Councilor Magrath-Smith

Do you have a crosswalk near you that needs to be repainted? Especially with school starting up again, it is important that our crosswalks are easy to see. I am gathering a list of intersections to share with the DPW Director. Please drop the intersection address in the comments below or message me privately. Thank you!

Holyoke bridge closure to begin Monday for reconstruction MassDOT contractors will begin reconstruction on the Mountain Park Road bridge starting next week.

As we are in-between storms, please make sure you have unclogged any sewer grates in front of your house and check in with your neighbors about theirs. One of the best things we can do is make sure that they are clear. If you are having any issues with flooding, clogged drains, or burst culverts, please immediately call Veolia’s emergency line: 413-534-2222. To report a felled tree or downed or hanging branches, call (413) 322-5645. If a tree or branch has caused electric utility wires to come down, call Holyoke Gas and Electric (HG&E) at (413) 536-9300.

Hello friends! After a much needed July recess the full City Council will meet tonight for a regular meeting at 7pm. This is the only regular meeting of the full City Council that will take place in August (there are several subcommittee meetings scheduled in August).

The agenda can be found here: https://www.holyoke.org/meetings/holyoke-city-council-meeting-august-6-2024/

As always, you can tune into the meeting via the City's website livestream or Channel 15 locally, and/or using the zoom link below:

When: Aug 6, 2024 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85914960000?pwd=QVBqSkJvd0pSZENmNFdDbnVXTnVTUT09
Passcode: 657908
Telephone:
1 646 558 8656
Webinar ID: 859 1496 0000
Passcode: 657908

Below are the two links to the presentation from the International Sports Complex project. One thing that I want to highlight is that this development team has purchased land on Whiting Road and is also exploring land in the lower wards. Their stated goal is to build a series of sports facilities across the city. What that looks like is currently very fluid as land transactions are in motion. I will continue to share what I know as we navigate the upcoming purchase and sale of the Wyckoff Country Club to the buyer. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aWkKboW_1ixJpDeDNI95q_gmaEsTp1Tz/view?usp=sharing and https://drive.google.com/file/d/189H7O4zkOU7XAh7ZKtyAsJHf7W8RgfA9/view?usp=sharing

Holyoke, MA_Draft PF_Golf Analysis_240625 copy.pdf

Here is the link to the meeting notes from the International Sports Complex meeting at Wyckoff Country Club this week. I want to thank all of the residents who came out to hear the presentation and voice their concerns. I wanted to create space for people to give their feedback early on in the process and over 150 people attended on Thursday. Andrew Melendez is the point person for this project and his email is [email protected]. I encourage you to reach out directly to him with questions and concerns about the project. As soon as I get the slidedeck they used, I will post that as well.

Wyckoff Country Club International Sports Complex Meeting 6-27.docx USA International Sports Complex Informational Presentation June 27, 2024 at Wyckoff Country Club Presentation commenced at 6:00 p.m. with approximately 105 persons in the room. Andrew Melendez, Vice president of the USA International Sports Complex Group (ISPG) opened the meeting by thanking ev...

This map shows two phases of the upcoming combined sewer separation. Phase 1 (in orange) will be completed by 2027, with Phase 2 (in blue) following. Many people across Ward 7 are experiencing issues with basement flooding, street washouts, and burst culverts and pipes. The average age of our pipes is 80 years old. This project gives us the opportunity to replace aged pipes with new separate water and sewer lines. Phase 1 will cost roughly 13 million dollars, with 2.5 million picked up by the state and the rest paid off slowly over time through a state loan.

This Thursday!

High school students, recent graduates, and individuals interested in a career change can meet representatives of the building trades to learn about and apply for available apprenticeship and employment opportunities.

The fair will be held from 10 AM – 1 PM at the UMass Center at Springfield in Tower Square (1500 Main Street).

Many of us have experienced sewer-related issues or have concerns about upcoming work related to stormwater management and combined sewer overflows. As we enter the final year of our contact with Veolia and consider extending that contract or shifting to a new provider, please join me for a presentation and discussion on the important relationship between the City of Holyoke and Veolia during a meeting of the Board of Public Works on June 24, 2024 at Holyoke Media.

Date: Monday, June 24, 2024
Location: Holyoke Media at 23 Suffolk St.

6:15 pm - 6:45 pm Veolia Presentation
6:45 pm - 7:25 pm Questions and Answers
7:25 pm - 7:30 pm Concluding Remarks

I have asked the team that is purchasing Wyckoff Country Club to host a community information session on Thursday, June 27th at 6pm. The meeting will be held at the Wyckoff Country Club Banquet Room and will include time for the developers to share their vision and to hear the questions and concerns of members of the community. They are dropping flyers for the event in the neighborhoods surrounding Wyckoff Country Club, but this event is open all people who want to know more and weigh in. This team will be our newest neighbor - let’s get to know them and help them know us and our hopes for this beautiful area of our city. Please join us. If you cannot join us, please email me at [email protected] so I can make sure your questions are answered during the Q and A.

Jones Point Park and Morgan Street Park Updates - There is a sewer line that is causing a sinkhole in the parking lot in front of Jones Point Park. Veolia investigated and concluded that a repair is needed. The repair will be done after July 1st. Veolia has been called about Morgan Street Park as well and they have been asked to make sure that it's not one of their sewer lines causing the sink hole there. A cone has been placed there and once Veolia determines if it's their line or not causing the issue, the city will backfill it.

Street sweeping update: Veolia had some staffing and equipment constraints and have hired a 3rd party - Mohawk Sweeping Services. They have begun sweeping as of today, 5/28. Mohawk has been contracted to manage the non-posted neighborhoods, starting in the Bemis neighborhood. Let me know how it’s going. Don’t hesitate to reach out.

Please see the links below for the FY24 Street Sweeping Map. It's interactive, so you can see what has been done so far and what is scheduled. It will be edited and updated in the coming days and weeks.

English:
https://vnagis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=bd669ad6b0aa43b7961cf9eb913e2583

Spanish:
https://vnagis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=bcb6d745ad064411ab3a8dafa3ea9d9f

Spanish_SS_HY

Upcoming street paving for Ward 7 includes the following streets for this spring and summer: Brookwood, Cleveland, Marlboro, Longfellow, Hillview, Lincoln, and Old Jarvis. There is also planned state resurfacing of sections of 141, which may include new pedestrian curb ramps at Beacon Ave. and Anniversary Rd. You will notice Bemis is not on the list currently, though it was originally (along with approved speed humps). I am in ongoing conversation with the DPW Director about the proposed combined sewer work that will affect part of Bemis and is preventing roadwork being done on Bemis at this time. The planning is currently at 90%. Once the roads affected are finalized, I will plan a Ward 7 meeting so folks can ask questions.

Part of the work this term is in moving forward a restructuring of Holyoke’s finance roles. This work is happening in both Charter and Rules (where I am Chair), and Ordinance (where I am a member). Over the past four weeks we have been considering the right path forward, and at times it has been messy. At 1 hour and 42 minutes into tonight’s meeting, I explained my thinking as we navigate the process. There are a lot of moving pieces and I am excited to work with my fellow councilors to move it forward.

All broadcasts for Holyoke Media

🌿🏡 YARD WASTE DROP-OFF &
CURBSIDE PICK-UP 🏡🌿

Yard Waste Facility Hours:
🗓️ Saturdays and Sundays starting April 6, 2024
⏰ 8:00am - 4:00pm

Curbside Collection Begins:
🗓️ Monday, April 1, 2024

--------------------------------------------

🌿🏡 ENTREGA DE DESECHOS DE JARDÍN Y RECOLECCÓN EN LA ACERA 🏡🌿

Horario del Centro de Desechos de Jardín:
🗓️ Sábados y domingos a partir del 6 de abril de 2024
⏰ 8:00 a. m. - 4:00 p. m.

Comienza la Recolección en la Acera:
🗓️ Lunes, 1 de abril de 2024

What an amazing day! I tip my hat to the St. Patrick Parade Committee for a wonderful parade weekend! Thank you also to the first responders and DPW workers who helped us prepare for (and recover from) all the festivities. It was an honor to walk the city yesterday alongside my fellow Councilors, School Committee Members, and the Mayor’s team at City Hall as we celebrated our community!

If you have concerns about this (and I know many of you do), now is the time to weigh in and attend the public hearing at the Planning Board. The city is currently defending a law suit brought against the Planning Board for denying it the first time around. A significant sum of money has been expended to protect the city from that law suit. Now the project is returning to the Planning Board for reconsideration. You may attend the Public Hearing to learn about the project in its latest form.

Plan accordingly for the road closures this weekend! Check out the map!

Road Closure Information for Parade Weekend 2024 - City of Holyoke With the annual Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day Road Race and Parade taking place this weekend, certain roads will be closed along race and parade routes. Drivers traveling around Holyoke should take note of the following information: Saturday, March 16th Road Race Downtown will be closed at the foll....

https://www.masslive.com/westernmass/2024/03/is-holyokes-community-preservation-act-tax-too-much-council-might-ask-voters.html

Is Holyoke’s Community Preservation Act tax too much? Council might ask voters The City Council is weighing a ballot question to Holyoke voters, asking if they would like to see the Community Preservation Act real estate surcharge cut from 1.5% to 1%.

I met with Chief Pratt on Friday to discuss traffic enforcement. Residents should see a cruiser and radar monitoring rotating through several Ward 7 spots starting this week. We've got several hot spots in Ward 7 including Bemis, Hampden, Northampton Street, and River Terrace. There should have been a cruiser on Bemis at least one day this week (one resident chimed in on the Hello Holyoke forum that there was a cruiser on Monday). There will also be a radar machine placed there in the next 1-2 weeks. Let me know if this doesn't happen. Keep emailing me and calling me - when I get a constituent concern, I bring it right to HPD. If I don't get concerns, then it's harder for me to keep pushing. I know people post on the Hello Holyoke forum, but sending me an email or phone call is the best way to move it forward.

On Monday, I represented the E.N. White PTO at the School Committee meeting to present a letter of concerns and actions we are pressing the district to take. Please take a few minutes to watch the following discussion, which was quite fruitful. If you agree with our concerns, please reach out to Erin Brunelle (At Large) or Ellie Wilson, (Ward 7) our School Committee Representatives, and Superintendent Soto. These are common sense changes, and we need to keep pushing until they are made.

School Committee 2-26-24

Where is your favorite drop-off bin for clothing and other textiles? Remember, even worn / torn clothes can be sold to rag makers by collectors. Reuse is good for the environment but also good for us fiscally because it keeps textiles out of the landfill.

For (and every week 😉), shop secondhand FIRST! Thrifting isn't just a great way to score useful, unique, or budget-friendly items—it also keeps clothing and shoes in use, helping to reduce waste.

What are your favorite thrifting tips?

Hanging on to good-quality clothing and shoes you don't wear anymore? They could become someone else's coveted thrift store find! Donate or consign items you no longer wear.

Even items that have seen better days should NOT go in the trash or recycling bin. Textiles like clothes, shoes, and linens can be taken to collection bins around MA. Find options near you: https://bit.ly/3DlDCdb