Transcript and vote tallies: Chicopee City Council meeting, May 6, 2025

Edit May 11 - I forgot to add the following disclaimer:  This transcript was created using a self-made AI transcription package [1], and then having an LLM fix spelling mistakes, etc. It is not guaranteed to be accurate. Notably, there are some issues where speaker labels change mid sentence. It appears that in most cases these errors are obvious based on the context, but you should not rely on this transcript for anything important. It is presented as a demonstration of the output of experimental software and workflows, and should not be relied on for any other purpose. The official video for the meeting can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpkrvHudZEI



[1] https://github.com/JonGerhardson/name-of-the

Edit May 13  - some edits made to very beginning of script which should be accurate, probably. All disclaimers still apply.

 
## Chicopee City Council, May 6, 2025 meeting transcript:


[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: ...... good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to call to order the May 6, 2025 City Council meeting. To order, please rise, and now... We'll have a moment of silence for those who protect us at home and abroad. Everybody mute your phone, please.

[[UNKNOWN_Councilor]]: I'd like to, uh, welcome the school liaison Sandra Peret for being here this...

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Uh, we did roll call already, um, just so the folks know why we're, we had to wait for the IT there. There was a problem with the IT. We did do roll call at 6:30, and we are now just starting the meeting. Now, IT just, uh, was able to get us up, uh, up and running. But we will not do that for tonight's meeting. There are no City Councilors on Zoom this evening. In compliance with the Open Meeting Law, the City of Chicopee is broadcasting live and for future broadcasts this meeting on Chicopee TV. Is anyone else in the audience or on Zoom audio or video taping this meeting? Please state your name and reason for doing so. Seeing none, we will move, we will move into the Mayor's Orders briefing and announcements. Mayor, you have the floor. Uh.

[[Mayor John L. Vieau]]: Thank you, President Laflamme. Esteemed City Councilors, I have numerous Mayor's Orders for your consideration this evening, but I'd first like to start with a moment of silence. We'velost one of our own, Harvey LaFleur. I know many of you knew him. Harvey, to my understanding, lived in Chicopee if not all, most of his life. He did go to Chicopee schools. He was a World War II veteran. One of the honors of distinction that he earned was the Bronze Star for heroic actions during the Battle of the Bulge. Harvey was more than just a resident to me; he was a friend, and he will be missed. He has many other accomplishments in his life, receiving awards such as the Adam Marcinius Award, the Outstanding Senior Senator Award, the Charles Tracy Award, and the Paul Sampson Award.

[[Mayor John L. Vieau]]:He was also a very proud participant in the Veterans Video History Project, and you'll see his picture on our tribute to the military and our veterans at the Council on Aging's senior center at 5 West Main Street. He will be missed, and condolences to his family. Harvey LaFleur was 101 years old and certainly a very impressive contributor to our community. And again, condolences to his family. May he rest in peace. May we take a moment of silence in honor of Harvey LaFleur.

[[Mayor John L. Vieau]]: Thank you.

[[Mayor John L. Vieau]]: He now joins his beloved wife, Marjorie, up in heaven. Mayor's Order 1 is an appropriation of $250,000 to the following named account: Human Resources Special Account for Unemployment Insurance, from the available funds in the Human Resources Special Account for Workers' Comp Insurance. You can see from the background information that the monies have been all used over the year, and we need to replenish that account for unemployment. Any questions about Mayor's Order 1? Thank you for your consideration. 

 

[[Mayor John L. Vieau]]:We'll move on to Mayor's Order 2. It's the appropriation of four thousand eight hundred and sixty-four dollars and twenty cents to the following named account: Human Resources, a special account for indemnification of police and fire, from the available funds in the undesignated fund, free cash account. We are self-insured, and this is our medical bills for those who are injured on duty.

[[Mayor John L. Vieau]]: And you have that background information. Any questions about Mayor's Order 2 for the indemnification of police and fire?

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Any questions from the floor? Seeing none, Mayor's Order 3. Thank you. 

[[Mayor John L. Vieau]]:  Mayor's Order 3: Ordered that the City Council accept the Student Awareness of Fire Education (that's the SAFE grant) in the amount of $8,500 to the Chicopee Fire Department. Said grant is accepted in accordance with Mass General Law Chapter 44, Section 53A. This is the SAFE grant that we get every year, and you can see from the background information this is the student awareness of fire education grant. You're very familiar with the posters that often come here for the City Council to just proudly display from our students, and again, promoting awareness of fire education.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Any questions from the floor? Any questions from the floor? Seeing none, we'll go on to Mayor's Order 4. Thank you for your consideration. Mayor's Order 4: Ordered that the

[[Mayor John L. Vieau]]: City Council accept the Senior SAFE Grant in the amount of $2,900 to the Chicopee Fire Department. Said grant is accepted in accordance with Mass General Law Chapter 44, Section 53A. It's also a grant, the Senior SAFE grant, that we receive every year, and it's for $2,900 and pretty self-explanatory.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Any questions from the floor? Seeing none, we'll go to Mayor's Order 5. Thank you for your consideration.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: I'm sorry, Mayor's Order 5.

[[Mayor John L. Vieau]]: Order 5: Ordered that the sum of $3,500 be hereby appropriated to the following named account: Health Department special account for wildlife control. Said amount to be taken from the available funds in the undesignated fund, free cash account. I know that Lisa Sanders, our Health Director, is here, and this, as you can see from the background information, is for—we've depleted the funds in that particular line item that covers rabies testing for animals here in the City of Chicopee. It's pretty self-explanatory. Any questions? Any questions from the floor?

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Seeing none, we'll move on to Mayor's Order 6. Thank you, Lisa, for being here. Mayor's

[[Mayor John L. Vieau]]: Order 6 is an appropriation of twenty-three thousand one hundred and forty dollars to the following named account: City Hall Maintenance Expense Account: Gas $11,000, Sewer User Fee $9,000, Water $3,140, for a total of twenty-three thousand one hundred and forty dollars, from the available funds in the undesignated, uh, free cash account. You can see from the background information, I know that Dave Rice, our Facilities Director, is joining us, that we are in need of replenishing some of those accounts for gas and water/sewer bills for the remainder of the year. Dave, anything you want to add? No.

[[Dave Rice (Facilities dept) via zoom)]]: No, that pretty much sums it up. Thank

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: you. Any comments from the floor? Seeing none, we'll move into Mayor's Order 7. Thank

[[Mayor John L. Vieau]]: you. Mayor's Order 7 is the appropriation of fourteen thousand dollars to the following named account: City Hall Maintenance Expense Account for special services, from the available funds in the City Hall Maintenance salary account for Facilities Custodian.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: You can see from the background information, and Dave is here too, that we need to transfer some

[[Mayor John L. Vieau]]: funds from salaries. And Dave, can you give us some explanation? Yeah.

[[Dave Rice (Facilities dept) via zoom)]]: So, we had a lot of unexpected major repairs this year on a few of the buildings. Um, we had to replace some HVAC stuff at DPW and then a couple of major repairs of some stuff at City Hall. So, uh, this account is close to being short, and we have a couple of, um, inspections that need to happen between now and the end of the fiscal year, so this money will, um, be able to cover that for us.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Is there any questions from the floor? Councilor Roy, yes. Dave, if I may, now where again did you say this money

[[Councilor Gerard (Jerry) Roy]]: is coming from? It's

[[Dave Rice (Facilities dept) via zoom)]]: coming from one of my custodian salaries for a position that hasn't been filled yet, so it's unused salary funds. Thank you.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: And any other questions? Seeing none, we'll move to Mayor's Order 8. Ordered

[[Mayor John L. Vieau]]: that the City Council accept the attached list of donations from various for the various 2025 City of Chicopee events in the amount of $7,500 from Republic Services

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: here in Chicopee.

[[Mayor John L. Vieau]]: Said donation is accepted in accordance with Mass General Law, Chapter 44, Section 53A.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: You can see the breakdown, their generosity.

[[Mayor John L. Vieau]]: I want to thank Republic for contributing to our events,

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: and I'm really excited they gave us the full donation. Any comments from the floor? Seeing none, we'll move on to Mayor's Order 9. Ordered that the City Council accept the attached in-kind donation with a value of $75 from

[[Mayor John L. Vieau]]: Bernat's Polish Meat Products on Meadow Street in Chicopee. Said donation is accepted in accordance with Mass General Law, Chapter 44, Section 53A. As you can see from the background information and from what I just shared with you, Bernat's Deli had generously donated a platter for our Saint Joseph's flag raising of kielbasa, cheese, and crackers, and we have to recognize those donations. So we wanted to make sure that Bernat's, if you're watching, thank you for your generosity and in our celebration of Saint Joseph's Day. Any comments from the floor? See

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: none. We'll move on to Mayor's Order 10. Ordered that the City Council

[[Mayor John L. Vieau]]: will accept the attached list of donations for various 2025 City of Chicopee events in the amount of two thousand dollars from Metro Jeep located on Memorial Drive in Chicopee. Said donations are accepted in accordance with Mass General Law Chapter 44, Section 53A. I want to take a moment to thank Metro Jeep for their generosity in sponsoring our Spooktacular and our Christmas tree lighting events. And again, it's just because of businesses like those—Republic, Metro Jeep, and Bernat's Deli—that we're able to have these wonderful events here in the City of Chicopee, and they're always free. Any comments from the floor? See

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: none. We'll move on to Mayor's Order 11. Be it ordered that Chapter 7 of the Ordinances of the City of Chicopee

[[Mayor John L. Vieau]]: amended be and is further amended as follows: A. Law Department Group: to strike out Paralegal A1 at sixty-seven thousand two hundred and thirty-three dollars and sixty cents ($67,233.60), Grade 6, and add Senior Litigation Paralegal at $65,959.92, Grade 8. Said ordinance to be operative upon passage. As you can see from the background information, this actually is a restructuring in the Law Department of the paralegals. Chantelle Paul, if she's watching, I want to wish her the best in retirement, but we've decided, as the Law Department has decided and I concur with them, that we need to restructure our paralegal setup. And this actually is just taking the two paralegal positions and actually making them equivalent. It's not an increase in the salary line items in the budget, but this would allow us to get another paralegal for litigation, a Senior Litigation Paralegal, in the office. Any

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: questions from the floor? Seeing none, we'll go to Mayor's Order 12. Mayor's Order 12. It's an order of taking, acquiring a permanent utility easement in

[[Mayor John L. Vieau]]: the property located near 326 Montcalm Street through eminent domain. It reads: Whereas the City of Chicopee, through the Department of Public Works, has identified a public need to acquire interest in land in the form of a permanent utility easement traversing land located at or near 326 Montcalm Street. Whereas the public purpose of this taking is to install and maintain electrical and signal control equipment. Any questions about the eminent domain taking? Any questions from the floor? We'll be updating the signals at the intersection of, I believe, Britain and Montcalm. Thank you. Sure, Mary Beth. Yeah, I just want to thank Pniak-Costello. That's okay.

[[Councilor Mary Beth Pniak-Costello (Ward 9)]]: I want to thank the Department of Public Works in regards to getting this, as the Mayor said, an updated electrical and signal control. It's going to be great on the corner of Britain and Montcalm. Thank you, Mayor.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Thank you. You're welcome. I also wanted to take a moment

[[Mayor John L. Vieau]]: and to share with the community that the Anna Berry School Building Project will be hosting a community meeting that everyone is invited to attend. This meeting is going to be located at Berry School on Thursday, May 15th, 2025, at 6 p.m. Again, at Berry School, this is the Berry School building project. You're invited to this community meeting to learn about the Anna Berry School Building Project. Join us to hear details, ask questions, and share your thoughts on the project. Representatives from Caolo & Bieniek will be there as the designer, Colliers Project Leaders, our OPM, will be there, and also present will be representatives of the City, the School Department, and the Anna Berry School Building Commission.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: So hopefully, anyone who has any questions about the project

[[Mayor John L. Vieau]]: can join us there.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: And lastly, just take a moment to recognize that it is Teacher Appreciation Week.

[[Mayor John L. Vieau]]: Also, today, I believe, is Nurse Appreciation Week or Day. And I want to make sure that I mentioned that, how much we appreciate our teachers and our nurses that do so much for our school district and for our community. And also take a moment to recognize that I almost missed—last night I realized that last Friday was, I believe, Principal Appreciation Week and also School Lunch Hero Appreciation Week. So I wanted to recognize those contributors to our school district for all their hard work and dedication. And thank you for considering the Mayor's Orders, and have a great meeting. Thank

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: you. We will now move into public input. Public input is limited to three minutes or less. Is anyone in the audience here for public input? If so, state your name and address for the record, please. Is there anyone on the floor? Lisa Bienvenue, 34 Everett Street.

[[Lisa Bienvenue]]: I guess I was a little surprised that we're having technical difficulties again with the state-of-the-art facility we have here. I'd like to think that they worked a little better. I, you know, I don't, I listen to the Mayor's Orders and the appropriations that come around, and then it makes me think that this is budget time, and we've yet to hear when the budget hearings are going to be. It is May. May. The budget needs to be approved by July. One would think that you guys have things to talk about as we listen to positions that are funded, no one gets hired for them, and then that money gets moved around to be used for other things, which is good because they're things that need to be taken care of in the city. But we really should be thinking about how our monies are being used, especially in these difficult times, during the budget process. So one would think that you guys would actually want to look at the budget information sooner rather than later. And then the first Mayor's Order, I just thought was interesting. I understand that more money needs to go into unemployment insurance, and but it from the available funds in Human Resources special account for workers' comp insurance. And then I thought, what the heck is the money? That's, what is this special account for workers' comp insurance? Is this premium money that you're not using? Uh, is this money that is a lowering of reserves on workers' comp claims? Um, like, what is this $250,000? I just, it just struck my mind. What is it for? I mean, if it's reserves that are going on, you know, good for the city that you're getting people back to work and claims aren't costing as much. But $250,000 is a lot of money. And I was thinking of it in context of budget, the budget, you know. Um, every day, every week that goes by tells me that the budget hearings are just going to be—which I've listened to before—they come in, you ask a few questions, and they get pushed through. And I think in these times when money is so tight with everybody, that you should be looking at the budget and how we're using our money much more closely. Thank you. Thank

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: you. Anyone else for public input? Lorraine

[[Lorraine Barron]]: Barron, Simon Drive, Ward 4. I think the money being spent for pesticide applications on the library lawn and possibly other city properties is an unnecessary expenditure and should be used in a more constructive way instead of polluting the environment with toxic chemicals. On another subject, regarding construction projects throughout the city, I would like to see more care taken to protect trees in a construction area. In front of the old library, several granite steps were placed extremely close to two trees, as well as fencing and other miscellaneous materials, which could damage the tree trunk and root systems from soil compaction. Tree protection needs to be included when preparing a construction project contract and then monitored for compliance. I think it is very important to make an effort to preserve the shade trees which we currently have, since it takes years to produce a full-grown shade tree. In this era of climate change, the trees, the trees, excuse me, the loss of our trees is a significant loss, especially for pedestrians who appreciate relief from our increasingly hot weather. I would encourage all city residents and councilors to advocate for the protection of all our city trees and for replacement planting, and also to apply for any grants that may be available for tree planting. Thank you for your attention. Thank

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: you. Good evening. I got to make sure I stay in case any of these... hard-of-hearing. My

[[Julie LaRue (transcribed as Sue Niemczyk)]]: name is Julie LaRue. I'm at 58 Cruise Street, Chicopee, Massachusetts, Ward 5. Dear Councilors, I have three concerns that I would like to express. The first one is, several weeks and months ago—did you have, okay—we were informed that we were going to have an increase in the water bill. And members of the public, as well as the Council, said that it would probably be very, confidentially, good for the constituents to hear why, what is the actual reason for it. And I've had several people in my community ask, "We've got this increase, why are we having it so much? Where's the transparency?" I thought you guys were going to have somebody come in and talk to the public about this. It's very important that the community knows the needs of the water company and to be able to make informative decisions and how they're looking at their bills. Secondly, we have a library renovation of the old school library. My understanding, it was supposed to be completed by April. I believe April's gone. And the problem I see in this is that every type of renovation that has occurred in the City of Chicopee, when it gets delayed, what does that mean? There's a request for more money. Are we going to see that happen again with this library? Third, where is the budget? I have to agree with the previous public speaker. We need to have it early enough so that your constituents are able to look at the budget and maybe get back to you on what their concerns are. So I would really like to see it earlier so that the people of the community can make an informed decision and express it to you.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else on the floor for public input? Thank you. Mary Beth Pniak-Costello, 66 Voss Avenue.

[[Councilor Mary Beth Pniak-Costello (Ward 9)]]: I met with Sharon Riley, the auditor, recently, and to repeat what Sharon Riley has said in the past, as well as the Mayor, there have been questions within the community that I live in, whether or not there are audits. But in fact, every year there is an annual audit, and that audit is done with the City and with a private individual named, I believe, Thomas Scanlon this year. Sharon Riley continues to make changes positively because, for the public's information, that annual audit for FY22, '23, and '24 will now be online. Thank you.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Thank you. Anyone else here for public input?

[[Sue Niemczyk]]: Sue Niemczyk, James Street, 362. To fact or not to fact, to speak or not to speak, to represent or not to represent, there is no question. And what was lovely about the public insight—it's not input, it's insight—for the benefit of the watching eyes and the listening ears, as well as the Council. There were good questions raised, especially about the budget. It's timely, and Lisa and the others, you're right, it is. People are going through really hard times. I'm in the profession, and I do my very, very best to make sure that their 30, 40, 50, 60 years is impeccable. And it's easier. The same level of endurance and insight and foresight should be that of every single elected individual. Okay? The budget, of course, it should be paramount. Sue or Susan, you inspired me when you came out with the figures over 10 years, two million dollars of, you know, debt with the golf course. Okay? No one wants that ever to happen again. And we need to be before the curve of facts and everything on every single aspect because people are going to through hard, hard times, and they don't know what the future will bring—a lot of chaos and everything like this. And if elected officials can give the public insight and relief, and knowing you're busting your butts to do the very, very best for every single what, life-invested individual out there, you'd have accolades of applause time and time again. Just as questions are raised, what's really paramount and equal to whose vote do you really vote with? And that is the public, every single voter. What's important about every single question is the answers that must be brought up so that you can have better policies, procedures, directions, process. It's that simple. And you know what? People at home would be applauding because they want to see some answers in that and a better Chicopee. So yes, keep coming with questions and everything because they are vital. Because I do a little bit of radio every once in a while, and I came up with this, it's an original, you know. Okay, we sit on our bums, we eat our buns, we think and say "buts," and we're left behind. No one in Chicopee, especially the voter, ever wants to be left behind. Questions, answers, the vote is really paramount and should never be pushed down or the average person forgotten, ignored, or not counted. And I'veseen people's faces. They're ticked. Three, two, one. I thought I'd count down for you, Frank.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Thank you. I gave you your full amount. That's the reason why I leave a couple of seconds on, because you have to shut it and turn it back on. Is there anyone here for public input on Zoom? Is there anyone here for public input on Zoom? Boom. Seeing none. Motion to close public input. Motion made and seconded to close public input. All in favor?

[[UNKNOWN_2 (likely Councilor)]]: Aye.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Opposed?

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: And the motion passes.

Vote Tally - Close Public Input: Ayes: 1, Opposed: 0

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Okay, communications? None. No communications. Minutes, please. Two sets: April 1st, April 15th.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Councilor Shumsky.

[[Councilor Samuel Shumsky (Ward 6)]]: Motion that the minutes of the April 1st, 2025 City Council meeting and the April 15th, 2025 City Council meeting be approved this evening.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Motion made and seconded that the April 1st, 2025 regular meeting and the April 15, 2025 regular meeting be approved this evening. On the motion, please. Self-explanatory. Thank you. Any comments from the floor? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? And the motion passes. We'll now move into the Mayor's Orders. Or...

Vote Tally - Approval of Minutes (4/1/25 & 4/15/25): Ayes: (Majority/Undisclosed), Nays: 0

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Order that the sum of $250,000 be hereby appropriated to the following named account: Human Resources Special Account for Unemployment Insurance. Said amount to be taken from the available funds in the Human Resources Special Account for Workers' Comp Insurance.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Councilor Brooks.

[[Councilor Shane D. Brooks (Ward 2)]]: Make a motion that the Mayor's Order be received and passed through all stages on the recommendation of the Mayor. Motion made and seconded. The motion be received and passed through

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: all stages on the written recommendation of the Mayor. On the motion, please.

[[Councilor Shane D. Brooks (Ward 2)]]: On the motion, this is an, uh, a departmental transfer from one line item to the next. This will cover unemployment insurance costs, uh, that the HR department is incurring. Thank

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: you. Any other comments from the floor? Roll call.

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. And the motion passes.

Vote Tally - MO-1: Appropriation for Unemployment Insurance: Ayes: 7, Nays: 0

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Order that the

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: sum of four thousand eight hundred sixty-four dollars and twenty cents be hereby appropriated to the following named account: Human Resources Special Account for Indemnification of Police and Fire. Said amount is to be taken from the available funds in the undesignated fund balance, free cash account. Councilor...

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Councilor Goff, motion.

[[Councilor Susan Goff (Ward 3)]]: That the Mayor's Order be received and passed through all stages on the written recommendation of the Mayor.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Motion made and seconded. The order be received and passed through all stages on the recommendation of the Mayor. On the motion, please.

[[Councilor Susan Goff (Ward 3)]]: Um, we all know that the city is self-insured, and this covered the medical bills, um, for the police and fire. And thank

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: you. Any other comments from the floor? Councilor Balakier? Yeah.

[[Councilor George A. Balakier (Ward 4)]]: Thank you, Mr. President. Yeah, it's nice to see this number down. Usually, it's much higher than this, so kudos to guys out, guys and women out there that are not getting banged up, and we don't have to pay higher premiums. Thank you. Thank

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: you. Any other comments? Roll call, please. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

Vote Tally - MO-2: Appropriation for Indemnification of Police & Fire: Ayes: 7, Nays: 0

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Order that the City Council accept the Student Awareness of Fire Education (S.A.F.E.) grant. Grant is accepted in accordance with Mass General Law Chapter 44, Section 53A.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Councilor Courchesne. Motion that the Mayor's Order be received and passed through all stages on the written...

[[Councilor Bill Courchesne (Ward 7)]]: ...recommendation of the Mayor. Motion.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Motion made and seconded. The motion be received and passed through all stages on the written recommendation of the Mayor. On the motion, please.

[[Councilor Bill Courchesne (Ward 7)]]: This is a continued grant that we get every year, and it's used for the school's fire education awareness. Thank you.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Any other comments from the floor? Seeing none. Roll call. President? Yes. Roy?

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Yes. Arriaga? Yes. Brooks? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. And the motion passes.

Vote Tally - MO-3: Acceptance of S.A.F.E. Grant: Ayes: 10, Nays: 0

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Order that the sum of three thousand five hundred dollars being hereby appropriated to the following named account: Health Department special account for wildlife control. Said amounts to be taken from the available funds in the undesignated fund balance, free cash account.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Councilor Shumsky.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Uh, motion that the Mayor's Order be received and passed through all stages...

[[Councilor Samuel Shumsky (Ward 6)]]: ...on the written recommendation of the Mayor. Motion.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Motion made and seconded. The motion be received and passed through all stages on the recommendation of the Mayor. On the motion, please.

[[Councilor Samuel Shumsky (Ward 6)]]: This is a Senior SAFE grant in the amount of two thousand nine hundred dollars to the Chicopee Fire Department.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Thank you. Any other comments from the floor? Seeing none. Roll call. President Laflamme? Yes. Roy?

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Yes. Arriaga? Yes. Brooks? Yes. Yes. Yes. Krampits? Yes. Shumsky? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. 11 Yes. And the motion passes.

Vote Tally - MO-4: Acceptance of Senior Safe Grant (Initial Vote, later corrected): Ayes: 11, Nays: 0

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Now, Order that the sum of twenty-three thousand one...

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: ...hundred forty dollars being hereby appropriated to the following named City Hall Maintenance Expense accounts: Gas $11,000, Sewer User Fee $9,000. Point of order.

[[Councilor Samuel Shumsky (Ward 6)]]: This is the wrong order, Clerk. Did Health Department?

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: No.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Health Department was wildlife control? Yes. Five, Clerk. Wildlife is five.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: We missed four.

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: No, we missed four, yeah. All right, four, four. Sorry about that. That's

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: okay, that's why they make pencils with erasers. Okay, Order that the City Council accept the Senior SAFE Grant in the amount of two thousand nine hundred dollars to the Chicopee Fire Department. Said grant is accepted in accordance with Mass General Law Chapter 44, Section 53A. Councilor...

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Balakier, motion.

[[Councilor George A. Balakier (Ward 4)]]: That the Mayor's Order be received and passed through all stages on a written recommendation of the Mayor. Motion made.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Motion made and seconded. The motion be received and passed through all stages on the recommendation of the Mayor. On the motion, please.

[[Councilor George A. Balakier (Ward 4)]]: Well, on a motion, Mr. President, this is, uh, an award that we get every year, and this is a Senior SAFE grant in the amount of $2,900, and this helps seniors with issues in terms of education, uh, regarding fire safety. Thank you. Any other comments? Okay, hold on a minute.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: I think we've done Order 4 twice. Correct?

[[Councilor Bill Courchesne (Ward 7)]]: Number five. George's number five, the wildlife. Yes.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: No, uh, we did the wildlife one. Nope. And then you...

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Yeah, so five is done. We're on four. Well...

[[Councilor Shane D. Brooks (Ward 2)]]: The comments were made about four. I made based on the sequence of the Mayor's Orders. So we technically didn't talk about five.

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: If I'm understanding correctly, we want to talk about five. We'll have to have a motion to reconsider it because I read it, it was voted upon, even though the comments were about a different order. Correct? So if we want to comment on five, we'll need a motion to reconsider it.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Does, if someone might make a motion to reconsider, we'll go back to that. I'll make a motion to reconsider. So, we can put it on the floor to reconsider item number five for further comments. All in favor? All right. The motion passes. For five, okay.

Vote Tally - Motion to Reconsider MO-5: Ayes: (Majority/Voice Vote), Nays: 0

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Five's on the floor. No, should we...

[[Councilor Bill Courchesne (Ward 7)]]: Read the order and we'll go down again, because I'm pretty sure you read, you read the SAFE and then you read the Senior one, which... Well, I'll read whatever you... I'm just wondering, just for you know, people are going to start making all the claims and stuff against us. Okay, I'll read five again.

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Order that the sum of three thousand five hundred dollars be hereby appropriated to the following named account: Health Department Special Account for Wildlife Control. Said amount to be taken from the available funds in the undesignated fund balance, free cash account. Councilor...

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Balakier, uh, motion.

[[Councilor George A. Balakier (Ward 4)]]: That the Mayor's Order be received and passed through all stages on a written recommendation.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Again, motion made and seconded that the motion be received and passed through all stages on the written recommendation of the Mayor. On motion, Mayor's Order 5. Okay.

[[Councilor George A. Balakier (Ward 4)]]: Uh, this is, um, this is a motion, uh, regarding, um, amount of three thousand five hundred dollars, uh, from available funds in the Health Department Wildlife Control. And this covers rabies testing for nine hundred dollars, an additional twenty-six hundred dollars in its anticipation of services, uh, now through the end of the fiscal year, which typically they see an increase in skunk and raccoon activity as the weather warms up. Thank you. Any

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: other comments from the floor? Seeing none. Roll call. Okay, on five.

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: President Laflamme? Yes. Roy? Yes. Arriaga? Yes. Brooks? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Pniak-Costello? Yes. 11 Yes. Now we got to vote on number four. Just vote on it because we spoke about it.

Vote Tally - MO-5: Appropriation for Wildlife Control: Ayes: 11, Nays: 0

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: That's correct. Yep. We're voting on Mayor's Order 4. It was already discussed, but it wasn't voted on. Let

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: me read it again. Yep, I'll read it again. Order that the City Council accept the Senior SAFE grant in the amount of two thousand nine hundred dollars to the Chicopee Fire Department. Said grant is accepted in accordance with Mass General Law Chapter 44, Section 53A.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Councilor Shumsky. Motion that the order be received and passed this evening. Motion made and...

[[Councilor Samuel Shumsky (Ward 6)]]: ...seconded. That's the order to be received through all stages on the recommendation of the Mayor.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Motion made and seconded. The order be received and passed through all stages on written recommendation. On the motion:

[[Councilor Samuel Shumsky (Ward 6)]]: Is a Senior SAFE grant for twenty-nine hundred dollars. Thank

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: you. Any other comments? Seeing none. Roll call. President Laflamme? Yes. Roy? Yes. Arriaga? Yes. Brooks? Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

Vote Tally - MO-4: Acceptance of Senior Safe Grant (Corrected Vote): Ayes: 13, Nays: 0

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Just so people know, the clip was stuck between the two of them, so that's why it went out of order. We're just going to redo them both. Thank you. Order that the sum of twenty-three thousand one

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: hundred forty dollars being hereby appropriated to the following named City Hall Maintenance accounts: Gas, Sewer, and Water. Said amounts to be taken from the available funds in the undesignated fund balance, free cash account. Twenty-three thousand one hundred forty dollars.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Councilor Labrie. Motion that the Mayor's Order be received and passed through all stages on the written...

[[Councilor Gary R. Labrie (Ward 8)]]: ...recommendation of the Mayor. Motion.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Motion made and seconded. The motion be received and passed through all stages on a written recommendation of the Mayor. On the motion, please.

[[Councilor Gary R. Labrie (Ward 8)]]: On the motion, uh, with the gas and water and sewer going up, the Facilities Director has indicated that we're going to be short this amount of money, and this will get us through the remainder of fiscal 2025, which is this July 1st. Thank you.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Any other comments from the floor? Seeing none. Roll call. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. And the motion passes. Or...

Vote Tally - MO-6: Appropriation for City Hall Maintenance (Gas, Sewer, Water): Ayes: 12, Nays: 0

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Order that the sum of $14,000 being hereby appropriated to the following named account: City Hall Maintenance Account for Special Services. Said amount to be taken from the available funds in the City Hall Maintenance salary account for Facilities Custodian. Councilor...

[[Councilor Gerard (Jerry) Roy]]: Roy, now. Motion that the Mayor's Order be received and passed through all stages on the written recommendation of the Mayor. Motion...

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Motion made and seconded. The motion to be received and passed through all stages on the recommendation of the Mayor. On the motion, please.

[[Councilor Gerard (Jerry) Roy]]: On the motion, this is a request to transfer funds between the following GL accounts. The funds are needed to cover expenses for the remainder of the fiscal year '25, and it transfers from the following named CHM salary account. Thank you. Thank

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: you. Any other comments from the floor? Seeing none. Roll call. Yes. Yes.

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: And the motion passes.

Vote Tally - MO-7: Appropriation for City Hall Maintenance (Special Services): Ayes: (Majority/Undisclosed), Nays: 0

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Order that the City Council accept the attached list of donations for the various 2025 City of Chicopee events in the amount of seven thousand five hundred dollars from Republic Service, 845 Burnett Road, Chicopee.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Said donations are accepted in accordance

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: with Mass General Law, Chapter 44, Section 53A.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Councilor Krampits.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Motion that the Mayor's Order be received...

[[Councilor Frederick T. Krampits (Ward 5)]]: ...and passed through all stages on the written recommendation of the Mayor and the donations accepted tonight.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Motion made and seconded. The motion be received

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: and passed through all stages on the written recommendation of the Mayor and the donations accepted this evening. On the motion, please.

[[Councilor Frederick T. Krampits (Ward 5)]]: Yeah, these were donations for various events, and I'll just quickly read them: The Chicopee fireworks at Szot Park, uh, National Night Out, uh, Spooktacular, Fright Nights for the Seniors, uh, Christmas Tree Lighting, and flag-raising ceremonies. Thank

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: you. Any other comments from the floor? None. Roll call. President?

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Yes. Roy? Yes. Arriaga? Yes. Brooks? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Krampits? Yes. Shumsky? Yes. Courchesne? Yes. Labrie? Yes. Pniak-Costello? Yes. Levin? Yes.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: And a motion passes.

Vote Tally - MO-8: Acceptance of Donations from Republic Service: Ayes: 13, Nays: 0

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Order that the City Council accept the attached in-kind donation with a value of $75 from Bernat's Polish Meat Products, 895 Meadow Street. Said donation is accepted in accordance with Mass General Law Chapter 44, Section 53A and 1.5.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Councilor Costello? Motion that the Mayor's Order be received and passed through all stages on the written...

[[Councilor Mary Beth Pniak-Costello (Ward 9)]]: ...recommendation of the Mayor and a thank you letter be sent to Bernat's Polish Meat Products.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Motion made and seconded. Motion made and seconded that the motion be received and passed through all stages on a written recommendation of the Mayor and this donation accepted this evening. On the motion.

[[Councilor Mary Beth Pniak-Costello (Ward 9)]]: Yes, um, Bernat's Polish Meat Products has made an in-kind donation to the city for the value of $75. And again, I'm requesting that a letter be sent from the Council. This is a generous donation. Thank you. Thank

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: you. We'll do it for the Mayor's Order, too. Any other comments from the floor? Roll call, please. Yes. Roy? Yes. Arriaga?

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Yes. Brooks? Yes. [[Councilor {Gaud?} (name unclear/misheard)]]? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Motion passes.

Vote Tally - MO-9: Acceptance of In-Kind Donation from Bernat's Polish Meat Products: Ayes: 15 (approx., based on "yes" count), Nays: 0

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Order that the City

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Council accept the attached list of donations for various 2025 City, for various City of Chicopee events in the amount of two thousand dollars from Metro Jeep, 650C Memorial Drive. Said donations are accepted in accordance with Mass General Law Chapter 44, Section 53A. Councilor...

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Arriaga, motion.

[[Councilor Abigail Arriaga (Ward 1)]]: That the Mayor's Order be received and passed through all stages on the written recommendation of the Mayor.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Motion made and seconded. The motion to be received and passed through all stages on the written recommendation of the Mayor. On the motion, please. This

[[Councilor Abigail Arriaga (Ward 1)]]: is a wonderful donation from Metro Jeep to go towards the Spooktacular and our Christmas tree lighting. I would also ask that we send a thank-you letter to them. Thank

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: you. Any other comments from the floor? Yes.

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. And the motion

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: passes.

Vote Tally - MO-10: Acceptance of Donations from Metro Jeep: Ayes: 12, Nays: 0

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Be it ordained that Chapter 7 of the Ordinances for the City of Chicopee, as amended, be and hereby further amended as follows: Law Department Group: to strike out Paralegal, add Senior Litigation Paralegal. Said ordinance to be operative upon passage.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Councilor Brooks. Make

[[Councilor Shane D. Brooks (Ward 2)]]: a motion that the Mayor's Order 11 be received and referred to the Ordinance Committee for a first reading and a public hearing. Motion

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: that the order be received, take its first reading, and refer to the Ordinance Committee for a public hearing. On the motion, please.

[[Councilor Shane D. Brooks (Ward 2)]]: On the motion, this is simply just a reorganization based on a retirement within the Law Department, creating two paralegal positions, and that will, one will focus on litigation and one will be a generalist paralegal. Thank

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: you. Any other comments from the floor? Seeing none. Roll call. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Yes. Shumsky? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. And a motion passes.

Vote Tally - MO-11: Ordinance Amendment (Law Department Paralegal): Ayes: 11, Nays: 0

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: An order of taking, acquiring a permanent utility easement in the property located at or near 326 Montcalm Street through eminent domain. Whereas the City of Chicopee, through its Department of Public Works, has identified a public need to acquire interest in land in the form of a permanent utility easement traversing land located at or near 326 Montcalm Street. Whereas the public purpose of this taking is to install and maintain electrical and signal control equipment. Whereas the land affected by this taking is located along Montcalm Street in the City of Chicopee, County of Hampden, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as shown on a plan of land recorded in the Hampden County Registry of Deeds, Plan Book 402, Page 116, and attached hereto as Addendum A. Whereas said permanent easement is hereby taken against the owners enumerated in the order of takings. Whereas it is necessary and desirable for the general health, welfare, and safety of residents of the City of Chicopee that the parcel of land be acquired for aforesaid public purposes. And whereas the award

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: to the respective owners for this taking totals $275, which

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: has already been appropriated. Councilor...

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Councilor Goff, motion.

[[Councilor Susan Goff (Ward 3)]]: That the Mayor's Order be received and passed through all stages on the written recommendation of the Mayor. Motion

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: made and seconded. The motion be received and passed through all stages on a written recommendation of the Mayor. On the motion, please.

[[Councilor Susan Goff (Ward 3)]]: This is, um, to acquire a permanent utility easement at the property of 326 Montcalm Street for the purpose of maintaining and installing electrical signal control equipment. Thank

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: you. Any other, Councilor Costello?

[[Councilor Mary Beth Pniak-Costello (Ward 9)]]: Yes, I want to thank the Department of Public Works, the Superintendent, Liz Batista, as well as Quinn Lonczak, that have been working on a project in this area and that they had the foresight to make sure that while they were working on this particular project—this is a big deal because it's to install and maintain electrical and signal control equipment, which will improve road safety on that particular corner of Britain Street and Montcalm. Thank you. Thank

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: you. Any other comments? Seeing none. Roll call. President

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Laflamme? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. And a motion passes.

Vote Tally - MO-12: Order of Taking (326 Montcalm Street Utility Easement): Ayes: 11, Nays: 0

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Favorable report from the Utilities Committee for petition for a joint or identical pole locations for Verizon New England requests and permission to locate poles, wires, cables, and fixtures, including the necessary anchors.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Uh, Plainfield Street. Councilor...

[[UNKNOWN_Councilor_B (likely a Utilities Committee Member)]]: Motion that the committee report, the Utilities Committee report, be received and approved this evening. Motion made and seconded. The favorable Utilities Committee report be received and approved this

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: evening. On the motion, please. This

[[UNKNOWN_Councilor_B (likely a Utilities Committee Member)]]: is a petition to install an identical pole by Verizon to help

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: secure and locate wires, cables, and fixtures. Thank you. Any other comments from the floor? All in, uh, we're calling it. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? And the motion passes. Okay.

Vote Tally - Item 13A: Utilities Committee Report (Verizon Pole Locations, Plainfield Street): Ayes: (Majority/Voice Vote), Nays: 0

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: We have a favorable report from the Rules Committee. Be it ordered the Rules Committee meet to discuss the following Open Meeting Law Complaints: one filed by Derek Dobosz, two filed by Patrick Higgins. Uh...

[[Councilor Gary R. Labrie (Ward 8)]]: Councilor Labrie. Yes, I'd like to make a separate motion on each of these. Do I need a motion for, uh, no, I'm just because they're two different things. They're going to

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: just do item two separate. Okay, motion for item one, so 14, number one.

[[Councilor Gary R. Labrie (Ward 8)]]: Motion to approve the response letter and allow the Law Department to send the letter. Motion made and seconded. The approval of Rule Number 14, Number one, motion to send to

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: approval and send to full board for the vote and allow the Law Department to send out a letter. On the motion. On the motion, self-explanatory. Thank you. Any other comments from the floor? All in favor?

[[UNKNOWN_2 (likely Councilor, could be Council President leading vote)]]: Aye.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Opposed? And the motion passes.

Vote Tally - Item 14-1: Rules Committee Report (OML Complaint by Derek Dobosz): Ayes: (Majority/Voice Vote), Nays: 0

[[Councilor Gary R. Labrie (Ward 8)]]: I'd like to make a motion on Number 14, Number 2.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Motion to postpone to the call of the chair

[[Councilor Gary R. Labrie (Ward 8)]]: to allow the Law Department to request an extension to get more information. Motion made and seconded that Number 14, Number 2,

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: motion to postpone to the call of the chair to allow the Law Department to request an extension to get more information. On the motion, please. On the motion, self-explanatory. Thank you. Any other comments from the floor? Seeing none. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? And the motion passes.

Vote Tally - Item 14-2: Rules Committee Report (OML Complaint by Patrick Higgins): Ayes: (Majority/Voice Vote), Nays: 0

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: We have a favorable report from the Ordinance Committee. Be it ordained by the City Council

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: that the Code of the City of Chicopee for the year 1991, as amended, being hereby further amended as follows: delete in its entirety Chapter 188-17, Licenses: Hawkers and Peddlers and Transient Vendors, and delete in its entirety Chapter 188-17.1, Solicitation of Charitable Organization in Certain Place Thereof,

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Chapter 188-17, Licenses for Transient Vendors,

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Hawkers, Peddlers,

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Door-to-Door Sales,

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Flea Markets, and Charitable Events.

[[Councilor Frederick T. Krampits (Ward 5)]]: Councilor Krampits.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Motion that the favorable amended Ordinance Committee Report

[[Councilor Frederick T. Krampits (Ward 5)]]: be received,

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: take its second and final reading,

[[Councilor Frederick T. Krampits (Ward 5)]]: and be enrolled and ordained tonight.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Motion that the Ordinance Committee Report take its second and final reading, and be enrolled and ordained. On the motion, please.

[[Councilor Frederick T. Krampits (Ward 5)]]: Yeah. This really deals with Section D, Subsection 2, that had to do with background checks for door-to-door sales. The rest of the proposed ordinance did not change out of the Ordinance Committee. So I just wanted to make you aware of that. Thank you.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Councilor Brooks. Yes.

[[Councilor Shane D. Brooks (Ward 2)]]: I had some concerns about how we tracked these, these vendors, and while they were registered—and that's a pretty liberal description of what was happening with the Police Department—there weren't any background checks done. And I took a page from my line of work where we typically CORI anybody 15 years or older who are going to interface with the public and some of the most vulnerable populations, particularly our seniors. So by putting the CORI requirement, I think we've strengthened this to really help protect the residents of the city. And not only does it delineate the hours in which people can be approached, it ensures people know that the folks who are knocking on their doors are properly credentialed and have been background checked through the Mass State CORI system, which I think is essential to the overall success of this ordinance. Thank you. Thank

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: you. Any other comments from the floor? Councilor Goff?

[[Councilor Susan Goff (Ward 3)]]: I'd just like to thank everybody for their hard work on, on getting this through. You know, uh, Councilor Brooks and, and Councilor, um,

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Can't even... Frank Laflamme is my last name.

[[Councilor Susan Goff (Ward 3)]]: President Laflamme, thank you. Of course, our Law Department. It took a while, and the wording had to be, um, played with a lot. And I'm glad that we finally have an ordinance for door-to-door sales, and like Councilor Brooks says, it protects our most vulnerable population. Thank

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Thank you. Any other comments? Councilor Goff, I mean, Councilor Costello. Thank you.

[[Councilor Mary Beth Pniak-Costello (Ward 9)]]: Thank you, Councilor Brooks, for bringing up the CORI checks. Would this apply also to, we're talking about door-to-door sales, but would the CORI checks also do, say, like FedEx or Amazon, where they come to the door? Even though they don't stay, they are there at the door. I don't know if that is encompassed in this particular ordinance.

[[Councilor Shane D. Brooks (Ward 2)]]: This is hawkers and peddlers, simply. I mean, they are a delivery service in which people request that they come to their home, versus being, you know, without requests solicited in their home. So it is no different than the U.S. Postal Service. We, we'd probably be safe to assume that Amazon, UPS, and the Postal Service run robust background checks before they let people interface with the general public. This is just for hawkers and peddlers, somebody who's selling windows or siding or roofing or asking for donations for some charitable cause. This is not traditional, well, I guess what is now traditional, retail delivery of products to one's home.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Thank you, Councilor Brooks. And

[[Councilor Mary Beth Pniak-Costello (Ward 9)]]: I just have one more comment.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: I get a lot

[[Councilor Mary Beth Pniak-Costello (Ward 9)]]: of concerns in regards to these deliveries, especially with porch pirates and things like that, but I see where you went with this, and I do appreciate that. I don't know if we can even go down the road of the regulation for the modern delivery systems that we now have and seem to be growing. Thank you, Councilor.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: I just want to

[[Councilor Abigail Arriaga (Ward 1)]]: thank President Laflamme for bringing this forward and the work on ordinance because I have had some questionable things at my house too over the years of sales that were a little scary opening the door. So I just really want to thank you for this, having experienced some stuff myself. Thank you. Thank

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: you. I'd like to talk on this for a second and

[[Councilor Samuel Shumsky (Ward 6)]]: to allow the President to speak. Motion.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: Motion made and seconded to allow the President to speak. All in favor? All right.

Vote Tally - Motion to Allow President to Speak on Ordinance 188-17: Ayes: (Majority/Voice Vote), Nays: 0

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: I have seen, I just want to take a minute to thank again, Sue was, and I will work on this with our attorney. We've had many, many meetings here in City Hall with our attorney, Tim Riley. So I want to thank Tim for doing a back and forth with us several times and helping us with this, uh, um, particular one because it was very important we do it right. And I think, uh, it finally came out the way we should have it, as Councilor Brooks mentioned. So thank you, uh, Council, for taking care of it. Any other questions, comments on this one? Okay, so this is, uh, we have to do a roll call.

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. And a motion passes.

Vote Tally - Item 15: Ordinance Committee Report (Chapter 188-17 Licenses): Ayes: 10, Nays: 0

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: A favorable report with a motion

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: to postpone from the Zoning Committee for a special permit application under Chapter 275-52 B13 for the purpose of a kennel license located at 17 Jeanette Drive. Councilor...

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Balakier.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: A motion that the favorable zoning report be received and a special permit be postponed

[[Councilor George A. Balakier (Ward 4)]]: until the next zoning meeting on May 28th, 2025, at 6:30, City Hall auditorium. Motion

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: made and seconded. The favorable committee report, special permit, be received and postponed to May 28th at 6:00, 6:30, at 6:30 in the, on the third floor, uh, auditorium of the City of Chicopee. On the motion, please.

[[Councilor George A. Balakier (Ward 4)]]: On the motion, uh, Mr. President. Yeah, this is an interesting one. Uh, this is a proposal for a kennel license of six service dogs and two pet dogs for a total of eight dogs in a residential area. And one of the questions here evolved around service dogs: are they a protected class? Do they have a different standing? So we had, we had an interesting meeting here last week. We probably had, oh, in the vicinity of, at least on one side, I think it was 32 people. The other side, we probably had another 15 or 20. So we had close to 50 people on this one. And we also had Health Department representatives, we had Thomas J. O'Connor, we had a number of neighbors back and forth. And the sentiment was that we probably needed a little more information to make a credible decision. So therefore, the committee members opted to go with the postponement until we get a little more information so that we have a better understanding of the issue. Because service dogs, I think a lot of people have certain thoughts, sentiments about them. And again, as we're not experts in the field of service dogs, this is the prudent way to go. Thank you. Thank you.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Any other comments from the floor? All in favor? Opposed? And the motion passes. Hey.

Vote Tally - Item 16: Zoning Committee Report (Kennel License, 17 Jeanette Drive - Postpone): Ayes: (Majority/Voice Vote), Nays: 0

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: We have a favorable report with a motion to postpone from the Zoning Committee. It ordered that the Church of God, 993 Chicopee Street, be called before the City of Chicopee Zoning Committee to discuss the special permit held by the Church of God. Councilor...

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Balakier, motion.

[[Councilor George A. Balakier (Ward 4)]]: That the favorable Zoning Committee report be received and a motion to postpone to the August 27th, 2025 Zoning meeting at 6:30 at City Hall auditorium. Can you repeat that? August 25th? Um, August 27th. 27th, yes.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Okay. Motion made and seconded that the favorable Zoning Committee report be received and postponed to the August 27th meeting. Okay, on the motion, please.

[[Councilor George A. Balakier (Ward 4)]]: Yeah, on the motion, Mr. President. Yeah, this, this was kind of an interesting one too. Um, we had a situation whereby we had some signage, electronic signage, but there was a complaint, and there was also a concern by a councilor of that ward that the sign was, how shall I say, not working properly in compliance. So, in other words, some of the signage was not following an eight-second pause or delay, which is in our ordinance that it should. Also, I believe there was some bright flashing, and there was some scrolling too, so there wasn't the pause. So we, as with a special permit, we have the right to call, call people in. And so we had the pastor, we had some members of the congregation from the, the Church of God. And we had an interesting dialogue with them. Basically, they were having trouble with the sign, as I referenced a minute or two ago, and they were trying to figure out how to remedy the situation. And the people were kind of saying, "Look, we're not IT people. We need some help." And so we're going back and forth in the discussion with them. And actually, one of our fellow councilors, Councilor Timothy Wagner, he said, "Look, I have expertise in IT. I can take a look at the machine that's putting this information out there with this electronic signage." And he felt that he could help them. And they, in turn, accepted his help, again, rather than to have to go out and pay an expert and pay a large amount of money to try to rectify the situation. So the remedy was proposed to take a look at a couple of months, and that Councilor Wagner would work with this group and, uh, try to rectify the problem. So, uh, we, that seemed to be the consensus, and, uh, so we agreed to that at this point. Thank you. Thank you.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Any other comments from the floor? All in favor? Right. Opposed? And the motion passes.

Vote Tally - Item 17: Zoning Committee Report (Church of God Special Permit - Postpone): Ayes: (Majority/Voice Vote), Nays: 0

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: We have a favorable report with a motion to postpone from the Zoning Committee for special permit application under Chapter 275-67 for the purpose of approval under Mill Conversion and Commercial Center Overlay Ordinance for approval of residential development to include 600 new residential apartments at the former Cabotville Mill building on 165 Front Street.

[[Councilor George A. Balakier (Ward 4)]]: Councilor Balakier.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Motion that the favorable Zoning Committee report be

[[Councilor George A. Balakier (Ward 4)]]: received and a special permit application be postponed until the May, May 28th, 2025, Zoning Committee Meeting at City Hall Auditorium at 6:30 p.m.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Motion made and seconded. The favorable Zoning Committee Report, Special Permit application, be postponed to May 28th, 2025, Zoning Subcommittee Meeting in the City Hall Auditorium at 6:30. On the motion, please.

[[Councilor George A. Balakier (Ward 4)]]: On the motion, yeah, this is another interesting one, Mr. President. Um, we, um, we spent a considerable amount of time with this particular issue. As, as we're well aware, um, Cabot, Cabotville has been, uh, kicking around for a while. And, um, we have a, a potential of a, of a new applicant, um, Bridgewater Capital Partners, under Mark Younger. So we had a presentation that evening from John Furman. John, he's an engineer, and he was talking about some of the particulars regarding this particular project. In particular, he was talking about the waivers, and he gave us a PowerPoint presentation regarding landscape requirements, parking, and noise level. So we went back and forth with him. We had a few questions regarding his proposal. And then we said, "Well, this, this sounds interesting, but we got a couple of issues here." And the two issues basically: overdue taxes, and the other one was the Overlay District report, committee report, which was incomplete. So we had two big roadblocks ahead of us. And basically, we will address these as follows. The tax issue, this has been kicked around for a while. On this property, there is outstanding indebtedness on 2024 taxes. There's also outstanding indebtedness on 2025 taxes, and they're quite a bit of money. So we were going back and forth with, with the proposal, with the new applicant, and also the engineer who proposed what, what they were looking for. So we were kind of at a crossroads. And we took a little break. We took a little break, and, um, so the applicant made a phone call to the current owner, and the current owner, in principle, said that he would reach out to the city, and he would reach out to the Collector's office to try to rectify tax issues. So therefore, we, we said, "All right, it looks like we have a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel." And we said, "Okay, we're going to postpone this until May 28th with the hopes that we have some reconciliation regarding the taxes," uh, because the 2024 taxes are overdue, and I've had several conversations with the Collector on this, and he will be going into tax taking in July if these are not rectified, which opens another new Pandora's Box. Now, today, when I was preparing my remarks for tonight's meeting, I had an interesting phone call at approximately 4:15 this afternoon from the City Collector, Stanley Iwanicki, and he said that he had two phone calls from Mr. Furman, the engineer, inquiring about taxes. So the hope is that between now and the 28th, that we're going to be able to reconcile, unless the arrearage of taxes that are due to the city. And then if we go down that path, hopefully, uh, we can potentially issue a special permit if everybody's in compliance with also the issues that, um, Planning Department and the Overlay District report, if they answer those questions and are in agreement. So hopefully, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. But again, the prudent thing was to postpone this, Mr. President, until May 28th. And I hope is that we'll be on board with taxes, and we'll be able to work with our city officials and get some type of agreement and move this thing forward. Thank you. Councilor Brooks.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Yeah, and I think in addition to the taxes, let's not lose sight of the fact,

[[Councilor Shane D. Brooks (Ward 2)]]: and this project would be in my ward, so I certainly want to see it to come to fruition, but there are several liens that the city has placed on this project, correct, or parcel, rather, because of the security detail that we are forced to provide because a former delinquent owner no longer provided that level of security because we were concerned about public safety, potential for fire. There's a lack of a fire suppression system in that building that's adequate for the size of the building. So once that P&S goes through,

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: we have the, we should be the first ones at the table to say, "Reimburse us for whatever the cost is," because you hear about the obsessive, the, the excessive

[[Councilor Shane D. Brooks (Ward 2)]]: cost of $40,000 per month for the security detail that we're required to provide. So that's, that's a second hurdle if the taxes are, that's easy because you, you know the Assessor can clearly give you what is owed, correct? But to execute the P&S and get it through, the city has a lien on that property that could take a substantial amount of time, much more than simply writing a check to Collector Iwanicki's office to make the city whole via property taxes. There are, there are other elements at play where there are things that are in arrears. And I just, you know, I just point that out only because we've talked about it, and we've made allocations via Mayor's Orders for the past a year and a half, almost two years.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: Councilor Balakier. Yeah.

[[Councilor George A. Balakier (Ward 4)]]: Yeah, thank you. Dovetailing Councilor Brooks' remarks, yes, we're, that's something too that has to be factored into this analysis. So this is, this is an interesting quagmire, and we're hopeful that there will be some light at the end of the tunnel by the 28th. Otherwise, it's going to be a difficult point again that we're going to be, and hopefully we're not at an impasse. But thank you. Thank

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: you. Any other comments? Councilor Costello. Just

[[Councilor Mary Beth Pniak-Costello (Ward 9)]]: have a question through the chair to Councilor Brooks. Your concern is extremely valid because we've been talking about the security of this building forever, and I appreciate you bringing it up tonight. But I can't, I can't remember if we had any type of court action in this. Maybe, uh, President Laflamme or Councilor Brooks can update the public on where we are with this very expensive security that we are, that we are supplying. My

[[Councilor Shane D. Brooks (Ward 2)]]: understanding is we place liens on the property, uh, in aggregate every time we reach a certain point. So whether it's every six months or a year for our cost incurred. So that when the purchase and sale is fully executed, the city will be made whole for all expenses incurred. I don't know, maybe Attorney Riley could speak more so to the, you know, the court appearances, but my understanding is there's liens been placed on the building, and that prior to any full execution of the purchase and sale, the city will be made whole for all expenses incurred. Thank

[[Councilor Mary Beth Pniak-Costello (Ward 9)]]: you.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: Okay, I just want to caution, uh, let's not be talking about litigation and that on the floor when we don't have the exact answers, right? Um, would you like to speak on it? Whatever. Yes, sat in it. So there's

[[City Solicitor Kevin Corridan]]: a Housing Court case from a few years ago against the current owner, who is Four Perkins LLC. In addition, the city, so then there's the back taxes owed. So the taxes are considered a lien, and that could be, at some point, be made into it, there could be a tax taking if it gets to a certain amount. You'd have to ask the Collector what that amount would be. But recently, the city also filed a lawsuit. First, we filed a mechanic's lien, which is just recording something at the Registry saying that, um, we're owed money, the city's owed money. And then to enforce that, we filed a, uh, a lawsuit, I believe, in Superior Court to enforce it. And the amount, I believe, is $125,000, and as Council, that keeps increasing per month. I don't have the exact numbers. So there's taxes owed on the building. There's also a lawsuit to protect the city for their mechanic's lien for the cost of security.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Okay. Thank you. Councilor Shumsky.

[[Councilor Samuel Shumsky (Ward 6)]]: Thank you, Mr. President. I just want to kind of piggyback and elaborate on my colleague, Councilor Balakier's comments about the postponement and all that. One of the big factors that went into our decision was an ordinance that we have had prior precedent with, I think it was last year, with a developer, or not developer, an applicant over on Chicopee Street. The ordinance prohibits us from granting any special permits if there are taxes owed in any property. The common consensus, I believe, and I'm not going to speak for everybody, but I would type of with, I guess, well, I can't speak tonight. I feel like Joe Biden. I would say that we all want to see this get developed. And I'm very excited for the potential, and I'm looking forward to hopefully having this project done, I'd say come to fruition in the next coming months. So fingers crossed. Thank you.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Okay.

[[Councilor Samuel Shumsky (Ward 6)]]: Any other comments?

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Do we need a roll call?

[[UNKNOWN_2 (likely Council President or Clerk)]]: Nope. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? And the motion passes.

Vote Tally - Item 18: Zoning Committee Report (Cabotville Mill Residential Development - Postpone): Ayes: (Majority/Voice Vote), Nays: 0

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: We have a favorable report from the Zoning Committee

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: for a special permit application under Chapter 275-62 B25 for the purpose of constructing a self-storage facility with associated office space in an industrial district located on Schwinnigan Drive, Patriot Holdings. Councilor Balakier. A motion that the, um,

[[Councilor George A. Balakier (Ward 4)]]: that the favorable zoning report be received and the special permit be granted this evening

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: evening with conditions. Motion made and seconded. The favorable Zoning Committee report be, special permit application be received and approved this evening with restrictions. On the motion. Thank

[[Councilor George A. Balakier (Ward 4)]]: you, Mr. President. Yes, this again was an interesting one in that we'vehad this, we've had this kicking around a little bit before. So there were, I think, two issues that came forth there. There was, the site plan was modified,

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: and because the special permit was also not acted on

[[Councilor George A. Balakier (Ward 4)]]: within a certain period of time, it kind of elapsed. So therefore, the applicant reapplied for the special permit, and they presented. And again, the recommendation is that special permit be granted with the following conditions: This is a permit to run with the land.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Um, the, uh, also subject to the approval of the SPRC review. No fuel allowed in units.

[[Councilor George A. Balakier (Ward 4)]]: Subject to city inspection if problems arise regarding repair of vehicles, as this is a self-storage facility, and the Fire Department inspection before the special permit is approved. Thank you. Thank you. Any

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: other comments from the floor? Roll call.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: President Laflamme? Yes. Roy? Yes. Arriaga? Brooks? Yes. Yes.

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Balakier? Yes. Krampits? Shumsky? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. And a motion passes.

Vote Tally - Item 19: Zoning Committee Report (Self-Storage Facility, Shawinigan Drive): Ayes: 12, Nays: 0

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Be it ordered that the Chicopee City Council send a letter to Congressman Neal supporting federal funding for libraries. Councilor...

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: Costello. Motion that the order be received and discussed

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: at tonight's meeting. Motion made and seconded that the order be received and discussed this evening. On the motion.

[[Councilor Mary Beth Pniak-Costello (Ward 9)]]: It's, it's ironic. Right before I left home today, I, I was on the internet, and the last thing I saw was that there's concern with libraries across the state about not being funded adequately, and it showed that programs could be cut. This is serious. This is a big, big deal. We have an excellent library system in the City of Chicopee. We have a nice library in the downtown district that provides services for a lot of people from all generations. In my, in my ward, we have a branch library that's very active and is used by many members of our community. I just couldn't believe that this particular item was on the internet before I left here. But again, it's serious if money is going to be cut. We have an excellent staff. We have a mobile book program that does a lot of services for a lot of people. I'm asking that we send a letter to Congressman Neal supporting that federal funding for libraries continue so that libraries remain a major community service in our community. Again, we have a great librarian, Director, her entire staff is wonderful. We must continue these programs. Ironically, a person that gave it a "like" was Jessica Avery, noting that this is something that we should support. Part of that post said that people should be contacting their federal congressmen and United States senators. So I'm asking that we have a discussion if the board here will take the stand to continue federal funding for libraries, continue the excellent programs that our library gives us. Thank you. Okay.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: So, Councilor Costello, you want to have it approved this evening? Yes. Okay. Do we know, if you want a discussion, we're going to send it to a committee. So you want, your motion is to have it approved tonight to send, right? And okay. So if, if I may, if somebody else wants to, it's not going to, it's got to go to a committee. We're not going to have an open, uh, something that should go to communication. You want a discussion. So let's take a vote. Any other comments? So the vote on the floor is just to send a letter to Congressman Neal. I think

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: the motion was that the item be discussed. That was her motion, right? So we need, we would need, if you're going to put this in a committee, you're going to make a motion to put it in a committee. Or if you want this voted on tonight, make a motion that the letter be sent. I would ask for, was just to discuss it, right?

[[Councilor Mary Beth Pniak-Costello (Ward 9)]]: We discussed it tonight. I would ask for guidance legally. This, if you want to

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: make a motion to send the letter to them tonight, well, it'd be approved. She can do that, right? Right.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: So you can just make a motion to send the letter. Thank you.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: Tonight, if you want. Okay. So I'll amend the motion just to send a

[[Councilor Mary Beth Pniak-Costello (Ward 9)]]: letter to Congressman Neal supporting federal funding for libraries. Thank you.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: Motion, uh, any questions on it? Roll call. Uh, all in favor? Aye. Opposed? And the motion passes. Okay, thank you.

Vote Tally - Item 20: Send Letter to Congressman Neal re: Library Funding: Ayes: (Majority/Voice Vote), Nays: 0

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Be it ordered that the Rules Committee meet to discuss the following Open Meeting Law complaints: one filed by Derek Dobosz, 4/16/2025; two filed by Derek Dobosz, 4/16/2025 minutes. Councilor...

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: Brooks, I'm sorry.

[[Councilor Gary R. Labrie (Ward 8)]]: Sorry, Councilor Labrie. Motion to receive the order and send items number one and two to the Rules Committee for a public hearing. Motion made and seconded that the order be sent to the Rules Committee

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: for a public hearing on item number one and two.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: On the motion.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: Self-explanatory. Thank you. Any other comments from the floor?

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: All in favor?

[[UNKNOWN_2 (likely Councilor, could be Council President leading vote)]]: Aye.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Opposed? The motion passes.

Vote Tally - Item 21: Refer OML Complaints (Derek Dobosz) to Rules Committee: Ayes: (Majority/Voice Vote), Nays: 0

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: We order that the Zoning Committee meet to discuss noncompliance of ordinance: operating before 7 a.m. with heavy-duty equipment, noise appears to be over 70 decibels, dust and dirt from excavating on the house windows, deck, and in the pool. Address: Ludlow Road, Marion Excavating property in Chicopee and South Hadley. Invite Building Department, Board of Health. Mailing address: 749 New Ludlow Road, South Hadley. Councilor...

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: Costello. Excuse me. Motion that the order be

[[Councilor Mary Beth Pniak-Costello (Ward 9)]]: received and sent to the Zoning Committee for a public hearing. Motion made and seconded. Did the

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: order be received and sent to the Zoning Committee for a public hearing. On the motion, please.

[[Councilor Mary Beth Pniak-Costello (Ward 9)]]: Yeah, on the motion, this is self-explanatory. There's been some issues in regards to non-compliance with the neighbors, um, at this particular address, which is 130 Ludlow Road. Thank you. And I did ask, oh, I just want to finish. Um, I did ask the, uh, City Attorney for his advice on this because of the non-compliance, and he said that it should, at some point, go to Zoning. So I appreciate his, his expertise in making sure that these issues get addressed. Thank you. Councilor

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: Shumsky. Through

[[Councilor Samuel Shumsky (Ward 6)]]: the chair to our Attorney, I'm just, I'm a little confused as to why this is going to Zoning and not Ordinance, this particular order.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Mr.

[[City Solicitor Kevin Corridan]]: President, should I answer that? Yes. Okay. So I think what I suggest is that it be sent to, that first you ask the Building Department and the Health Department to go cite the violator before you come to Zoning because you need some backup, you need investigation. So that's the first thing. Number two, I don't know off the top of my head if there is a special permit that's, that the Zoning Committee could call them in on. So I don't know that they had to come before the, I don't remember them coming before the Zoning Committee for a special permit. There was no special permit. I don't think they were. I think they went to the Planning Board and got an approval in Conservation, but I don't believe that Zoning would have anything to talk about, is my guess. My point. Councilor

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: Balakier. Yeah.

[[Councilor George A. Balakier (Ward 4)]]: Uh, thank you, Mr. President. Yeah, these are just a couple of questions. I think our attorney helped with some of the questions I was just going to pose, in that we probably need to get Building, especially to go out, and Board of Health, and they probably need to go out and do some type of investigations and file some type of reports. And again, referencing what our attorney just referenced, I don't know if there's, I don't think there's a special permit involved here. So, uh, I, I'm kind of, uh, wondering where we're going to go with this. Uh, but we definitely need to have Building go out and Health Department doing, doing investigations and inspections so that we can bring something then, perhaps to the floor then, maybe to discuss it. But, uh, I'm not sure if this would, if this really should go to Zoning at this point. I think it might be premature, Mr. President. All right. Thank you. Councilor Brooks. I

[[Councilor Shane D. Brooks (Ward 2)]]: guess my question is, and we wouldn't be the issuer of a special permit to a physical address in South Hadley, Massachusetts. So while some of their property may encroach on Chicopee, right, their physical address is 749 New Ludlow Road, South Hadley, Mass. So I don't know any purview this committee has over that unless we call them in for the aggrieved property. But the, we never issued a special permit to a business in South Hadley. I'm 110% sure of that. Right. And two, I don't know how we call in a business that is operating in South Hadley that may be or may not be aggrieving a resident of Chicopee. You know, is there a building permit that's been pulled for the Chicopee location? I don't think so. What the, the maker of the motion is suggesting that when they are operating, the dust is adversely affecting a Chicopee resident versus, you know, work being done in excess of 70 decibels at, you know, address certain in Chicopee. So I, I just don't know what purview we have over them if they're not effectively operating in Chicopee.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: All right. Thank you. Councilor Costello, you, um, just a recommendation, if you would withdraw and maybe

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: send a letter, have us send a letter to the Building, Health, and Law Department to review if there's any action we can take, then we can get together at that point, send it to a committee. So

[[Councilor Mary Beth Pniak-Costello (Ward 9)]]: Yeah, thank you. Uh, Councilor Brooks is making an extra, an excellent point. This land area, the address of the business is in South Hadley. Where the actual excavation is being performed is in Chicopee, next to Chicopee houses. So there's activity in Chicopee. I, I spoke earlier this evening with Lisa Sanders, and she's very well aware of this property and is well aware that in the past, the City of Chicopee has taken court action against what this business is, and she was questioning whether or not those court orders remain in effect. So South Hadley has the address, the land that's being excavated is in Chicopee, and there is a history. And so what I can do, and I appreciate the, the guidance to make sure this is done right because this is serious for these people that live there. And what I'll do is I withdraw the motion, and then I will ask the Building Department, which they've been involved for a long, long time, Councilor Laflamme is well aware of it, the Board of Health, and the Law Department to get involved in this so that we can update where the City of Chicopee is and the fact that they've got a past here. Thank you. So

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: I'm going to

[[Councilor Mary Beth Pniak-Costello (Ward 9)]]: make a motion to withdraw. All in favor to, oh no, no, we got to make a motion. Any

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: other, but any other comments on the withdrawal? Okay. All in favor for the withdraw? Oh, we have to call roll, I'm sorry. On a withdrawal. President? Yes. Roy? Arriaga? Yes. Brooks?

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. 11 Yes. The motion passes.

Vote Tally - Item 22: Motion to Withdraw Order re: Marion Excavating Non-Compliance: Ayes: 11, Nays: 0

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: 23. Order that the Parks and Recreation Committee meet to discuss the current state of the parks, current programming, current projects and grants, and upcoming grant projects. Councilor...

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: Courchesne. Motion

[[Councilor Bill Courchesne (Ward 7)]]: that the order be received, take its first reading, and be referred to the Parks Commission for a public hearing. Motion

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: made and seconded. The order be received and sent to the, uh, Parks and Recreation Committee for a public hearing. On the motion, please. For

[[Councilor Bill Courchesne (Ward 7)]]: a semi-annual update from the Parks and Department. Thank

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: you. Councilor Costello.

[[Councilor Mary Beth Pniak-Costello (Ward 9)]]: Yes, uh, I just want to thank, uh, the Parks Department because when we went out for the cleaning on Saturday, Preston Park looked terrific. Thank you. Thank

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: you. Any other comments? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? And the motion passes.

Vote Tally - Item 23: Refer Parks & Recreation Discussion to Committee: Ayes: (Majority/Voice Vote), Nays: 0

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: Have an ordinance to add to the following in Schedule: One-Way Street, Riverview Place. Councilor Courchesne. Motion the order be received, take its first reading, be sent

[[Councilor Bill Courchesne (Ward 7)]]: the Ordinance Committee for a public hearing. Motion

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: that the order be received, take its first reading, refer to the Ordinance Committee for a public hearing. On the motion. This

[[Councilor Bill Courchesne (Ward 7)]]: ties into the third order in this order. Thank you. Any

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: other comments? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? The motion passes.

Vote Tally - Item 24: Proposed Ordinance (One-Way Street, Riverview Place): Ayes: (Majority/Voice Vote), Nays: 0

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: We have an ordinance to add to the following in Schedule: One-Way Street, Lucretia Avenue. Councilor Courchesne.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Same course. Motion that the

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: order be received, take its first reading, and refer to the Ordinance Committee for public hearing. On the motion.

[[Councilor Bill Courchesne (Ward 7)]]: On the motion, same course. Thank you.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: Any other comments? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? And the motion passes.

Vote Tally - Item 25: Proposed Ordinance (One-Way Street, Lucretia Avenue): Ayes: (Majority/Voice Vote), Nays: 0

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: We have an ordinance to add to the following in Schedule: A One-Way Street, Turcotte Avenue. Councilor Courchesne. Order be received, take its

[[Councilor Bill Courchesne (Ward 7)]]: first reading, be sent the Ordinance Committee for public hearing. Motion

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: that the order be received, take its first reading, and refer to the Ordinance Committee for a public hearing. On the motion. This is to correct the wrong

[[Councilor Bill Courchesne (Ward 7)]]: direction from the last order I put for the street. I would request that the residents of these streets be notified of the Ordinance Committee meeting so they can have some say in the matter if they have anything to say. I think it's going to, the reason for adding the other streets is that obviously it ties everything into one direction. If it's a U-shaped section of the city, um, on Lucretia, with people parking on both sides, it's a one-way street effectively. So this will enhance fire, police, and EMS response by putting it in a one-way direction. So I think the police and fire will be agreed to this. Hopefully, the residents will. It probably adds 25 seconds to their commute to go to the next street and come around. But I think it will make everything flow in that area. Many, many years ago, the beat officer asked me to do this. So part of this is to help Rogers out, to help traffic flow into their business without causing as much of a safety hazard as there is because people do ignore the signs. So I think this will be a win for everybody. Councilor

[[Councilor Gary R. Labrie (Ward 8)]]: Yeah, I think it's a great idea. Uh, but my one question is, do the residents, are they going to be made aware of the meeting, uh, somehow? Asked

[[Councilor Bill Courchesne (Ward 7)]]: for the letter to be sent out. I was told we don't send letters out. I don't know why. I'll take, we don't with the Attorney General, but I think it's silly that we're going to, you know, affect all these, it's a small street, there's not a lot of residents, right? They should be aware that there could be a major change to their life, you know, their daily lives with the changing of the street. I went by

[[Councilor Gary R. Labrie (Ward 8)]]: there today, and I thought the same thing. You know, I knew this was coming up, and I'm saying, "Both park both ways now, and then now they've got to rearrange which way they go into their..." It's not a major convenience because it's a small street. It's a small, but they should still be aware of it.

[[Councilor Bill Courchesne (Ward 7)]]: I think, in my opinion. Well,

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: yeah, I'm going to, I'm going to talk on this for a minute. Well, um, when I did a couple of streets, and I know, uh, Mary Beth, the two words, um, I would see the neighbors and walk. That we do not send anything other than, uh, the 300-foot markings for things. Um, you know, I didn't like the Attorney General fee. That'll encompass everybody. What's that? You can do the 300-foot? No,

[[Councilor Bill Courchesne (Ward 7)]]: we don't. We only do it for Zoning. Um, so it's always been that way. Something we can look at.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: But we've, we've never allowed. I know I walked my neighborhood and got people, and I know Councilor Shumsky did once for Litwin School, uh, for those streets. We walked that area. So, um, you know, like you just mentioned, it's a small street. Maybe you can just go and put your card and let them know. That's where you got your city cards that we give you. You can put it on there and promote it for now. Okay. Thank you. Councilor Krampits. I

[[Councilor Frederick T. Krampits (Ward 5)]]: was just going to repeat what you had mentioned about that we can't send out letters, and it's just like a zone change or something like that that's required to notify abutters. So thank you. Thank

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: you. Any other comments? All in favor? All right. Opposed? And the motion passes.

Vote Tally - Item 26: Proposed Ordinance (One-Way Street, Tourtelotte Avenue): Ayes: (Majority/Voice Vote), Nays: 0

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: We have an application for a new auto detail license applied for by Ortiz Detailing filing. Location: 30 Mount Carmel Avenue.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Councilor Brooks.

[[Councilor Shane D. Brooks (Ward 2)]]: Make a motion that the new application for an auto detail license be received and referred to the License Subcommittee for a public hearing.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: Motion made and seconded. The application for a new auto detail license be received and sent to the License Committee for a public hearing. On the motion, please. We'll take it up, Benny. Thank you. Any other comments?

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: All in favor?

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: Aye. Opposed? The motion passes.

Vote Tally - Item 27: Application for New Auto Detail License (Ortiz Detailing): Ayes: (Majority/Voice Vote), Nays: 0

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: 2025 Hawker and Peddlers License Renewal: Jeff's Hot Dog Cart, Jeffrey Klein.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Councilor Brooks. Make a motion that the 2025 Hawker and Peddler's License Renewal be received and approved this

[[Councilor Shane D. Brooks (Ward 2)]]: evening with any current restrictions. Motion made and seconded. 2025 Hawker and Peddler License

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: Renewal be received and approved this evening with the restrictions. On the motion. Uh,

[[Councilor Shane D. Brooks (Ward 2)]]: self-explanatory, sir. Thank

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: you. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? And the motion passes.

Vote Tally - Item 28: 2025 Hawker and Peddlers License Renewal (Jeff's Ding Dong Cart): Ayes: (Majority/Voice Vote), Nays: 0

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: 2025 Bowling Alley License Renewal: AMF Lanes, 291 Burnett Road. Councilor

[[Councilor Shane D. Brooks (Ward 2)]]: Brooks. Make a motion that the 2025 Bowling Alley License Renewal be received and approved this evening with current restrictions. Motion

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: made that the 2025 Bowling Alley License Renewal be received and approved this evening with the restrictions.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: On the motion.

[[Councilor Shane D. Brooks (Ward 2)]]: Self-explanatory.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Any comments? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? And the motion passes.

Vote Tally - Item 29: 2025 Bowling Alley License Renewal (AMF Lanes): Ayes: (Majority/Voice Vote), Nays: 0

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: 30

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: 30-33, are 2025 Junk Dealer License Renewals: Willimansett Waste Company, Rubidia's Sew and Consignment Shop, Pole Gold Jewelers, Rodriguez Wood Projects and More. Councilor Brooks.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Make a motion that the 2025 Junk Dealer License Renewals

[[Councilor Shane D. Brooks (Ward 2)]]: be received and approved with current restrictions.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: Motion made and seconded. 2025 Junk Dealer License Renewals be received and approved this evening with current restrictions. On the motion.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: On the motion, unless there's any concerns. Is any other comments from the floor? All in favor? Aye.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: Opposed? The motion passes.

Vote Tally - Items 30-33: 2025 Junk Dealer License Renewals: Ayes: (Majority/Voice Vote), Nays: 0

[[Clerk Keith Rattell]]: 34 through 36 are 2025 Home Occupation License Renewals: Loyalty Tax Service LLC, Francesca Santana, and Elks Baked Goods. Councilor

[[Councilor Shane D. Brooks (Ward 2)]]: Brooks. Make a motion that the 2025 Home Occupation License Renewals be received and approved this evening with any current restrictions. Motion made and seconded. 2025 Home Occupation License Renewals be received and approved this evening

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: with current restrictions. On the motion. Self-

[[Councilor Shane D. Brooks (Ward 2)]]: explanatory. Thank

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: you. Any comments from the floor? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? And the motion passes.

Vote Tally - Items 34-36: 2025 Home Occupation License Renewals: Ayes: (Majority/Voice Vote), Nays: 0

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: Okay. Announcements. Councilor Brooks. Just

[[Councilor Shane D. Brooks (Ward 2)]]: want to, uh, take a moment, uh, to remember Harvey LaFleur. Um, I got to know Harvey, um, through his extended family, his daughter and her husband, his grandchildren who I went to high school with. He was an extraordinary man, a friend to many, and just a real pillar of this community. You know, to see him going strong at 101 was, you know, not something that I didn't expect. I think everybody thought that Mr. LaFleur would be around for many, many years. And he certainly left an indelible mark on the City of Chicopee and will forever be remembered. Thank you. Councilor

[[Councilor Susan Goff (Ward 3)]]: Goff. Happy Public Service Week, and thank everyone: the nurses, the police, the fire departments, teachers, for all their hard work and dedication. And we appreciate all that they do.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Thank you. Councilor Courchesne.

[[Councilor Bill Courchesne (Ward 7)]]: Yeah, I wish my condolences to Harvey's family. I was shocked when I seen the obit come out because honestly, I thought he would outlive all of us. He just, he's an amazing man for, you know, at his age, still out there getting it done and, you know, being active in the community. It was pretty amazing to see, and I think we all wish we could be like that. Thank you.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: Thank you. I too want to express my condolences to Harvey's family.

[[Councilor Samuel Shumsky (Ward 6)]]: He was a great man, and one of my fondest memories I have is actually when we opened the dog park, and here comes Harvey at 100 years old, driving his car, still in his original World War II uniform. And I thought that was incredible. And I actually got to, my first time going into the dog park, we got to walk it together with Treasurer Marie T. Laflamme, and it was really cool to hear his story from his time in the service and just his life experiences. And that'll be something I will always remember to this, till the day I die. And I also want to thank the people who assisted me during, um, Ward Six's and the citywide Clean Sweep on Saturday: Haley Procon from Aura Day Spa, Richard and Irena Gadecki and their two grandchildren, and Basil Sagaris. Uh, thank you again, I appreciate it. And I would like that, that's it. Thank you.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: Councilor Balakier. Yeah.

[[Councilor George A. Balakier (Ward 4)]]: I think, Mr. President. Yeah, I also wanted to, uh, reference, uh, Harvey's family for my condolences. I thought that was interesting in that he served in World War II and he could still fit into his uniform for World War II. I was amazed when I heard that. I shook his hand at one point. I also want to wish all the mothers a Happy Mother's Day this Sunday that's coming up. And again, spring is here. Please be careful with the driving. Kids are out on bikes, people are walking. Be cognizant of that. And again, in honor of my colleague who had passed, if you see something, say something. Thank you. Councilor LaBrie.

[[Councilor Gary R. Labrie (Ward 8)]]: Yes, I also want to give my condolences to his family. I met him, I just did the math, he was 57 years old. He did some formula about my house and some walk and stuff. So I just want my condolences to go out to the family. Thank you.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: Councilor Roy.

[[Councilor Frederick T. Krampits (Ward 5)]]: My condolences to Harvey LaFleur's family. He was a fixture at many patriotic and veterans events, so you'd always see him there. Also, a thank you to all of our folks involved in public service and public safety. They put a lot of effort in. My girlfriend is a school teacher who teaches autistic children on the higher end of the spectrum, and I can tell you the amount of effort that goes in after class and after work in being a teacher. So I'm in awe of that. So, and then wanted to wish my mother a Happy Mother's Day and Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there. And I also just wanted to take a moment, kind of a bittersweet moment. To my constituents in Ward Five, I have decided not to seek re-election. It was kind of bittersweet. I've enjoyed serving as a City Councilor for almost 23 years. I have other political aspirations, but you know, I, I will, you know, I will miss being a councilor, but I think sometimes we know when it's time, and it's time, uh, you know, not to run for re-election. But I, I wanted to, uh, just let folks know in Ward Five that I will not be seeking re-election, uh, and to thank everybody, you know, through the years for their support and kind words. So thank you. Councilor

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: Costello.

[[Councilor Mary Beth Pniak-Costello (Ward 9)]]: My condolences to the Harvey LaFleur family. He will be missed deeply. And I also want to thank the Chicopee Cultural Council as well as the Chamber of Commerce for their hard work on Saturday, May 3rd, when they went out and they cleaned parks and streets in our city. And a special thank you to Deb Sutherland, who's a neighbor of mine that doesn't live that far from me, and all her hard work. She's been working with the Council for a long time, and she did a tremendous job on Saturday. She's also been an active person in our schools, putting on plays for many years. So again, Deb Sutherland, thank you for all that you do.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: Councilor Arriaga.

[[Councilor Abigail Arriaga (Ward 1)]]: My condolences. It's never easy to lose a family member. I also want to say thank you to, uh, is your mic on? Okay. I also want to say thank you to the Chicopee Clean Sweep, um, the Chicopee Chamber. Um, Ward One was fantastic. It was a wonderful turnout. I thank everybody that came. I think as we were cleaning, kids were getting dropped off so they could help out as they saw us. People were stopping and thanking us. So it definitely was an absolute beautiful day. I love seeing the city come out and take pride in their city, um, which I, I wish we did more often, but I really do appreciate, um, everybody that showed up for all the wards. It was a fantastic and wonderful day. Happy Mother's Day, and be careful, kids are out, weather's nice, so keep an eye out. Thank you. Thank you. Okay.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: I'll take a motion to adjourn. Motion

[[Councilor Samuel Shumsky (Ward 6)]]: to adjourn. Motion

[[Council President Frank Laflamme (likely, or another councilor)]]: made and seconded to adjourn. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? The motion.

[[Council President Frank Laflamme]]: ..... thank you.