REGULAR MEETING OF THE AGAWAM CITY COUNCIL. Minutes dated October 2, 2017

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1 REGULAR MEETING OF THE AGAWAM CITY COUNCIL Minutes dated October 2, 2017 Meeting was called to order by Council President Cichetti 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, Cecilia Calabrese, Paul Cavallo, Council President James Cichetti, Christopher Johnson, Gina Letellier, Council Vice President Joseph Mineo, Donald Rheault, Robert Rossi and Anthony Suffriti. Councilor Theroux was absent however he showed up towards the end of the meeting. With ten present, there was a quorum. Item B. Moment of Silence and the Pledge of Allegiance. Council President Cichetti asked for a moment of silence and the Pledge of Allegiance. Item C. Citizen s Speak Time The following citizens spoke: William Clark spoke about 111 Birch Hill Road drainage problem; Depalma Street trees need to come down; Randall Street stump needs to be removed; hazardous yard waste issues; creating a Special Purpose Specialization Fund to assist in street paving; City of Westfield has carryovers listed in budget and online; and thank you to Councilor Suffriti for DIF presentation Jill Simpson spoke about upcoming Out of Darkness Walk for suicide awareness on Oct. 21 st at 8:30am at School Street Park. For more information please call Leslie Joseph nine year citizen of Agawam, almost 66 year citizen of the earth. Spoke in support of solar in Agawam stating town needs a master plan and needs to involve its citizens. Stated the town needs to be more adaptable for larger scale solar. She noted that 4 th graders are researching renewable energy and ended with a quote from Wendall Berry: Whether we know it or not, nature is party to all our deals and decisions and she has more votes, a longer memory and a sterner sense of justice than we do. Rich Joseph encouraged expansion in Agawam of solar technology. The science curriculum in schools is to use a variety of viewpoints and examines solutions to the challenges facing humans with long term sustainability. Global issues have impacts in town (i.e. Hurricane Harvey hit Texas results in gas prices going up in Agawam) and likewise local issues have impacts on globally. He encouraged the Council to look at the whole town first and assign zoning designations that make sense. He also ended with a quote Think globally and act locally our grandchildren our watching. Corinne Wingard Reminded everyone of the Meet the Candidate Night at the library on Oct 3 rd and 4 th from 5:30 7:30 with refreshments being served. Brian Halla spoke about the golf course roof. This needs to be addressed and it s time the Mayor got off the fence on this issue. He hoped the Council could encourage the Mayor to do something. Item D. Minutes 1. Regular Council Meeting September 18, 2017 Motion to approve made by Councilors Calabrese and Rheault and seconded by Councilors Johnson and Cavallo. Voice vote approved. 1

2 Item E. Declaration from Council President None. Item F. Presentation of Petitions, Memorials & Remonstrances 1. TR A Resolution accepting a grant in the amount of $12, from the Agawam Dog Owners Group (ADOG) to the Town of Agawam for installation of the Agawam Dog Park Lighting System (Sponsored by Mayor Cohen) (Referred to Finance Committee) Motion to approve made by Councilor Cavallo and seconded by Councilors Calabrese and Letellier. As Vice Chair of the Finance Committee, Councilor Calabrese provided the report stating that the committee gave a positive recommendation with a vote of 4 Yes, 0 No 1 Absent (Councilor Theroux). Councilor Rheault inquired how much the project would cost. Councilor Johnson thanked ADOG for their generous contribution. The vote was 10 YES, 0 NO, 1 ABSENT (Councilor Theroux) approving the item. 2. TR A Resolution accepting a grant in the amount of $23, from the Agawam Lions Club for the Perry Lane Playground Project (Sponsored by Mayor Cohen) (Referred to Finance Committee) Motion to approve made by Councilor Cavallo and seconded by Councilors Bitzas, Mineo and Johnson. As Vice Chair of the Finance Committee, Councilor Calabrese provided the report stating that the amount needed to be amended to $24, The committee gave a positive recommendation with a vote of 4 Yes, 0 No 1 Absent (Councilor Theroux). Councilor Johnson thanked the Lions Club for their generous contribution and is grateful for their hard work. Councilor Bitzas said hes proud to have been a member for 15 years and congratulated the club for their fundraising efforts. Councilor Mineo also praised the Lions Club. Councilor Calabrese made a Motion to Amend the amount from $23, to $24, which was seconded by Councilor Letellier. The vote on the amendment was 10 Yes, 0 No, 1 Absent (Councilor Theroux). The vote was 10 YES, 0 NO, 1 ABSENT (Councilor Theroux) approving the item as amended. Item G. Report of Council Committees None. Item H. Elections None. Item I. Public Hearings None. Item J. Old Business 1. TOR An Ordinance to amend the Code of the Town of Agawam Zoning ordinances to add solar energy systems (Sponsored by Councilors Cichetti, Mineo and Suffriti) (Second and Final Reading as amended) (Referred to Legislative Committee) 2

3 Motion to approve the second and final reading made by Councilor Bitzas and seconded by Councilor Calabrese. Councilor Bitzas stated he had an amendment but he would wait until discussion was done. Councilor Johnson wanted it on the record that he did not support the ordinance and believes to limit solar to industrial only effectively erases it from the Town of Agawam. We are sending the wrong message with this ordinance. Councilor Letellier voted present at the last meeting hoping for another meeting with the Legislative Committee to discuss the Planning Board recommendations and Doreen Prouty s recommendation and was disappointed they did not have a meeting. Agricultural should have options. Councilor Rossi is in favor of the amendment but believes it should not be in agricultural zones and does not believe Special Permits work. He suggests limiting it to industrial but look at areas where solar could work and use an overlay district and need to look for compatibility which in turn creates predictability. Solar is good for Agawam IF done right. Councilor Suffriti stated that as one of the sponsors that using Special Permits was a compromise. We need to tackle this again as a group not individuals. Councilor Mineo said there were valid points made at Citizen Speak Time and we need to look at the town s inventory of land and zoning. This needs to get done right this time. Councilor Rheault asked through the Chair to Councilor Rossi if the amendment satisfied him. Councilor Rossi said yes and noted that we should vote for this and it can always be lessened down the road. We need to control our own destiny this ordinance satisfies us in interim and we can draft overlay areas for a master plan. A yes vote protects us. Councilor Calabrese echoed Councilor Rossi s comments and thanked Mr. and Mrs. Joseph for their words. She noted we need to look at this as a starting point not an ending point. Councilor Letellier respectively disagreed with Councilor Calabrese that it s a starting point. If this passes, then certain councilors will say oh no it s done, we can t change it. Councilor Cavallo also said he was under the impression after the last meeting that the Legislative Committee was going to have another meeting to look into this more thoroughly and he has a lot of concerns. What does the town reap from solar energy? The tax revenue created is not great and he suggests Councilor Theroux reviewing this more with his committee. Councilor Johnson stated this ordinance was the original ordinance from the Legislative Committee and the Council voted it down. He rewrote with other options brought from other individuals and the Legislative Committee retreated to its original ordinance. He noted he was at a loss to understand why people think solar is bad. It is a positive. Having an overlay district or Special Permits protects the town. We can always place conditions on the project. He said approving this ordinance I most definitely not a starting point it is an ending point with no solar in Agawam. There is no industrial property left so amending this ordinance to only have it in industrial effectively says no solar in town. Can t have it both ways and pass this ordinance and favor solar. Councilor Bitzas said it is common sense and you need the courage to do this. Do you care more about solar energy than the people? It is only one word we are inserting. Councilor Bitzas made the Motion to Amend by inserting in (b) the word agricultural before the word resident which was seconded by Councilor Rossi. The vote was 8 YES, 2 NO (Councilors Johnson and Letellier), 1 ABSENT (Councilor Theroux) passing the amendment. Councilor Theroux arrived at the meeting. The main Motion as Amended and the vote was 7 YES (Councilors Bitzas, Calabrese, Cavallo, Mineo, Rheault, Rossi and Theroux), 4 NO (Councilors Cichetti, Johnson, Letellier and Suffriti), 0 ABSENT defeating TOR Item K. New Business 1. TR A Resolution confirming the appointment of Chris Lanski, 24 Seymour Avenue, Agawam, MA to the Agawam Veterans Council to a term expiring October 1, 2020 (Sponsored by Mayor Cohen) Next Agenda. 2. TR A Resolution confirming the appointment of John L. Bonavita, 109 Liberty Street, Feeding Hills, MA to the Agawam Veterans Council to a term expiring October 1, 2020 (Sponsored by Mayor Cohen) Next Agenda. 3

4 3. TR A Resolution confirming the appointment of Ken Pietras, 759 North Westfield Street, Feeding Hills, MA to the Agawam Veterans Council to a term expiring October 1, 2020 (Sponsored by Mayor Cohen) Next Agenda. 4. TR A Resolution accepting a grant in the amount of $6, from Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency through the Secretary of the Executive Office for Administration and Finance for the Town of Agawam Emergency Management Program (Sponsored by Mayor Cohen) Referred to Finance Committee, next Agenda. 5. TO An Order granting or renewing a Class 2 Dealer s LICENSE to ACE Auto Body, 1363 Main Street, Agawam, MA (Clerk) 6. TO An Order granting or renewing a PERMIT for Weekly Amusement for 342, Inc., d/b/a Murphy s Pub, 664 Suffield Street, Agawam, MA. (Clerk) 7. TO An Order granting or renewing a PERMIT for Weekly Amusement for Polish American Club of Agawam, Inc., 139 Southwick Street, Feeding Hills, MA. (Clerk) 8. TO An Order granting or renewing a LICENSE for Automatic Amusement for Polish American Club of Agawam, Inc., 139 Southwick Street, Feeding Hills, MA. (Clerk) 9. TO An Order granting or renewing a Class 2 Dealer s LICENSE to Euro Imports, 325 Main Street, Agawam, MA (Clerk) Item L. Any other matter that may legally come before the City Council. Councilor Rossi send his thoughts and prayers to those in Las Vegas for the incomprehensible act of violence. Councilor Johnson and all the councilors echoed his sentiments. Councilor Johnson noted in these days of kneeling during the National Anthem, he thanked everyone in law enforcement for getting in harm s way every day which was echoed by Councilor Suffriti. Councilor Letellier thanked the Lions Club and ADOG for their generous donations and noted these horrendous things happen and nothing gets done about it. She also reminded people to get out and vote on Tuesday Octo 10 th. Councilor Calabrese inquired about solar panels and whether or not they d be considered impervious surfaces Barb will ask. Councilor Cavallo asked about preference of meetings and wanted to piggyback with Finance Committee. Item M. Adjournment. The Motion to adjourn was moved and seconded all around. Meeting was adjourned at 8:07pm. 4

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