A Joint Meeting of the Ordinance and Charter & Rules Committees discussed what a reorganized city financial office would look like — how many employees, salaries, who responds to who, who hires who. That was the basis of its entire meeting this week.

The documents pertaining to this joint committee meeting meetings can be viewed here.

Thye full meeting can be viewed here.

---

LITHIUM BATTERIES

The City of Westfield needs to install lithium batteries in an energy storage system. Because of its location bordering Holyoke and lithium batteries being so dangerous if they explode—not even water can put them out—the City Council voted unanimously to inform our neighbor that the risk was too high, and so more conversations are needed.

City Councilor Meg Magrath-Smith said: “I fully understand the concern. That’s referenced in the resolution. My only concern with moving forward, the voting for it myself, is that we already have such battery facilities in our city. We have another one that is proposed through Hitech that is already making progress. So I just think that, yes, I have a lot of concerns about what it looks like. … site planning review does not take topography into account. There’s no way for them to do so. They look at the parcel. They’re not thinking about, oh, you’re in a valley. This is this kind of project is going to affect you very differently than if it was somewhere else. There’s a reason why we have the highest rates of asthma in this valley, and it is because roads, traffic, industry, these things impact us at a greater level than they would if you situated the exact same facility just 80 miles north, right?”

Councilor Meg Magrath Smith

” We should be worried about lithium fires. I recently put forward a communication around the lithium battery in Holyoke and the Holyoke Fire Department. Having to say we need to be very concerned about anyone thinking they should take one of the e-bikes into their apartment buildings, that you should be thoughtful about that because one caught on fire. Lithium batteries is something that is is relatively new, is new technology that we’re understanding. And initially, there weren’t these same concerns. Now there are a lot of concerns starting to happen because now we have enough of these facilities. People are starting to see patterns in these fires occurring and how dangerous they are, because you cannot put a lithium fire out with water.”

The resolution reads in. part: “WHEREAS,

Holyoke is a municipality of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; and

Article 97 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts states that,

“The people shall have the right to clean air and water, freedom from excessive and

unnecessary noise, and the natural, scenic, historic, and esthetic qualities of their

environment; and the protection of the people in their right to the conservation,

development and utilization of the agricultural, mineral, forest, water, air and other

natural resources is hereby declared to be a public purpose;”

Whereas, The General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has defined

environmental justice principles, environmental benefits, environmental burdens,

meaningful engagement, and the related requirements placed upon the Secretary of the

Environment and all departments, boards, commissions, and authorities of the

Commonwealth; and

Whereas, The City of Holyoke is home to environmental justice populations as defined by

both the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the United States Environmental

Protection Agency; and

Whereas, There is a proposal for a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) on Medeiros

Way in Westfield, to have 219 stand alone lithium battery storage units in Westfield, in a

protection district which protects the aquifer that also extends into Holyoke, at a site that is

close to the border of the city of Holyoke.

WHEREAS, BESS failures are such a frequent occurrence that the Electric Power Research

Institute maintains a database of BESS failure incidents whose consequences pose a very

real potential threat to our environment, first responders, and residents; and

Whereas, The Department of Public Utilities is reviewing the BESS project proposed to be

located on Medeiros Way in the City of Westfield to determine:

1. Whether the project is necessary, serves the public convenience, and is consistent

with the public interest under G.L. c. 164, § 72; and

2. Whether the zoning exemptions should be granted, and if the proposed use of the

Parcels is reasonably necessary for the convenience or welfare of the public,pursuant to G.L. c. 40A, § 3; and

Whereas, The only way the DPU can approve the BESS on Medeiros way is to decide that

having clean energy infrastructure is more important than the Westfield Water Resource

Protection District zoning ordinance, which protects the largest aquifer; and

Whereas, We must balance clean energy progress with vigilant oversight to prevent

environmental and public health harm from emerging technologies.

NOW, THEREFORE,

Be it ordained by the City Council of Holyoke as follows:

RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Holyoke in agreement with caring and

concerned citizens, hereby urges the DPU to find that:

The potential benefits of this project do not outweigh the very real environmental and

public health risks associated with it.

Violation of the Water Resource Protection District’s protections should not take place for

the public convenience of residents anywhere; and

Siting this project in close proximity to already

overburdened EJ and disadvantaged

communities, schools and long term care facilities, and in a water resources protection

district is not equitable distribution of environmental burdens and environmental

benefits; and

The proposed use for this particular set of parcels is not reasonably necessary for the

convenience or welfare of the public.”

The resolution was passed unanimously by the City Council.

The documents related to this City Council meeting can be viewed here.

---

RESILIENCY

The Finance Committee also met this week and voted to accept a grant in the amount of $102,420 to bolster the city’s resiliency in case of natural catastrophes.

“The first half of the grant will be our planning process, where we’re going to revisit and assess climate resilience priorities,” said Yoni Glogower, the city’s Director of Conservation and Sustainability. It’ll be city staff, other community stakeholders and a contracted partner.”

Documents related to this Finance Committee meeting can be viewed here.