08-08-18 SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE AGAWAM CITY COUNCIL
Minutes dated August 8, 2018
The Special Meeting was called to order by Council President Johnson at 7:00pm in the Community Room at the
Agawam Public Library, 750 Cooper Street, Agawam.
Item A. Roll Call
ROLL CALL – 7 PRESENT, 4 ABSENT
Roll Call was taken with the following councilors present: George Bitzas, Council
President Christopher Johnson, Robert Magovern, Dino Mercadante, Robert Rossi, Rosemary Sandlin and Anthony Suffriti. Absent were Paul Cavallo, Cecilia Calabrese, Gina Letellier and
Joseph Mineo
Item B. Moment of Silence and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Council President Johnson asked for a moment of silence and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Item C.
1. TR-2018-51 -
A Resolution authorizing the posting of the warrant for the state primary election on September 4, 2018 and the state election on November 6, 2018 (Clerk)
Motion to approve made by
Councilors Mercadante and Magovern and seconded by Councilors Sandlin and Bitzas.
The vote was 7 YES (Councilors Bitzas, Johnson, Magovern Mercadante, Rossi Sandlin and Suffriti),
0 NO, 4 ABSENT (Councilors Cavallo, Calabrese, Letellier and Mineo) approving the item.
2. TR-2018-52 - A Resolution authorizing the adoption of Orders of Taking for the Feeding Hills
Right of Way Project under the authority of Section 14 of Chapter 40 and Chapter 79 and Chapter 84 of the General Laws for the construction and maintenance of project (Mayor Sapelli)
Prior
to any motion or discussion, Council President Johnson declared his conflict of interest in this item. He filed a notice of disclosure of this conflict with the City Clerk’s Office.
Because of the absence of the Vice President as well as the more senior member of the Council, he will conduct the administrative part of this item i.e. calling for the motion etc however
he will NOT be participating in any discussion or vote on this item. Councilor Bitzas made a Motion to go into Committee as a Whole which was seconded by Councilor Sandlin. Voice vote
approved noting the abstention of Council President Christopher Johnson. Councilor Bitzas asked when is this expected to start and how many will be affected by this. He asked Mayor
to provide a summary. Mayor stated as everyone knows there are a lot of issues with the Feeding Hills intersection – it is not lined up straight, there is so much traffic coming from
the Southwick area. We will be taking land from the corners to make three lanes coming from Southwick. We need to do a better job for pedestrians and their safety. This will be done
entirely with Chapter 90 money and funds from the Complete Streets Project. Councilor Bitzas was happy to hear it and stated it was better late than never. Councilor Sandlin how far
up will it go – will it get to Sunset Terrace? Mayor said it won’t be going too far and we will be making multi-use sidewalks. Councilor Mercadante mentioned that by Southwick High
School there are solar powered lights – will we be able to include those? Mayor stated those are not part of this plan and noted those are very expensive however moving forward, who
knows what will happen but they are not part of this project. Councilor Sandlin asked about the timing and the fixing of Rt 187 and Mayor stated it is coming right behind it and is
fully funded. Councilor Magovern was very pleased to see this coming to fruition and hope it gets moved along quickly. Mayor stated it should be starting this spring and will take
two construction cycles. Councilor Mercadante asked if they will be working with the area business owners so they are not to affected by these construction issues. Mayor commented that
that was a great question and we are doing that all over town and mentioned CSX getting a signal to let people know a train is coming and things like that. People will be inconvenienced
however we will get through this. Councilor Mercadante wanted him to remember to consider the businesses in that area. Councilor Rossi agreed
that that intersection is a nightmare. He blames it mainly on the curb cuts especially in the Pride Station. He urged the Mayor to reconsider those curb cuts to which Mayor agreed
to look into it. Motion to come out of Committee as a Whole made by Councilor Bitzas and seconded by Councilor Mercadante. Voice vote approved noting the abstention of Council President
Johnson.
The final dollar figure for these land takings was not included on the resolution. The Mayor informed everyone that the amount of $143,360.00. Councilor Mercadante made a
Motion to insert $143,360.00 into the third Whereas clause which was seconded by Councilors Suffriti and Bitzas. Voice vote approved noting the abstention of Council President Johnson.
The
vote was 6 YES (Councilors Bitzas, Magovern Mercadante, Rossi Sandlin and Suffriti), 0 NO, 4 ABSENT (Councilors Cavallo, Calabrese, Letellier and Mineo), 1 ABSTENTION (Councilor Johnson)
approving the item as amended.
Item D. Declaration of President - Introduction to Tenaska and new officers
Council President Johnson stated that Barbara was approached by Tenaska
back in June to come and introduce themselves to the City Council however we were in the middle of budget season. Knowing we had this Special Meeting with a small agenda, he thought
it made sense to have them attend this evening. He then turned the floor over to the following members who introduced themselves and gave a brief summary of what the town can expect.
Jason Behrens, Vice President, Strategic Development & Acquisitions
Buck Hunt, Director, Plant Operations
Max Greig, Plant Manager
Timberly Ross, Director,
Communications & Public Relation
Councilors asked questions. Councilor Suffriti noted that the plant is about 18 years old and asked if they were planning on making any improvements.
Mr. Behrens stated that they were not looking to expand but will make enhancements to further the life expectancy to get it back to reliable performance. Councilor Suffriti also asked
where the power goes – there is a substation right near the plant and from there it goes over the transmission lines to be distributed. ISO determines who gets the power. Councilor
Suffriti asked if we could get a tour which they said they had planned to offer one in the middle to end of September. Councilor Mercadante asked what the longevity of the plant was
and Mr. Behrens said this is a long-term investment and expects 30-40 years of operation. Councilor Sandlin asked if improvements would be made to be as environmentally conscious as
possible which was addressed. Councilor Bitzas asked if they will be considering donations to local charities and school programs. They want to be a good neighbor and will have a tool
for applying for donations which will be part of the yearly budgeting process for community projects. Council President thanked them for coming. He also stated that personally he can
say that the former owners were good community participants in schools and we hope that Tenaska will continue to be a good neighbor.
Item E. Adjournment.
The Motion to adjourn was
moved by Councilor Sandlin and seconded by Councilor Mercadante. Meeting was adjourned at 7:44pm.