Both the City Council and the Joint City Council and School Building Committee met this week.

The City Council reviewed more than  60 items at its meeting this past Tuesday, including:

In the public comment, resident John Rivera, spoke on government’s role in “decriminalizing poverty,” in reference to Item 35 on the agenda. The proposal by City Councilor Tessa Murphy-Romboletti to revise a city ordinance overseeing businesses, states “that it is the responsibility of the business establishment to collect and return shopping carts to their original locations. Any business that does not adhere to this ordinance shall be subject to a fine of no less than $25 and not more than $300, to be issued by the city’s enforcement officer.”

The current ordinance states that people who remove a shopping cart be fined no less that n $25 and not more than $300.

“We should figure out how to remove poverty and systemic poverty before we criminalize it,’ said Rivera.

The motion was sent to the Ordinance Committee for further discussion.

Rivera also opposed agenda item 46, proposed by City Councilor Linda Vacon to have a camera “be placed and operational from the beginning and until the end of voting” focused on the drop box for voters who want to drop off their ballots at the drop box at the back entrance of City Hall.

The proposal seeks to provide “safety and integrity of the ballot drop box” during the elections next Tuesday.

City Clerk Brenna Murphy McGee said that Mayor Joshua García has already ordered that security cameras be placed around City Hall, i8ncluding one aimed at the ballot drop box.

Rivera supports item 52, introduced by City Councilor José Maldonado Vélez, which would create an Office of Tenants Protection that would, among other charges, to hold property owners accountable to ensuring that tenants live in safe conditions.

City Councilor Will Puello, himself charged with having sexual relations with a minor (17-year-old girl who, according to Puello when he arrested and charged, told him she was over 20 years of age) submitted a motion for the Legal Department to interpret section 46 and provide an opinion on” The conviction of the incumbent of any such office of a crime punishable by imprisonment shall operate to create a vacancy in the office held by him. Does this apply only to convictions that occur during the term of office?”

The motion was sent to the Legal Department.

Holyoke has 69 special permits either approved or in the pipeline for cannabis businesses, according to Councilor Vacon. In light of the death of a worker at Trulieve, she recommends that the city use mitigation fees from the cannabis industry in the city to pay for the development  of “a marijuana industry enforcement and inspection plan” spearheaded by the city’s Health Department and the  mayor.

“The citizens have a right to know that we’re going to inspect (the businesses) and enforce the rules,” said City Councilor Kevin Jourdain.

The motion passed unanimously.

The City Council Agenda is available here https://www.holyoke.org/meetings/holyoke-city-council-meeting-november-1-2022/#/tab-agenda

Complete video coverage of City Councilo meeting here https://youtu.be/G5HnSxG2fnA

The Joint City Council and School Building Committee reviewed designers for the proposed new middle school building. The information on the design companies can be read here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/c5f868mf34zpsjv93xm1m/h?dl=0&rlkey=m8accxkdhp0q08wrmgoo5dapx

The committee members were directed to:

“* Focus on the resume of the project leader

*Closely review Section 6 of each application which describes all of the consultants who are on

each team. The architect comes with a big team of consultants who they manage to produce

the design and construction documents and it is their work as well as the designers which must

be updated to reflect design changes.”

In answer to questions, Margaret Wood, project manager, the design fee is about 8 percent of the total project cost, which includes construction cost, consultants, furniture and technology.

Complete committee meeting can be viewed and heard here, in English.

La agenda en español se encuentra aquí.

The Agenda can be found here.