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05-07-18 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING REGULAR MEETING OF THE AGAWAM CITY COUNCIL Minutes dated May 7, 2018 Meeting was called to order by Council Vice President Calabrese at 7:00pm in the Auditorium at the Roberta G. Doering School, 68 Main Street, Agawam. Item A. Roll Call ROLL CALL – 10 PRESENT, 1 ABSENT Roll Call was taken with the following councilors present: George Bitzas, Council Vice President Cecilia Calabrese, Paul Cavallo, Robert Magovern, Dino Mercadante, Joseph Mineo, Robert Rossi, Rosemary Sandlin and Anthony Suffriti. Council President Christopher Johnson arrived at 7:08pm. With ten present, there was a quorum. Item B. Moment of Silence and the Pledge of Allegiance. Council Vice President Calabrese asked for a moment of silence and the Pledge of Allegiance. Item C. Citizen’s Speak Time The following citizens spoke: Will Clark – Spoke about septic systems and was asked to not make personal attacks during Speak Time – a time to be used to constructively speak about specific issues. He also spoke about the Recreational Needs Assessment and the lack of recreational space in Feeding Hills believing that area is under-serviced. Item D. Minutes 1. Regular Council Meeting – April 17, 2018 Motion to approve made by Councilor Suffriti and seconded by Councilor Mercadante. Voice vote approved. Item E. Declaration from Council President None. Item F. Presentation of Resolutions 1. TR-2018-28 - A Resolution confirming the appointment of Patrick Asta-Ferrero II, 71 Birch Hill Road, Agawam to the Agawam Veterans’ Council to a term expiring April 1, 2021 (Mayor Sapelli) Motion to approve made by Councilor Suffriti and seconded by Councilor Magovern. The vote was 11 YES, 0 NO approving the appointment. 2. TR-2018-29 - A Resolution accepting a grant ($15,000.00) from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office for Administration and Finance pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 44, Section 53A (Mayor Sapelli) (Referred to Finance Committee) Motion to approve made by Councilor Letellier and seconded by Councilor Cavallo. As Chair of the Finance Committee, Councilor Letellier provided a report stating that the committee sent a positive recommendation to the Full Council by a vote of 5 Yes, 0 No. The vote was 11 YES, 0 NO approving the item. 3. TR-2018-30 - A Resolution confirming the reappointment of Francis Curnow, 115 Forest Hill Road, Feeding Hills to the Agawam Veterans’ Council to a term expiring April 1, 2021 (Mayor Sapelli) Motion to approve made by Councilor Cavallo and seconded by Councilor Suffriti. The vote was 11 YES, 0 NO approving the appointment. 4. TR-2018-32 - A Resolution adopting the Walnut Street Extension District Improvement Financing District (Mayor Sapelli) Motion to approve made by Council Vice President Calabrese and seconded by Councilor Suffriti. Council Vice President noted it was not referred to a committee but instead had a workshop of the Full Council. Councilor Rossi stated that he missed the workshop but thinks this is out of place and not good for Agawam. The DIF puts money from new growth into that district only and the town assumes all of the risk. He believes the TIF that is currently in place is a better fit. Councilor Cavallo applauded Council President Johnson to have the foresight to request a chart showing a five year period as fluctuations are a concern. If a property within this district we are creating goes out of business, is the town on the hook? Councilor Mercadante agrees there is some risk however we need this to be better. Why give this to another town? Why not Agawam? He is all for it. Councilor Bitzas was also at workshop and thinks it may need more work and wanted to know why the sub-committee did not make a recommendation? He also asked the Planning Board to send out letters to people in that area because property owners there are afraid this will increase their taxes. He thought the item should be tabled. Councilor Magovern noted that that area needs help and asked for a brief explanation from Council President as to the difference between a TIF and a DIF. Council President Johnson noted that we held a workshop purposely and not a sub-committee and no councilor objected to that process so it wouldn’t make sense to now send it to a sub-committee just for a recommendation. He then stepped out of the Chair to explain the difference: TIF which is a Tax Incentive Financing tool is where a developer comes to the town to build or expand. The taxation is graduated and is specifically tied to job increases at that business. A DIF is District Improvement Funding where an area is set aside and any new growth within that area is placed into a segregated fund. It is not an additional tax. Any value increases go into the DIF and the regular tax base stay in the General Fund. Using a DIF attracts new developers to town. He also had similar reservations that Councilor Rossi had but agrees wholeheartedly with Councilor Mercadante. This makes sense and is only a small step initially but with the hope to redevelop that area. Councilor Sandlin has attended several meetings on the DIF and noted that even after being informed of the meetings, very few of the business owners in that area attended those meetings – it was a dismal turnout. She noted that this vote only sets up the area. She is not in favor of tabling and thinks we should move forward. Councilor Mineo asked why no one has looked into a Redevelopment Authority. Councilor Letellier noted that she had a prior commitment that night and couldn’t attend the workshop either but has researched this and spoken with that area property owners. She said that the Games & Lanes area needs a sweep through as it still looks messy and that the property owners need to maintain their properties better. Councilor Cavallo is not against it. Councilor Rossi is not against businesses but thinks the TIF works just as well and he still thinks this money will come from the taxpayers to bond for that area. Councilor Bitzas is very pro-business and will support noting that his questions are to enlighten the property owner and he still wants a sub-committee recommendation. Councilor Mercadante doesn’t know how long the TIF has been in place but apparently no one is taking advantage of it anyway. He thinks this is a new tool and is worth a shot. Councilor Magovern thanked Council President Johnson for his clarification and agrees that we need a jump start in that area. This item has had enough discussion and does not need to go to a sub-committee for recommendation. Councilor Rossi wanted to make one more point. When the Streetscape Project came before the Council for over four million dollars everyone unanimously agreed it wouldn’t change anything and now the DIF is in front of us and you’re all saying it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread and makes no sense to him. Councilor Letellier said that using a TIF results in reduced taxes in job creation and the DIF doesn’t reduce the taxes but any increases in taxes go into this fund. The vote was 10 YES, 1 NO (Councilor Rossi) approving the item. 5. TR-2018-33 - A Resolution confirming the appointment of Mildred Parzychowski, 55 Hastings Street, Feeding Hills to the Agawam Housing Committee to a term expiring October 1, 2021 (Mayor Sapelli) Motion to approve made by Councilor Letellier and seconded by Councilors Sandlin and Cavallo. The vote was 11 YES, 0 NO approving the appointment. 6. TR-2018-34 - A Resolution confirming the appointment of Gail Mathes, 644 Main Street, Agawam to the Agawam Housing Committee to an unexpired term expiring May 31, 2020 (Mayor Sapelli) Motion to approve made by Councilor Sandlin and seconded by Councilor Letellier. The vote was 11 YES, 0 NO approving the appointment. Item I. Public Hearings 1. TR-2018-31 - A Resolution adopting the Fiscal Year 2019-2023 Capital Improvement Program - Public Hearing Date set for May 21, 2018 (Mayor Sapelli) Motion to table made by Councilor Sandlin and seconded by Councilor Letellier. Voice approved to table the item until the Public Hearing on May 21, 2018. Item J. Old Business 1. TOR-2018-3 - An Ordinance to amend Section 49-7(9)(D) of the Code of the Town of Agawam by adding Council on Aging van driver (Mayor Sapelli) (2 of 2 Readings) (Referred to Legislative Committee) Motion to approve the second and final reading made by Councilor Cavallo and seconded by Councilors Mercadante and Magovern. The vote was 11 YES, 0 NO approving the second and final reading. 2. TOR-2018-4 - An Ordinance amending Chapter 33 of the Code of the Town of Agawam (Mayor Sapelli) (2 of 2 Readings) (Referred to Legislative Committee) Motion to approve the second and final reading made by Councilor Magovern and seconded by Councilor Suffriti. The vote was 11 YES, 0 NO approving the second and final reading. 3. TO-2018-10 - Budgetary Transfer of $25,000.00 from Reserve Fund (#16605-57300) to the Employee Benefit Buyback (#16603-51040 (Mayor Sapelli) (Referred to Finance Committee) Motion to approve made by Council Vice President Calabrese and seconded by Councilor Letellier. As Chair of the Finance Committee, Councilor Letellier provided the report stating that the account was in the negative since the check was cut to Tony Roberto and this transfer will just bring it back into the positive. The committee gave a positive recommendation to the Full Council by a vote of 5 Yes, 0 No. The vote was 11 YES, 0 NO approving the transfer. Item K. New Business 1. TOR-2018-6 - An Ordinance amending the Code of the Town of Agawam Chapter 149 entitled “Smoking and Tobacco products” (Mayor Sapelli) (Two Readings Required) Council President encouraged the Full Council to read the many pages involved in this ordinance. The Legislative Committee held a workshop on this and voted to have a Public Hearing for the citizens to voice their opinions. The Public Hearing is set for Monday, June 18, 2018. The Mayor will notify the West of the River Chamber as well. 2. TOR-2018-7 - An Ordinance to amend Section 103-8 of Chapter 103 of the Code of the Town of Agawam (Mayor Sapelli) (Two Readings Required) Referred to Legislative Committee, next Agenda. 3. TOR-2018-8 - An Ordinance to amended Section 49-7(c) of the Code of the Town of Agawam (Mayor Sapelli) (Two Readings Required) Referred to Legislative Committee, next Agenda. 4. TO-2018 -11 - Budgetary Transfer of $1756.44 from the Reserve Fund (#16605-57300) to the Persons and Property (#16602-52001) (Mayor Sapelli) Referred to Finance Committee, next Agenda. 5. TO-2018-12 - An Order granting or renewing a Junk Dealer’s PERMIT for Block Jewelers, Inc., 299 Walnut Street, Agawam (Clerk) Referred to Administrative Committee, next Agenda. 6. TO-2018-13 - Budgetary Transfer of $20,000.00 from the Firearms Qualification (#12101-51130) and $50,000.00 from the Uniform Allowance (#12101-51070) to Longevity (#12101-51400) for a total transfer of $70,000.00 (Mayor Sapelli) Referred to Finance Committee, next Agenda. 7. TO-2018-14 - Budgetary Transfer of $4,000.00 from Reserve Fund (#16605-57300) to Professional Services (#16602-52190) (Mayor Sapelli) Referred to Finance Committee, next Agenda. Item L. Any other matter that may legally come before the City Council. Councilor Letellier attended the School Committee public hearing and noted there were no comments at all and passed within seconds. She asked for a memo about 27 Maynard Street looking abandoned as well as 186 Maple Street with four foot tall grass. She planned on responding to Mr. Will Clark however he already left the meeting. Council Vice President Calabrese stated that she and Councilor Sandlin attended the ALICE training last week and they ran everyone through four different scenarios giving them sensory awareness. It was a chilling experience and thanked Mr. Nettis for the very valuable opportunity praying she just learned skills she will never have a need to use. Councilor Cavallo had a thought/suggestion for the Full Council to do some volunteer work some Saturday morning to show our community that we care. Councilor Rossi suggested starting with “his back yard” at the Pride Station/Cumberland Farms on Suffield Street and asked for a memo to be sent to the Health Department regarding this property. Apparently the property owner needs another reminder. Councilor Bitzas asked if anyone had discussed moving our meetings to the Junior High and if this was happening. Council President Johnson said we have taken the liberty of reserving our summer meetings at the library and knows that the administration is working on moving regular meetings to the Junior High however he is not sure when that will take place. Councilor Magovern was pleased to see the DIF item pass. It is sad that there was such a sparse response from those businesses down there and hopes this item will bring business down to that area again. Council President Johnson wanted to again extend his thanks to Mayor Sapelli for continuing to keep the City Council in the loop. It is just such a drastic change from the prior administration. He also thanked Council Vice President Calabrese for opening the meeting as he was running a little late from a nail biter of a baseball game which he coaches. Item M. Adjournment. The Motion to adjourn was moved by Councilor Magovern and seconded by Councilor Mercadante. Meeting was adjourned at 8:53pm.