Whiting Reservoir Study Committee Meeting June 1, 2021

Whiting Street Reservoir Committee Meeting

June 1, 2021

5:00 pm Zoom Meeting

Minutes

 

The Meeting was called to order by Sue Ellen Panitch at 5:13 pm

 

Committee Members in attendance were:

Marlene Connor    Harry Craven      Jeff Horan

Kate Kruckeyer      David Moore       Sue Ellen Panitch

Terry Shepard

 

Members of the Public Present:

Elbert Bowler

 

Michael Curtain from the Holyoke Gas & Electric Department was also present.

 

Acceptance of Minutes

The WSR Committee unanimously accepted the minutes submitted by David Moore for the Committee’s May 18, 2021 meeting as presented.

 

Guided Tour the Whiting Street Reservoir

Marlene Connor thanked Mr. Comier for the informative 2.5 hour tour of the Reservoir given on Wednesday May 26^th.  Six Members of the WSR Committee were present for the tour.  Mr. Harry Craven also expressed his gratitude to Mr. Comier for the wealth of new information he received on the tour.

 

 

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Pioneer Valley Planning Commission

Kate Kruckmeyer informed the Committee that the PVPC would allot six hours of administrative help to the Committee from now until the end of the Fiscal Year.  After the start of the Fiscal Year, July 1^st, the PVPC will then allocate 15 hours of administrative assistance.  All Committee Members agreed that their assistance would be fantastic as we prepare our final report for the Holyoke City Council.

 

Holyoke Gas & Electric Department invited guest: Michael Curtain

Mr. Curtain relayed that he had been abreast of the committee’s work and had watched some of the prior meetings on video.

He stated that the HG & E owns a total of 270 acres of land that abuts the Whiting Street Reservoir.  A few years ago, the HG & E attempted to conduct a study regarding wind turbines (renewable energy) at Mt. Tom, but the study was ultimately scrapped for several reasons.

He explained that Tighe & Bond had prepared a report on behalf of the HG & E and it was presented to the City Council regarding the construction of a tower to be used for Holyoke Energy Communications and wireless readings.  This Tighe & Bond report included a wetlands assessment account of the property.  Mr. Curtain volunteered to forward a copy of the study to the WSR Committee

 

Mr. Curtain stated very clearly that that the HG & E has been and will always be extremely environmentally conscious at to whatever use the property serves.

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He also spoke briefly about a possible development agreement with the DCR, although the timetable for that remains open ended.

 

Public Comment

Sue Ellen Panitch asked if anyone was present for Public Comment.

 

Planning for Public Hearings

The committee members discussed whether they should invite the current quarry owners to a public meeting, to share their thoughts and future plans for their respective property with the Committee, as every other property abutters had done.  Due to ongoing litigation regarding the property, the Committee decided to discuss this invitation with the City Solicitor as to not interfere with the litigation.

 

The Committee did not schedule their next meeting date as they will determine their course of action in the coming weeks.

 

The consensus of the group was that the Public Hearings when presented, will be in two phases: Collecting the input from the public as to how they envision the use of the Reservoir.  Following that portion of the Public Hearing the Committee would present their findings and recommendations for the future use of the reservoir.

 

 

 

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Sue Ellen Panitch volunteered to pen the Committee’s opening remarks and Marlene Conner had offered to create a power point presentation

The Meeting was adjourned at 6:35 pm.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Teresa Shepard