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09-08-2015 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETINGREGULAR MEETING OF THE AGAWAM CITY COUNCIL Minutes dated September 8, 2015 Meeting was called to order by President Johnson at 7:00pm at the Auditorium at the Roberta G. Doering School, 68 Main Street, Agawam. Item A. Roll Call ROLL CALL – 10 PRESENT, 1 ABSENT (Councilor Letellier) Roll Call was taken with the following councilors present: George Bitzas, Cecilia Calabrese, Paul Cavallo, James Cichetti, Council President Christopher Johnson, Joseph Mineo, Vice President Dennis Perry, Donald Rheault, Robert Rossi and Anthony Suffriti. Councilor Gina Letellier came in moments later. With ten (then eleven) present, there was a quorum. Item B. Moment of Silence and the Pledge of Allegiance. President Johnson asked for a moment of silence and the Pledge of Allegiance. Item C. Citizen’s Speak Time None Item D. Minutes 1. Regular Council Meeting – August 3, 2015 Motion to approve made by Councilor Cichetti and seconded by Councilor Rossi. The voice vote was unanimous. Item E. Declaration from Council President None. Item F. Presentation of Petitions, Memorials & Remonstrances 1. TR-2015 -32 - A Resolution requesting the Agawam City Council Petition for the enactment of Special Municipal Legislation concerning Special Police Officers in the Town of Agawam (Tabled 7/13/15) (Mayor) Motion to remove from the table made by Councilor Rheault and seconded by Councilor Rossi. Motion to approve the item made by Councilor Rheault and seconded by Councilor Perry. Councilor Cichetti as Chair of the Legislative Committee provided an update stating at this point it is the Council’s pleasure what they would like to do with this item. There is no recommendation from the Legislative Committee. Councilor Rheault stated that we should not delay this vote any longer and was disappointed to see it back on the Agenda. Councilor Rossi agreed and said this item has been bantered around far too long. The City Council rejected the age increase once before and there is no reason to continue bouncing it back and forth – it should be rejected. The vote was 3 YES (Councilors Bitzas, Cavallo and Letellier), 8 NO (Councilors Calabrese Cichetti, Johnson, Mineo, Perry, Rheault, Rossi and Suffriti). The item was defeated. 2. TR-2015- 37 - A Resolution requesting the installation of “No Parking” signs along School Street (Mayor) Motion to remove from the table made by Councilor Calabrese and seconded by Councilor Rossi. Motion to approve the item made by Councilor Calabrese and seconded by Councilor Cichetti. Councilor Calabrese as Chair of the Community Relations Committee provided a report stating that they really would like the citizens to speak up regarding this but hadn’t heard from any. Councilor Bitzas stated that no signs are actually needed anywhere but by the fields and the school – we overregulate things in this town. Councilor Letellier stated she was in favor of this item. During Countryfest at the summer concert series, she felt it was a traffic nightmare with cars everywhere – double parked, on the street, everywhere – and was surprised there were no accidents. Councilor Rossi agreed with Councilor Letellier – especially by the bike path which is a safety issue. Councilor Suffriti wanted to know if letters to the residents had actually gone out and would not want to vote on this item until those letters were mailed. Councilor Calabrese confirmed that to her knowledge no such mailing was done by the Administration and that residents should have been made aware of this. Councilor Bitzas stated that this creates too much bureaucracy in town. Councilor Cavallo also stated he was under the impression letters had gone out and was not prepared to vote until they did. Councilor Cichetti is in favor of the No Parking signs but thought it would be a good idea to table the item and noted that some of the signs were already installed by Phelps School without Council approval! Councilor Mineo agreed to table as the rush for these signs is now at a minimum since the concert series is over. Why rush this? Councilor Letellier respectfully disagreed stating that soccer season near the park creates the same type of parking issue. She is not opposed to tabling until the letters go out but would like to vote on it at our next meeting. Councilor Rossi would also appreciate the opinion of the residents of School Street but respectfully disagrees that there is a parking issue on that street. He also mentioned that the bike path should never have parking by it. Councilor Calabrese agreed and asked if the letters to the residents should come from the Council or the Mayor. Motion to table until the October 5th meeting made by Councilor Bitzas and seconded by Councilor Cichetti. The vote was 11 YES, 0 NO. Council President stated that he would work on the letter with Barbara to be sent from the Council Office. Councilor Bitzas also asked if Councilor Calabrese could send a letter to the Chief of Police asking if there are currently laws on parking near a bike path. 3. TR-2015-40 - A resolution to waive the right of first refusal for land classified under M.G.L. Ch. 61A located at 140 Rowley Street, Agawam, MA (Mayor) (Referred to Community Relations Committee) Motion to approve made by Councilor Calabrese and seconded by Councilor Cichetti. Councilor Calabrese as Chair of the Community Relations Committee provided a report and stated that the Planning Board did not want this property and her committee gave a positive recommendation to waive the right of first refusal on the property. Council President Johnson also stated that the Conservation Commission also wished to waive the right of first refusal. The vote was 11 YES, 0 NO. 4. TR-2015-41 - A resolution confirming the appointment of Mario Tedeschi, 350 Main Street, Agawam, MA to the Planning Board to a term expiring January 1, 2018 (Mayor) Motion to approve made by Councilor Letellier and seconded by Councilor Bitzas. Councilor Letellier thanked Mr. Tedeschi for all he does in the town and stated he would be a great addition to the Planning Board. The vote was 10 YES, 0 NO, 1 ABSTENTION (Council President Johnson) Item 7. Report of Council Committees None. Item 8. Elections None. Item 9. Public Hearings None. Item 10. Old Business 1. TO-2015-39 - Voucher List for MMA Dues $5,172.00 (Council) Motion to approve made by Councilor Cichetti and seconded by Councilor Cavallo. The vote was 10 YES, 1 NO (Council Vice President Perry). Item 11. New Business 1. TO-2015-40 - Ordering Granting or Renewing a Junk Dealer’s PERMIT for Agawam Coin and Gold, 270 Main Street, Agawam (flea market) (Clerk) Referred to Administrative Committee, next Agenda. 2. TO-2015-41 - Budgetary Transfer of $29,981.97(Mayor) From: Assessor Regular Permanent (#11371-51010) $29,831.97 Asses sor Longevity (#11371-51400) 150.00 To: Community Development Regular Permanent $29,831.97 Community Development Longevity 150.00 Referred to Finance Committee, next Agenda. 3. TO-2015-42 - Budgetary Transfer of $5,028.45 (Mayor) From: Admin Bldg for Utilities c/o (#11229-52110) $2,835.14 Line Items Previous Years Bills (#16602-57501) 2,193.31 To: Golf Food Holdover (#65269-52220) $2,193.31 Golf Electricity and Heat Holdover (#65269-52110) 2,835.14 Referred to Finance Committee, next Agenda. 4. TR-2015-42 - A Resolution to modify, suspend and/or revoke the Weekly Amusement Permit/ License of The Main Street Still, Inc. located at 858 Suffield Street, Agawam, MA. (Council) Next Agenda. 5. TOR-2015-8 - An Ordinance amending the Code of the Town of Agawam creating the Position of Public Access Studio Manager (Mayor) (Two Readings Required) Referred to Legislative Committee, next Agenda. Item 12. Any other matter that may legally come before the City Council. Councilor Bitzas wished everyone a great school year and also mentioned that there would be a Sept 11th ceremony at the Agawam Fire Department on Main Street at 9:30AM. He also mentioned that there was a track workshop on August 13th where they saw the new plans and toured the deplorable locker rooms. Councilor Letellier respectfully commented that a year ago when the Council was shown the plans of the new athletic facility, she asked why nothing was being done to the softball fields and it’s too bad it took over a year to actually include the softball fields in the plans. Councilor Rheault mentioned TR-2015-32 was defeated by an even larger vote this time and it should be a clear message to the Mayor and hopes not to see this item on the Council Agenda again. Councilor Calabrese also thanked Mario Tedeschi for all he does. Councilor Rossi wanted the Council to look into the parking complaint by Moore Street and wanted Councilor Calabrese to ask the DPW if they had any awareness of the removal of any signs in that area. Councilor Calabrese already had calls in to the Chief of Police. The Council congratulated Henry Kozloski on being awarded the Kuehn Community Preservation Award which is presented to ten individuals throughout the state who have made significant contributions to the success of Community Preservation and presented him with a Citation.   Adjournment. The Motion to adjourn was moved by Councilor Calabrese and seconded by Councilor Perry. The time of adjournment was 7:39P.M.