Public Safety Committee Meeting May 14, 2024

Posted May 9, 2024, 2:30 PM

City Council
Holyoke Massachusetts
Pursuant to the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law, G.L. c. 30A, §§ 18-25,
and Chapter 2 of the Acts of 2023,
notice is hereby given of a meeting of the committee on
Public Safety

Tuesday, May 14, 2024
6:30 PM

Meeting to take place at
Holyoke City Hall, 536 Dwight St
and can be accessed remotely on Zoom Meetings
Per order of the Chair: Jenny Rivera
Remote access via www.zoom.us
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82995353456?pwd=aGJ4MlpiZHZWNzk2NW9DaFhmNjgwQT09
Meeting ID: 829 9535 3456 Meeting Passcode: 616328 or by call in at 1 (646) 558-8656 with the same Meeting ID and Passcode.

Live Spanish interpretation will be available on local access channel 15 using the television’s SAP option, through the live stream on the city website, as well as on the Zoom feed by clicking the interpretation option and choosing Spanish.

Agenda

Item 1: Minutes of February 26, 2024 meeting.

Item 2: 12-19-23 MALDONADO VELEZ — Order that the city creates a Certificate of Occupancy program that works to inspect rental units in order to acquire the certificate. Certification is based on passing State Safety and Sanitation Codes on a regular basis (not more than 3 year cycles, less for continuously problematic properties) for properties with 3 or more units. Send to Public Safety.

Item 3: 12-19-23 MALDONADO VELEZ — Order to create a rental registration, requiring all rental units, including short term rentals, register with the city. This can be housed in the Board of Health or Building Department. Send to Public Safety.

Item 4: 12-19-23 MALDONADO VELEZ — Order that the city creates a public accessible landlord registry database. Information includes (but not limited to) who owns the property, who is responsible for maintenance, how many code violations that property has received through the city, and how many no cause evictions has the landlord filled on residents. Send to Public Safety.

Item 5: 10-3-23 GIVNER — Ordered, With community support, Sylvia Ln residents have expressed health and safety concerns regarding the encampment behind McNulty Park and their cul de sac. There are several houseless people living in this area. There is an abundance of trash and other concerning happenings. Although not as noticeable when trees have full foliage, the fall and winter expose the serious quality of life issues visible for both the housed and unhoused. This must be addressed. -Board of Health / Copy to Public Safety

Item 6: 1-22-24 JOURDAIN, OCASIO — Ordered, That the Board of Health and Police dept come to the Public Safety Committee to discuss various issues in the community related to homelessness and how we can work towards better solutions.

Item 7: 12-5-23 PUELLO — Ordered, That the board of health/ health Commission please be invited to attend to discuss if changes are possible to the changes to the Tobacco license issuance policy that supports common sense economic growth on a case by case basis and also protects public health. That they also please discuss syringe access and whether common sense changes can be made. Ex: 1 for 1 exchange

Item 8: 8-1-23 I. RIVERA — Ordered, that the city’s law department along with public health come in and elaborate on the status of the property in the corner of Lyman and No. Summer.

Item 9: 6-20-23 JOURDAIN, PUELLO — Ordered, Mayor and Building Dept/Board of Health/Law Dept please provide the City Council with a status report on the demolition and resolution of the dangerous abandoned building at 27-29 Cabot Street and 510 South Bridge Street (Parcel ID 031-01-014 owned by Next Realty Inc. with Corporate President of Shakeel Ahmed Butt of 10 Patriot Parkway in Weymouth, MA). Fencing is no longer safely enclosing the property and it has a dangerous debris field and is an attractive nuisance for children.
According to my records, there was a fire there in September 2021 and another fire in April 2022. It has been vacant from even before these fires. Please report if the owner is paying the vacant building fee and when this building is going to be demolished since it seems inconceivable that it will be restored. This has gone on for too long and is a danger to residents.
*Tabled 9-27-23

LAID ON THE TABLE
Discussion is not expected

Item 10: 9-5-23 JOURDAIN, VACON — (copy) Police Chief provide an updated list of all tickets issued in Calendar Year 2023 including violation reason, number of violations, and the disposition.
*Tabled 11-29-23

Item 11: 1-17-23 VACON, PUELLO — Ordered, that the Cannabis Commission create a regulation that retail marijuana products be required to have a health safety warning. This is needed in light of studies showing significant medical emergencies among children and adolescents as well as adults, due to marijuana use.
*Tabled 9-27-23

Item 12: 4-19-22 BARTLEY — Ordered, The DPW and Mayor locate public spaces where trash and recycling receptacles can be placed and maintained. This should start off as a pilot program and it will require funding and management to ensure the debris/recycling bins are maintained but hopefully it will be a success and Holyoke can expand its scope.
*Tabled 6-27-22, 8-8-22, 9-19-22, 9-27-24

Item 13: 1-18-22 GIVNER — Ordered, that That the City of Holyoke address poorly or un-plowed alleyways. Residents on the block of 192 Walnut str have been paying to have been paying to have alley plowed. Why are these not being plowed by the city if they are used by DPW for refuse pickup and access for Fire, Utilities, and police?
*Tabled 6-21-23

Item 14: 1-4-22 JOURDAIN, BARTLEY, TALLMAN — Ordered, that That the DPW and Sewer Commission do a study and seriously consider adopting a sewer maintenance insurance program for homeowners that is modeled off the Water Department’s water maintenance insurance program. The Water Department program has been a great accomplishment and has been very warmly received by residents who appreciate this very low cost protection.  That the DPW report back to the City Council on their findings by April 1, 2022.
*Tabled 6-21-23

Item 15: 11-16-21 MCGEE —  Ordered, that Order that the public safety committee invite in the water dept to discuss and address the water issues on Michelle lane.
*Tabled 6-21-23

Item 16: 10-5-21 MCGEE — Order that the Board of Health, Community Development, and Mayor do a survey of City Hall and the annex building in order to prioritize the top needs for improvements of the two buildings (I.e. elevators, mold removal, carpets, etc).
*Tabled 6-21-23

Item 17: 12-6-22 ANDERSON-BURGOS — That the City Engineer come to a Public Safety Committee meeting to discuss the possibility of making Corser St one way traffic.
*Tabled 1-10-23

Item 18: 11-15-22 BARTLEY — City Engineer review options to improve road safety at Queen and Cherry St. Issue: trucks exiting Queen St. are seen driving over the median strip and making an illegal left-hand turn onto Cherry St. (Rt. 202-South)
*Tabled 1-10-23

Item 19: 12-20-22 Petition from Residents of Holyoke in support of a Tenant Bill of Rights
*Tabled 1-10-23

Item 20: 1-18-22 RIVERA_I, TALLMAN — that the city council invite the Mayor, Community Development, Parks & Recreation Department as well as Public health to a Public Safety committee meeting to discuss developing so form of community coalition around addressing homelessness, substance abuse, and youth programming.
*Tabled 3-29-22, 11-21-22

Item 21: 6-21-22 MCGEE — That the City/DPW/Public Safety Committee review and determine how to close Wyckoff Ave from Northampton Street, similar to that on 202.
*Tabled 8-8-22, 9-19-22

Item 22: 8-2-22 JOURDAIN, TALLMAN, I. RIVERA — Ordered, The City Council and Mayor in conjunction with our department heads develop a comprehensive “Clean Holyoke Initiative” that develops a strategy to clean and beautify Holyoke by providing the plan and resources to get it done. Our future success as a city will in part count on being a beautiful, clean city.
*Tabled 9-19-22

Item 23: 10-19-21 VACON, GREANEY, JR — Ordered, that a camera be placed on Homestead Avenue to be used to enforce “no truck traffic after 8PM.”
*Tabled 9-19-22

Item 24: 5-17-22 BARTLEY — The City Engineer present a plan to the City council public safety committee to improve lower Whiting Farms Rd for the following conditions:  motorists regularly ignore the “no left turn” into the former K-Mart Plaza thus cutting across traffic and motorists do so by angling around the cement barrier which causes potential hazardous driving conditions.  Moreover, if motorists do abide by the “no left turn” they often make an illegal U-turn in front of the bay doors at HFD Station 5 that may further negatively impact public safety.  Please advise on a best course of action bearing in mind that K-Mart is no longer an ongoing concern today but will be once again.
*Tabled 6-27-22

Item 25: 2-1-22 BARTLEY, PUELLO — The city engineer review the signaling at the Maple St / South St. / Parenteau Dr intersection.  Multiple accidents and near-accidents have occurred there over the years as motorists from Maple St turn Left against oncoming traffic on South St (heading downtown). The intersection is proximate to the former  Whole Donut and the Fitzpatrick Ice Rink.  Refer to Public Safety with copy to City Engineer.
*Tabled 2-16-22

Item 26: 1-18-22 ANDERSON-BURGOS — Ordered that SUEZ and the Holyoke Housing Authority meet with the public safety committee to discuss how to fix the flooding issues that residents from Beaudoin Village have been experiencing for years.
Refer to Public Safety, copy to Suez, HHA
*Tabled 2-16-22

Item 27: 1-18-22 PUELLO — That the DPW Superintendent work with the Fire Department Alarm Division and explore the costs to install blinking/flashing lights to alert residents of any upcoming parking bans, possibly at the following locations or throughout the City (Main and Cabot, Sargeant and Main, Jackson and Main, Maple and Sargeant, Maple and Jackson, Pine and Resnic.
*Tabled 1-24-22

Item 28: 1-18-22 GIVNER — That the city of Holyoke install storm warning lights much like those in neighboring communities. These would act to signal coming snow and other inclement weather storms, prompting residents to check our city web site as well as their preferred news sources. Storm warning lights would also act as a parking ban notification in an effort to assist our overextended police department.
*Tabled 1-24-22

Item 29: 1-18-22 RIVERA_I — that the City Council invite the Department of Public Works as well as the Park & Recreation Department to meet with the Public Safety Committee around addressing the graffiti at the SkatePark located at Pulaski Park along with also exploring the possibility of developing a larger master plan for Pulaski Park in its entirety.
*Tabled 1-24-22

Administrative Assistant: Jeffery Anderson-Burgos
The listing of matters are those reasonably anticipated by the chair which may be discussed at the meeting. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items may also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by law. Also one or two items may require the committee to enter into executive session at this meeting. Agenda subject to change up to two business days (48 hours) prior to posted meeting time.