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Hello Holyoke,
Here is some of what we were told that is not in the article. I do agree 3 years seems like a lot of time to build a bridge but they called it a “challenging project”, “difficult site” and “not an easy project” many times during their presentation.
First – the project is not out to bid yet and is still in the construction scheduling planning phase. So the 3 year estimate is not set as they are looking at double shifts, waiting till all supplies are on location before closing bridge and building the walk way prior to construction. These and other measures could shorten construction time.
Re the walking bridge, it was stated at first it could add up to 6 months in construction time BUT when asked about it further by council and citizens it became clear the walking bridge would add little time to the overall construction time. There will end up being 3 walking bridges over the time line of construction as it has to be moved but much of the walking bridge can be built prior to construction and then simultaneously during construction.
As for just tearing down the old bridge and building new we were told that would not save time as demo of the current bridge would be a complex task and that new construction would take time as well. Walking bridges would have to be constructed also. It was explained that the river creates some unique challenges to build there but I assume all bridges go over water that present some challenges. There is no space (we were told) to build a new bridge next to the old bridge, like in Westfield. Another issue was that they could had no crane access from the river. The 800 foot length of the bridge also creates some unique construction challenges.
We were told due to the construction style of the bridge they cannot keep one lane open while construction is under way. They showed photos and plans of what needs to be replaced, rebuilt and brought up to current codes. This included truss’s, bottom chords, spans and other aspects of the bridge.
Many good questions were asked by city councilors who were present and by the public but it seems the state has their plan and closing the bridge is a non-negotiable aspect of that plan.
I am not an engineer and I am not here saying I did not question much of what was said I am just providing some additional information on the project.
Thank you, Aaron Vega – City Councilor at Large
HOLYOKE – Business owners that rely on traffic from the Willimansett Bridge were among those unhappy to learn on Monday that an upcoming repair will require the bridge be closed for up to three years.
About 25 merchants, residents and city officials attended a public hearing at City Hall about the $30 million repair of the 119-year-old steel bridge, parts of which officials said have deteriorated.
Albert R. Stegemann of the state Department of Transportation said officials will try to reduce the amount of time the bridge is closed by requiring the contractor work double shifts. The job will begin after April 1, he said.
But the way the 800-foot-long bridge is built prohibits keeping even part of it open to traffic. That’s because the work will be done in sections and weakening one section, as it is being repaired, eliminates the entire span’s ability to sustain traffic, officials said.
“It’s not an easy bridge to rehab or repair,” said Matt A. Card, of Boston consulting engineers Purcell Associates.
That’s bad news for business owners like Lonnie Tebaldi. He owns the Napa Auto Parts store at Cabot and Canal streets, a block north of the bridge.
“It probably is going to cut back on the amount of traffic that comes to us. The detour that they’re planning is so far out of the way that it will probably cut down on the business we get,” Tebaldo said after the hearing.
The bridge connects Holyoke and Chicopee over the Connecticut River. Deterioration of the plates and other pieces means the bridge must be repaired, and thus closed, or at some point, Stegemann said.
Temporary pedestrian walkways made safe from the ongoing construction by fencing will be installed to allow for walking traffic to continue. The bridge gets 300 people walking across it per day, officials said.
“Closing for three years, that’s going to kill these businesses,” said Ward 1 Councilor Donald R. Welch, pointing to the audience
By Mike Plaisance, The Republican
June 01, 2010, 4:00PM
HOLYOKE – Budget hearings will resume Wednesday with City Council review of the $11.2 million proposed for the Police Department for the next fiscal year.
The hearing on the police spending plan is set for 6:15 p.m. at City Hall.
The budget that Mayor Elaine A. Pluta is proposing for police is $187,000, or nearly 1.7 percent higher than the current $11,042,478.
The council is reviewing the $117 million budget Pluta has proposed to run the city in the fiscal year that begins on July 1.
That spending plan is a decrease of nearly $1.7 million, or 1.4 percent, compared to the current budget of $118.7 million.
The City Council has the authority to cut, but not add to, the budget.
The council last week discussed the proposed budget for the Fire Department of $8.48 million. That’s $126,098, or 1.5 percent, higher than the current $8.36 million.
“It’s pretty much status quo, no significant changes,” council President Joseph M. McGiverin said of the fire budget.
Some ideas in the budget hearings might seem new, but have been pitched before.
Councilor at Large Aaron M. Vega suggested the city consider adding a third tax rate. That would apply to owners of multi-unit properties, of six to eight units or more, to tax them at a higher, business rate instead of the residential rate, befitting their status as commercial ventures, he said.
McGiverin said the idea is a good one, but the state has denied the city permission to have such a third tax rate in the past.
Ward 7 Councilor John J. O’Neill asked whether hotel and meals taxes are on the table and Pluta said she is considering them.
Last year, the governor and Legislature gave cities and towns options of a 0.75 percent tax on restaurant meals and an increase of the motel rooms tax from 4 percent to 6 percent.
The state Department of Revenue has estimated Holyoke would make $224,441 a year with a meals tax and $92,013 a year by increasing the motel tax.
This has been the hot topic now for some weeks in Holyoke. I have answered many e-mails and phone calls regarding the issue.
Here is my e-mail response.
First, let me say that I am in favor of a local food movement, better access to food, urban farming and other forward thinking ideas around food. There are many examples across the country of how local food movements improve local economy, health and communities. The idea of keeping chickens for personal use is one aspect of an urban food plan. My main objection to the “chicken order” is that there is no current plan about how local urban farming could benefit Holyoke. The chicken topic is just the beginning of a conversation happening around the building and implementation of a local food movement. We have no way to enforce the conditions that would be put on such an order and no way to deal with folks who did not follow the order correctly.
I would be in favor of community gardens having chickens. I would also be in favor of chickens living in any properly zoned farming areas such as Nuestras Raices or out in West Holyoke.
As of now, I will not be supporting this order as I do not feel Holyoke is ready to properly deal with chickens throughout the city.
If you have any other questions or comments feel free to contact me.
Aaron Vega
A program working to make sure young teens stay in school is now bringing kids of all walks of life together under one common bond: film. Recently, those new bonds were celebrated, and the final movie projects put on display at the Project-13 film festival.
From music videos, to comedy, to some serious films, a captive audience took in all types of movies at the Holyoke War Memorial.
Aaron Vega, Judge, says: “We’re always going to movies and watching movies. And now they realize they can make them, and tell their own story.”
CBS 3 first introduced you to Project-13 last month, a program working to reach out to at-risk kids and keep them in school. Now kids in the program have teamed up with other teens across the Pioneer Valley, and the Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts to create original films.
Nicole LaChapelle, Project-13 Volunteer Director, says: “They watch TV, they go to the movies, and they wanted to take the reins and put on their own festival.”
And the students did it all, from hosting the event to filming and editing.
Casey Coen, Host, says: “We’re kind of just like introing the videos and poking fun at the band, and just keeping everyone pepped up for the videos.”
Matt Stec, Filmmaker, says: “I think the music video that we made was pretty fun.”
And all that hard work paid off when the videos cued up.
Nicole LaChapelle, Project-13 Volunteer Director, says: “Watching the students watching their films has been amazing. I don’t think they realized the power and strength they had within them to really move other people.”
And if seeing yourself on the big screen wasn’t enough, how about a VIP walk in to accept your award?
Aaron Vega, Judge, says: “Stories, editing, and originality, that’s really what we’re looking for.”
That’s right, this wasn’t just all fun and games. Some students walked out of this festival with trophies. Remember Matt? The judges thought his video was more than just fun. They thought it was first place material.
Matt Stec, Filmmaker, says: “It was pretty good knowing that people saw a lot of stuff that we make.”
And, they can have the chance to see it again next year. Organizers are hoping to make this an annual event.
To learn more about the Project-13 dropout prevention program head to www.project-13.org.
See the CBS 3 video
March 09, 2010, 5:30PM
HOLYOKE – Ten months after the governor declared it was coming, details have been scarce about where a planned high-performance computing center will be built here and what residents can expect from it in terms of jobs and revenue.
“I’m finding people are feeling a little bit frustrated,” Councilor at Large Aaron Vega said last week.
Vega has attended the two meetings of a regional task force established to maximize the benefits from the $80 million computing research venture.
Patrick administration officials said at the task force’s last meeting on Feb. 18 that a preferred site along the canals has been chosen for the computing center, but they were unwilling to identify the exact location.
But with the 30-member task force planning its next meeting on April 8, Vega said another question about the project is probably unanswerable but still pertinent: What happens to the project if Gov. Deval L. Patrick – who unveiled the project in a June 11 visit to the Holyoke Public Library – fails to get re-elected in the Nov. 2 election?
“What’s the state’s commitment to the project and what’s the commitment if Patrick’s defeated?” Vega said.
The Patrick administration has been a public face of the project. But the driving force in the search for a site and other details has been what officials have termed the “consortium” part of the partnership. That’s the colleges, especially the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, along with the University of Massachusetts and Boston University.
MIT hasn’t responded to attempts to contact its media representatives.
Jeff Brancato, UMass associate vice president for economic development in Boston, said in a voice-mail message the consortium is in the process of determining a spokesman on the project.
Kofi Jones, spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, said the administration understands people want answers about the center’s location and benefits.
But Patrick’s work on the project and devotion to it are solid, she said.
“Gov. Patrick is committed to this project. … The process is moving forward with all the collaborators and we plan on having an announcement in the not-too-distant future, which is all I can say,” Jones said.
Ward 1 City Councilor Donald R. Welch, who is on the task force, said those who are planning the computing center are controling the release of information and the only option is to be patient.
“It’s up to them. I don’t think that we are in a position to tell them. Hopefully, like anything else, it’ll just take a little time,” Welch said.
The private-firm partners in the project are Cisco Systems Inc., of San Jose, Calif., and EMC Corp., of Hopkinton.
The project’s planners say they are high on Holyoke because the city offers the low-cost hydroelectric power generated at the canals owned by the Holyoke Gas and Electric Department.
February 11, 2010, 11:05PM
HOLYOKE – The partnership of groups that plans to build a high performance computing center in the canal area is uncommonly enthusiastic about working with the city on the $80 million project, a state official told city councilors on Thursday.
“Your story has gotten out. People at the highest levels are talking about you and that, to me, is one of the coolest things,” said Eric Nakajima, senior innovation adviser to Gov. Deval L. Patrick.
Nakajima is overseeing the state’s end of the project and was asked to give an update at City Hall to the council Redevelopment Committee.
The plan is still for the cutting-edge research facility to be built in the canal area and for construction to begin by fall, he said, though he said he was unable to identify the exact site.
The partnership consists of the state, the University of Massachusetts, Boston University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and private firms Cisco Systems Inc., of San Jose, Calif., and EMC Corp., of Hopkinton.
Nakajima said the enthusiasm is based on the city’s commitment to low-cost and environmentally friendly, or “green,” energy production related to use of the hydroelectric dam owned and operated by the Holyoke Gas and Electric Department.
Another example of the regard with which the city is held, he said, came on Tuesday. Cisco, a computer networking giant, announced it wants to make Holyoke a model of the effectiveness of its communications technologies to improve education, public safety, transportation and other areas, such as with fiber-optic connections and surveillance cameras to improve public safety.
In response to a question from Ward 2 Councilor Diosdado Lopez, Nakajima said the partnership would work on ways to include the poorer, mostly Hispanic parts of the city in the project.
One way for that to happen is through a regional task force that has been formed to get the most out of the computing center, he said. The task force’s next meeting is Thursday.
Lopez said later he believes Nakajima’s pledge to work with the poorer areas of the city was sincere. “Just by talking to him, I feel more comfortable,” Lopez said.
Councilor Aaron Vega asked if the city can expect payments in lieu of taxes since the computing center is likely to be tax-exempt. Nakajima said the partnership would have to decide that.
Council President Joseph M. McGiverin, a councilor since 1980, said the computing center is the most exciting proposal he has ever seen here.
By G. Michael Dobbs
SPRINGFIELD — Although one local television reporter introduced Gov. Deval Patrick’s State of the Commonwealth speech with the prediction he would address the “meltdown of the Democratic Party” — following the senatorial victory of Scott Brown — there was little evidence of a “meltdown” at an enthusiastic house party supporting Patrick’s re-election bid in Springfield Thursday night.
Over 50 people from around the area gathered at the home of Edward Casey Thursday night to watch the speech and then await a visit by Patrick who chose to make an appearance at the gathering. Although there were 25 house parties around the state, Patrick selected the one in Springfield to underscore his commitment to Western Massachusetts.
When asked about a supposed Democratic meltdown, Patrick said, unlike some people, he believes in the idea of belonging to a political party and he is proud of being a Democratic.
As he heads into his re-election effort, though he made it clear that he is running to be the governor for all of the state’s citizens.
“I think what we have to be about is offering a positive, forward looking vision of the future. My own is we have to be about hanging in there together, that we all have a stake in each other. Part of this campaign and governing through this crisis is seeing the stake each of us has in each other and making policy accordingly,” he said.
Referring to the Brown victory, Patrick said, “I was teasing Scott about this today because we were on the phone. In some respects they learned their campaign from ours in 2006. It was very much a grassroots campaign. That’s important. The voters are smart and they respond to a personal ask. I just don’t believe and I don’t want to run a campaign that’s just about raising a lot of money and getting endorsements from important people and building the relationship with the voters in 30-second ads in the last few weeks of the campaign. It’s not a comment on anything I’ve seen. It’s not who I am. It is now what I want to do. We have to be out. We have to be talking to people and, most importantly, we have to be listening.”
Making government personal was a re-occurring theme of Patrick’s speech in which specific Massachusetts citizens and organizations were cited and “getting personal” was certainly the theme of the house party appearance. The governor warmly greeted many of the people gathered there by name, making sure he shook hands with everyone.
Holyoke City Councilor Aaron Vega attended the party, as did Springfield City Councilors John Lysak, Michael Fenton and Keith Wright.
Rory Casey of Holyoke, the host of the party, found out only that day that Patrick had selected his event to attend.
“I think it’s just amazing,” he said.
Commenting on the State of the Commonwealth speech, Casey noted he particularly liked the reference Patrick made to the anger in the state and how those emotions should be channeled into positive action.
After greeting everyone Patrick spoke briefly and then answered questions. He criticized the press for characterizing his relationship with the Legislature as confrontational and said he has been able to have about 90 percent of his initiatives passed by the General Court.
Making a reference to the Legislature, Patrick said, “People are not bad, but they have habits that are deep and entrenched and they are willing to fight for them.”
During the question period, Vega asked Patrick if he would support a different approach to legalized gambling the state. Instead of several large destination casinos, Vega asked about granting licenses to existing businesses for specific games — not unlike liquor licenses.
Patrick said he opposes that approach because research indicated, “the human costs are greater the more convenient the gaming is.” He added the state would receive less income from gambling under such an arrangement.
Speaking about the perception his administration has hired over 1,000 state workers at a time when many local governments in the state are forced to make sacrifices, Patrick said to great laughter, “I don’t know what it is about Democrats, but we are the first ones to believe the Republican talking points.”
“Get informed. Get informed,” he continued. “There are 2,200 people already [laid off]. Here’s another phenomenon. It bugs me, When a factory lays off 1,000 people everybody says what a tragedy. When government lays off 1,000 people, people say good. It’s wrong.”
He said one of the blessings of the current economic crisis has been to force the state to look for efficiencies and better ways of conducting business.
Susan Boyle Glidden of Holyoke asked about the status of Holyoke Soldiers’ Home and noted that it would be easier for people to campaign for Patrick in this area if “you could tell them the Soldiers’ Home would be there for a while.”
“There was no danger of the Soldiers’ Home going away — never any danger,” Patrick responded.
Patrick then referred to “a game that I’m not going to talk about on the record” — an obvious reference to a behind-the-scenes political event involving the Soldiers’ Home.
He noted the Soldiers’ Home funding has risen 14 percent since he has been in office, which was his decision. He said while looking for possible efficiencies his administration was advised by someone he declined to identify the outpatient clinic services could be taken over by other medical facilities.
He said the funding has been restored and it will be in his next budget and added the outrage about the cuts at the Soldiers’ Home have been matched by many other cuts in other programs across the state .
When told of the efforts made by Holyoke Veterans Agent Kris Lecca in acquiring financial records of the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home to see how money is being spent there, Patrick said, “I think transparency is always good, particularly in public institutions.”
 Holyoke City Council 2010-2011 Tim Purington (w4), Aaron Vega (AL), Peter Tallman (AL), Linda Vacon (W5), James Leahy (AL), Brenna Murphy (AL), Pattie Devine (AL), Joe McGiverin (AL), Anthony Keane (W3), Jay O’Neill (W6), Kevin Jordain (AL), Todd McGee (W6)
Rebecca Lisi (AL), Diosdado Lopez (W2), Donald Welch (W1)
Sub Committees
Ordinance – Lopez, O’Neill, Keane, Purington, Lisi
Finance – McGee, Talman, Leahy, O’Neill, Jourdain
Public Safety – Devine, tallman, Purington, Vega, Murphy
Public Service – Leahy, Welch, Lisi, Murphy, Vacon
Redevelpoment – Jordaine, Welch, keane, Vacon, Vega
Personal – McGiverin, Devine, Purington
By Michael Plaisance
January 22, 2010
HOLYOKE – If Holyoke is to be a center of computing technology, some city councilors say it makes sense for councilors to be accessible in a city-sanctioned e-mail system.
But other councilors say they would avoid using a city system because such correspondence is subject to public-disclosure laws, which could discourage constituents who want to discuss something in confidence.
The City Council on Jan. 5 referred the e-mail proposal to the Public Service Committee.
Councilors also will seek an opinion from the Law Department. They want advice about disclosure requirements of municipal e-mail systems and issues related to the Open Meeting Law if multiple councilors happen to exchange e-mails on an issue, said Councilor Rebecca Lisi, who filed the e-mail proposal.
“I think that constituents really want to be able to have that quick communication,” Lisi said on Tuesday.
The discussion comes as a regional task force has been discussing the potential benefits of an $80 million high performance computing center. A partnership consisting of the state, colleges and private companies plans to build the center along the canals in a project supporters say could make Holyoke a research hub.
Councilor Aaron Vega said it is important that people looking through the city Web site have access to councilors by e-mail. A councilor can always tell someone who wants to discuss a private matter that they can speak by phone, he said.
“Keep in mind if we are to (be) home to (a) high speed computer center and to an innovation district I believe we need to embrace new technologies and ideas that move us forward,” Vega wrote in an e-mail.
The Holyoke Gas and Electric Department operates the city’s Web site and e-mail services for department heads and others. Adding e-mail accounts for city councilors would be a minor adjustment, department Manager James M. Lavelle said.
Councilor Kevin A. Jourdain has a Web site and e-mail access, but it is a private account. He wants the public to feel free to contact him without worrying the discussion might have to be made public because it occurred on a municipal e-mail system, he said.
“This way, if a citizen e-mails me, if they want that confidence, they have that knowledge that they will have that confidence,” Jourdain said.
Courts have debated the disclosure requirements that public officials face regarding use of e-mail and other electronic communication. For example, according to Reuters news service, the U.S. Supreme Court said last month that it would decide in its current term whether privacy rights covered a worker’s personal text message on employer-owned equipment, hearing a case about an Ontario, Calif. police officer who sent sexually explicit messages from his department-issued pager.
Meanwhile, in West Virginia, the state Supreme Court ruled in November that private e-mail communication to and from government employees don’t qualify as a public record. The Associated Press had sued to gain access to the correspondence.
John P. O’Neill, who is the Ward 7 councilor here and a lawyer, said he believes city business that a councilor discusses in any forum should be subject to public disclosure.
“In other words, if we’re conducting public business on our private computers, I don’t think we can get around the Freedom of Information Act,” O’Neill said.
After the inauguration I got my new desk and name plate in City Council Chambers.
Now it’s time to get to work.
Thank You all for your Support so far.
Aaron Vega
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