PLEASE NOTE THE CORRECTION IN THE FINANCE COMMITTEE RECAP BELOW. THE TAX FOR CPAC IS BEING PROPOSED TO BE REDUCED DED FOR 1.5 PERCENT TO 1 PERCENT. – NATALIA MUÑOZ.

The Ordinance Committee carried an extensive conversation on safety regarding drivers speeding on roads that require a maximum speed of 30 mph.

But installing temporary speed humps would require six crew members three full days of work to complete. Each hump has 600 heavy-duty screws that have to be bolted into place, said Kris Baker, the city engineer.

Most of the items on the agenda were about trying to slow down drivers who disregard, to the possible tragic consequences, the speed limits in neighborhood roads.

Of the nine proposed speed humps, three received recommendations from committee members to take to the full City Council.

Ordinance Chair Linda Vacon tabled four items on the agenda because they were presented without a legal form, as is required by the charter rules. However, she will take up the following items at the committee as soon they are presented with the required legal forms:

Item 24: 4-5-22 BARTLEY, GIVNER, PUELLO, RIVERA_J — Ordered that the Holyoke City Council review and amend Section 5.4 of the Zoning Ordinance to allow for Accessory Dwelling Units (AUDs) in the DR zone, in addition to amending Section 2 Definitions, and any other sections that may apply to allow this use in the DR zone. Accessory dwelling unit (ADU) is a smaller, independent residential dwelling unit located on the same lot as a stand-alone (i.e., detached) single-family home.
*Public hearing closed 12-13-22, Tabled 1-24-23

Item 25: 6-21-22 JOURDAIN, MALDONADO VELEZ — That the City Council create an ordinance that creates food truck zones in the city with the goals of eliminating food deserts, managing the locations, and promoting various neighborhoods.
*Public hearing closed 12-13-22

Item 26: 6-21-22 MALDONADO VELEZ, ANDERSON-BURGOS — Ordered, that we create a Food Economy Coalition (Attached). Request that it is taken up at a meeting ASAP as the order is attached to potential grant funding.
*Tabled 12-13-22

Item 27: 6-7-22 JOURDAIN, MCGIVERIN, MALDONADO VELEZ — That an ordinance be created that requires that when notices need to be sent to abutters for public notices involving lots without buildings that the address closest to the subject property be listed as a reference point plus a plot plan/lot lines of the subject property be included so abutters can determine the exact location of the subject property they are being notified about.

 

At the Finance Committee, a member of the Community Preservation Act Committee presented facts and figures about the purpose of the preservation committee. It was established to enable participating cities and towns to create a dedicated fund with taxpayer money to impact a community’s character and quality of life, according to Massachusetts law. Holyoke taxpayers have been paying 1.5 percent of their taxes to the CPAC over the past five years.

Now that the amount is up for review, Finance members want to present to the full City Council that the taxpayer contribution be reduced to 1 percent, given the particularly harsh economic reality most working-class people contend with in this working-class city.

CPAC has helped pay for several improvements in the city, including electrical repairs at the city’s museum Wisteriahurst; the Holyoke Merry Go Round, and repairing the stained glass windows at City Hall. These are projects from 2020. For a full list of projects, click here.

With City Council majority approval, the measure would go to the ballot in the November 2023 elections.