Services this year while Holyoke is about to enter negotiations for their bus provider.
Chief Financial Officer of Holyoke Public Schools Michael Buhl joined the City Council during their meeting and was seeking city permission to go out to bid for a new bus contract. He noted the district was anticipating current provider Durham School Services to bid again.
Buhl notified Jourdain they were aware of the ongoing lawsuit when asked about it and said it would be a topic of discussion through negotiations. Jourdain was concerned the city could receive blame for the issue caused by the school service company and noted that being kept in the loop through this process would be helpful for the council.
“We don’t want them [Conservation Law Foundation] saying we are turning a blind eye,” Jourdain said.
Request to Gov. Healey for return of local control of Holyoke schools
Toward the end of the meeting, an order was filed by Jourdain and Ward 5 Councilor Linda Vacon that Gov.-elect Maura Healey return local control of Holyoke schools back to the district in 2023. The order states, “We believe local control can produce improved results and with new leadership in the governor’s office, we request consideration for the issuance of an order to return local control by July 1, 2023. We do further recommend that with this local control, Holyoke be held accountable by DESE (Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) to achieve established benchmarks to produce excellent results for our children.”
Speaking on the item, Jourdain said he is under the belief every councilor supports this request to the new governor. He noted the city has a “fresh set of eyes” in Healey, so he is optimistic.
“Seven and a half years in, this has not worked. This has been a failed experiment,” Jourdain said. “This notion that the state comes in and everything is better, you would think we would see tangible results after this time. You’re seeing a devolution of results. This experiment has failed.”
Jourdain continued saying local control of schools has been the norm for a reason in the country and said, “it’s a fundamental underpinning of the federalist system and the US government.” He added that sending this request to Healey was important in advocating for themselves. He also noted that he had heard rumors she was in favor of such a decision.
Council President Todd McGee stated that when he and Mayor Joshua Garcia met with Healey during a tour of Victory Theater, she confirmed to them she was in favor of bringing control of schools back to Holyoke. McGee also noted he and Garcia supported Healey in her campaign for governor.
“It’s not that she’s warm to it, she supports it. I know the mayor has been adamant about this. It’s something that is already being fought for,” McGee said.
The request will now be sent from the Holyoke City Council to Gov.-elect Healey’s office and discussions will continue from there.