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Date: 8/9/2022
HOLYOKE – The Aug. 2 City Council meeting started off with a lengthy debate and two votes regarding a special permit for Gary Rome Hyundai.
The request was to build a $4 million, 9,500-square foot car wash next to the Whiting Farms Road dealership and is expected to be opened by next spring. The first vote for the special permit failed, 8-3, just missing the ninth deciding vote threshold for the special permit.
Councilors immediately voted to reconsider the vote and reopened discussion. At Large Councilor Kevin Jourdain argued that an amendment should be added to the permit to ban music from being played by customers using the vacuums.
He added that due to the lack of enforcement of the city’s noise ordinance, he did not want to leave a situation where neighbors could be impacted by this issue and did not want to leave the Gary Rome team alone in enforcing this rule.
Jourdain’s motion failed to receive a second in support.
Jourdain and Councilors Israel Rivera and Jose Maldonado Velez initially voted no before the special permit was reconsidered.
After much back and forth, the council accepted a version of Jourdain’s requested amendment which now says residential abutters should not hear music from the car wash. During the second round of discussions, Ward 5 Councilor Linda Vacon said there should be some amendment added so that the failures of the city’s ordinance do not fall on the property owner.
“If we have an ordinance not enforceable it should not be put on the back of the person. We should change our ordinance. The amendment is in the spirit of being careful for our neighbors,” Vacon said.
One of Jourdain’s biggest complaints initially was the lack of awareness he and his fellow councilors had of the city’s noise ordinance. He asked councilors if anyone had tested 70 decibels from the distance of the property to the neighborhood to which nobody responded. Jourdain questioned how many tickets have ever been enforced due to this ordinance and wanted to look out for neighbors in the area.
Jourdain added that he has noticed throughout the city that when residents use vacuums at car washes, they typically play music loudly from their cars while they do it. This was what brought his concerns forward for neighbors.
Rome himself met with the City Council’s Development and Government Relations Committee on July 20 where he showed plans for a car wash and detailing center that will be built on a parcel south of the car lot. The plan includes touchless and full-service car washes, a waiting room, bathrooms, a manager’s office and four detailing bays.
A large percentage of the water used will be recycled and reclaimed, reducing runoff from the car wash in an eco-friendly effort being promoted by the Rome team.
A study of traffic flow was done by consultants of the dealership and reported no significant disruptions to the surrounding neighborhood. The car wash’s hours of operation will match the dealerships and a locked gate will prevent after-hours loitering, according to Rome.
New assistant assessor
Later in their meeting, the City Council selected Cheryl Hollway as the new assistant assessor, a position that was vacated in December 2021 after a promotion of now Chief Assessor Deborah Brunelle.
The committee received five letters of interest, but only ended up interviewing two candidates after three withdrew for other opportunities. At Large Councilor Peter Tallman said Hollway and Stephanie Moretz interviewed for the position. According to Tallman, neither had experience in municipal government.
Jourdain raised the question of residency requirements on a position like this as Hollway lives in Easthampton. Tallman responded by saying only a city officer must be a resident, however Assistant City Solicitor Michael Bissonnette said the city charter names Board of Assessors members as city officers.
“That would require a residency just as it would for any of those officers unless they’re exempted by a home rule petition, which the council is authorized to do,” said Bissonnette.
Bissonnette added the council has previously exempted both the city solicitor and the personnel director from the residency requirement.
Maldonado Velez said he was not comfortable casting a vote until he knew the applicant’s residency intentions and attempted to table the hire until more information was known, but the motion failed. Vacon argued the Assessor’s Office has been working a long time without a new assistant.
The council decided to waive the residency issue and appoint Hollway as the new assistant assessor.
Demolition delay extension fails
Eight city councilors voted in favor of updating the city’s Demolition Delay Ordinance to boost the delay the Historical Commission can implement from six months to nine, but the vote failed as it did not reach its nine yes vote threshold. After the motion failed, councilors voted to reconsider their actions before tabling the motion for their next full meeting.
The ordinance exists so the Historical Commission can delay the demolition of properties it hopes to preserve. The recommended changes came from the commission and advocated for increasing the demolition delay for as long as an entire year. They also hoped to lower the age of properties eligible for delay from 100 years to 75 years.
The commission also sought to change the name of this rule to the “preservation of historic buildings ordinance.”
The City Council’s Ordinance Committee agreed on a compromise that would increase the demolition delay to nine months while also placing a three-month limit on the amount of time the Historical Commission could keep open a hearing on a possible delay. Compromises were made as the lowering of the eligibility age for buildings to be considered for a demolition delay was not included.
Jourdain said he thought this was a good compromise during the City Council meeting and felt comfortable voting yes. At Large Councilor Joseph McGiverin spoke against the changes during the meeting, calling them “anti-business.”
McGiverin, along with fellow At Large Councilor Tessa Murphy-Romboletti and Council President Todd McGee, voted no.
Councilors will have another chance to debate and vote on the proposed changes at their next meeting.
Supplemental budget approved
The City Council approved Mayor Joshua Garcia’s supplemental budget for fiscal year 2023 (FY23) after receiving recommendation from the Finance Committee.
The new supplemental figure comes in at $1.1 million. Garcia proposed an additional $783,908 in operational spending for FY23, leaving the budget still in balance.
McGiverin added one of the big highlights from the supplemental budget is the retirement share sees a $364,200 increase. He said this supplemental budget could also be translated to savings for taxpayers.
Garcia was credited by McGiverin for being helpful and eager to get the work done during the budget hearing process.
MassTrails Anniversary Hill Park Trail improvements
The City Council adopted an order from the Finance Committee to accept the provisions of a MassTrails grant of $100,000 with a 20 percent match that will be Community Preservation Act (CPA) funded.
McGiverin said he was in favor of the project as it was an attempt at revitalizing an area of Holyoke that was once much more popular than it currently stands. He added the new trails will be ADA accessible and is thankful for the work done in getting this project completed.
Tallman added he believes a kiosk will be added on the trail as well and he is looking forward to seeing its progress.
“I used to love going up there as a kid and going up to the tower and seeing the beautiful city up there, so hopefully we can bring that back and really make some good improvements in a nice park,” Tallman said.
Electric charging stations and marijuana delivery service
The Committee on Ordinance recommended a special permit application and an amended zoning ordinance to the City Council for two unique prospects coming to the community.
The amended zoning ordinance request was to allow for restricted electric vehicle charging stations and parking spots. Vacon said on behalf of the order that this was a step in the future of electric vehicles for Holyoke.
“This is out of an interest of servicing the public and as people are moving to utilizing electric vehicles more, we want to provide the opportunity for people to have charging stations,” Vacon said.
Maldonado Velez agreed with Vacon’s comments and added there are four new charging stations in down including one on Chestnut Street and in the Amtrak Parking lot.
Another order approved by the council shortly after was to accept a special application for Holyoke Smokes Crop at 81-85 Sargeant St. to create a cannabis delivery license establishment. Holyoke Smokes will use a warehouse to store product not open to the public, and to purchase, store, sell and deliver directly to consumers homes. The order was adopted with the seven conditions that typically pass along with marijuana establishment related orders in Holyoke.
“They did establish the safe conditions. They won’t have to worry about odors and things like that because they’re simply going to be storing and delivering,” said Vacon. “It’s a very straightforward operation that shouldn’t create a lot of disturbance in the area.”
Fernandez Way
In an order filed by McGee, a portion of High Street or Hampden Street will be named Fernandez Way in recognition of 34 years of dedicated service to the city of Holyoke.
The Fernandez Family Restaurant closed its doors for the last time on July 22 after a 34-year run in downtown Holyoke. A farewell sendoff was organized by the city and hosted at Holyoke Heritage State Park the same day of closing.
The approved order will be sent to the Department of Public Works for review and recommendation of the best location for Fernandez Way, preferably near where the restaurant was.
The council also approved a proclamation for the family and their connection to Holyoke.