2026-11-09 - Committee on Public Safety

0:07Again, we are at the Public Safety Committee meeting. I'm not sure There we go. I'm like, I do not see myself on a little computer box. Um so we are here at the Public Safety Committee meeting.

0:17It is November 9th, 2026. It is 6:32 p.m. I am joined I am Ann Thalheimer, chair of said committee. I'm joined in chambers by Councilor Jenny Rivera, uh who is also on the Public Safety

0:29Committee. We are joined online by Councilor Patty Devine, vice chair of the Public Safety Committee. We also have Councilor Mimi Panitch in chambers and Councilor Linda Vacon online. We're

0:40also joined in chambers by a number of folks who will reveal themselves over the course of the evening. Um so to that end, because we do have someone joining us online, I got to read the thing.

0:55Motion to take a roll call vote that for the purposes of this meeting would be applicable to all motions to remove from or place items on the table or suspend

1:03the rules unless there is an objection. Okay. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> Aye. >> Excellent. Aye. Um Councilor Devine, you with us on this one? I see your hand raised. Is that a thumbs

1:18up or are you good? >> How about now? Can you hear me now? >> Yes, now we can hear you. Are you Are you good on said thing? >> I'm with you. >> All right, excellent. Okay. So

1:33uh that is done. Again, thank you to Holyoke Media for recording and broadcasting this as well as to our excellent translators uh and interpreters who are helping uh make

1:43this meeting more accessible. We appreciate you and all the good work that you do. So uh first things first, my understanding, Jeffrey, if you could confirm the minutes are not quite ready.

1:53>> Not quite. Still working on it. >> Okay, cool. Cuz we did have a pretty robust meeting last time, so that that makes sense. So um motion to table item one. >> Second. >> All in favor?

2:03>> Aye. >> Aye. >> Aye. All right. So, motion won the minutes of the October 19th meeting is tabled. We'll take it up next time. Okay. Motion to take up item number two. >> Second.

2:15>> All in favor? >> Aye. >> Aye. >> Excellent. So, item number two, which I filed uh is invite the tree warden and director of conservation to attend an upcoming public safety meeting to

2:26present a plan for addressing vacant tree pits, stumps, hazardous trees, and other outstanding tree related needs throughout that city. And to that end, we are joined by three individuals. If

2:35you would like to come join us on the infield cuz I always say come over the rail and Councilor Divine is like they don't go over the rail. They go through

2:43the rail. And that's technically true. So, come join us on the infield. Pick any desk you like except for this one. And uh as you speak, just make sure that your microphone is on.

2:52Little green button. And basically we're envisioning this as sort of a conversation. You have a presentation. I'm excited to learn a little bit more about this. Um but if we

3:04could just do a round of introductions, not just for us, but also for the folks at home and for the recording. >> Uh hello. I'm Nate Morell, the new city forester of Holyoke.

3:16>> Hello. I'm Joey Pellegrino. I'm the director of conservation and sustainability. >> Michael Gallagher, director of public works. >> Excellent. Thank you all so much for

3:25joining us tonight. Um so let's begin. You have a presentation or do you want to chat a little bit first and we'll go to slides? What's your what's your pleasure? >> Yeah, presentation first.

3:39>> All right. Let's do the presentation. Jeffrey, if we could please get those slides up, that would be great. Habibi. >> Perfect. So, um this is the uh presentation to the City Council Public

3:59Safety Committee about the Holyoke Urban Forestry Plan. And now we can do the next slide. >> We'll get there. It feels sometimes like the Wizard of Oz, like

4:17>> I was distracted for a moment. What what was asked? >> Oh, next slide, please. >> Oh, sure. >> Thank you, Jeffrey. Uh so a little bit hard to see on the screen for the folks in here, but um

4:38essentially the purpose of this uh plan was in response to Mayor Garcia's executive order to establish um a foundation for a coordinated long-term approach for the city of Holyoke's urban

4:52tree canopy. So uh you know, the newly formed team will be looking at removing hazardous trees, pruning and maintaining existing trees, restoring vacant tree pits throughout

5:04the city including stump removal, and planting and establishing new trees. So I can already tell you when talking to Nate, he's done quite a bit of work you know, in guidance with Mike

5:17Gallagher here. So they've been doing a great job so far. Um so this plan that we developed calls for the city forester uh with support from Mr. Gallagher and Mayor Garcia to build

5:31capacity in the systems for the forestry department for the city of Holyoke. This will allow operations to mostly move in house as well as have a higher financial return on investment

5:47for the city of Holyoke. Uh so the plan sets out defined goals, priorities, and measures progress over the course of it. Next slide, please. So building a sustainable tree team. So

6:05you'll see uh Nate Morell, our city forester, here in the picture, as well as Rob Perez uh our tree climber. So um I knew Nate previously through uh professional channels and when I heard

6:21that he applied for this position, I was really excited because I knew that he knew what he was doing. Um Mike also saw that and uh along with him and Kelly Curran, our director of HR,

6:31and I believe uh our chair of our Conservation Commission, Jeff Ferran, um throughout the interview saw that as well. So uh they hired him on uh September 21st

6:43of this year. Uh soon uh right after they hired um Rob Perez as the tree climber. So again, we have two more positions to make this a fully sustainable tree team.

6:56I think four really is our magic number that, you know, um was determined even before I was here and started working on this. Um and it really just goes with the overall

7:07workflow of how uh tree maintenance is done. So they're looking at a forestry maintenance person. Um I believe that's still waiting on uh MOA union approval. And then they're

7:18also looking at a second tree climber position. And uh yeah. And Nate's already been doing a great job at advertising some of these uh the whatever position that we do have open

7:29or is about to open. Uh next slide, please. So this is just a snapshot of some of the funding opportunities that are out there for um tree maintenance as well as tree

7:41planting. Again, you know, when you plant a tree, it it's a really heartwarming, exciting thing. You know, we do this quite a bit with um families, children, uh city folks, government

7:53folks. Um but really there there needs to be ongoing maintenance after that that sometimes we don't think about. So uh some of these funding opportunities

8:03serve to address that. Uh the Green the Gateway Cities, which I'm sure you folks may know is um uh tree planting grant that is set up by DCR to allow municipalities to apply for tree

8:19planting grants as well as they have their own standalone program that helps them plant on private and sometimes public property. We have MVP action grants which really

8:31go towards municipal vulnerability preparedness. So those have have history of being able to be used for tree management as well as planting to you know help with climate resiliency, especially

8:48around you know our four neighborhoods that we're focusing on the tree equity plan, Churchill, South Boston or South Holyoke. Sorry, I I recently moved from the

9:00Boston area so that was a bit of a slip on my part. South Holyoke, the Flats and downtown area. And there's been success with other communities. We we noted in our research

9:15Murfreesboro, Tennessee was able to utilize CBG funds to remove hazardous trees even sometimes on private property that could potentially have a effect on urban public infrastructure.

9:31And then there's always DCR challenge grants that happen well almost all these grants happen on annual cycle, but DCR challenge grants are also a really good source for

9:43urban forestry teams throughout the whole state to be able to apply for grants for tree planting and maintenance related to that. Just on the funding opportunities, we

9:54did apply for another DCR grant that was leftover IRA funding for about $100,000 just this past week. So we're hoping that sometime in late winter or early

10:06spring we'll hear good news about that and um be coming to council to have that approved. Uh next slide. And then I'll pass it over to Nate. >> Thanks Joey.

10:20Um so we we're fortunate we have a full city tree inventory with TreeKeeper which tracks all of the urban trees with along the tree belt which is a great resource.

10:29And it's a great way to track work um assess risks all that all those sorts of things and so right now we're hopefully get in the next year get some funding to

10:36do have contractors do a complete overhaul of the tree inventory and go through all the streets again. And that's a great way to help get work prioritized cuz when they're out there

10:45they're going to assess the risks of of the trees. They're going to let us know if there's an immediate issue we can go address it and then it just helps update all the information and then as

10:54we're working we can then update every those trees addressing the size what work we did on it the emergency calls we can have a whole history of every single

11:02tree that's within our tree belt. And it that's a great program there's a few others out there which we might evaluate over the years. Um right now for the next year I think we'll stick with

11:11TreeKeeper. Um it also is a great tool cuz it assesses the values of all of our trees so when I log into it every day it says the the economic value of our tree canopy is $600,000.

11:22So that's a print that doesn't include um heating and cooling um numbers that's carbon sequestration storm water interception and all those things so that's a cool thing to see every day cuz

11:31that number can go up or down depending on um whether we're taking trees down or as as we grow our urban canopy so that's a really cool feature to have.

11:40Um and you can go to the next line thank you. If there's any questions though you can shoot. Okay all right yeah. Yeah yeah yeah yeah next slide that's fine thank you.

11:52Um this was a one year action plan that was that um Mike Joey and Jeff came up with. Um the goals we are very reachable we've already done a great job so far I think. We've done 22 removals

12:03we've done 18 prunings trimmings of trees we've done uh 17 emergencies so that's you know a truck hits a car uh the branch gets hit by a truck tree falls breaks in a storm. Done done

12:15emergency calls. And with our with our great partners, we've actually planted 40 city trees already in the past month and a half. We've had some great partners,

12:25and Re-Green Springfield. We've planted a pollinator garden, some fruit trees, shade trees. So that's been fantastic. We haven't done any stump removals yet

12:32cuz we're working on getting a new stump grinder, but when we get that, we can definitely do some stump grinding for sure. Uh next slide, please. >> Yes, Nate. Uh this is just speaking to the

12:45long-term plan. So um Nate was fortunate enough to walk into a lot of work that we decided he was going to do and But um just looking at the long-term plan and the partners that can help us

12:59achieve that. So we're looking at a We're asking Nate to develop a five-year maintenance plan to get an understanding of where he would like to see the forestry department be in five years as

13:11well as get on a more routine maintenance schedule for all the trees in the city. So we've initially proposed an eight-year rotation. Again, this was um talked about before Nate was actually

13:24in this position. So you know, just talking to him before this meeting, he feels like eight years is more reasonable and in line with other municipalities as opposed to that

13:35five year might not be that might be a little too advantageous. And then just always thinking about education and retention. Um you know, just always thinking about different pathways to help

13:49folks that come up into these positions. Again, the arbor culture community as a whole is always struggling to bring in new folks into well, quite frankly, very well-paying positions.

14:02Um and it's just all about word of mouth and getting them to understand that this could be a livable wage career. Um and again, we want to make sure that we

14:13are educating and retaining those folks that we bring in. So, looking at different pathways to certify them uh as an as a certified arborist, um as well as a couple other different

14:24credentials that could help them and help the city in the future. And I think that's our last slide. We have Wait, we can actually maybe keep going. We can go to the last slide. There's a

14:35couple pictures that we can just uh show. So, so just a couple extra pictures that I thought were uh really cool that Nate sent me over. >> Excellent. Thank you so much for coming

14:48in and and presenting. Um we are also joined online by councilor Nicole Bissonnette and councilor McGrath Meg McGrath Smith as well as Mike Bissonnette from the law department. So,

14:59committee, any questions? Yeah, councilor Rivera. >> Thank you for the presentation. Um my one of my questions is like I'm always bugging Mike. So, it's not my ward. It's in ward two.

15:11I had two phone calls and I know one of them I go cuz I do my hair there. Um and they have the X. How long before that tree comes down if they put an X on it?

15:24>> Uh they should just call DPW cuz I haven't put an X on any trees in Hollywood yet. So, we removed but that so that X may have been put on by some random person. So, they should just call

15:33the office um and Is there like there's a physical X that's on a tree? >> Yeah, and I I did speak with Mike and someone I believe went and looked at it. >> Oh, what's the what's the uh um

15:44>> it's on Elm Street like the end of Elm Street and Resnick Boulevard. >> Uh >> But they did put an X on it. >> Okay. >> They did look at it. Like you literally could see the tree is cracked.

15:56>> Yep. I don't I don't know about that specific address. I don't know if I've been to that. Um I haven't. I I know I >> have been before you started. >> It may have been. I I just know I

16:05haven't used spray paint to put an X on a tree yet since I've been here. >> Okay. And you started in September, so I I'm pretty sure it was before >> It It definitely could have been. But I

16:14would I would just put another call to me or an email me and I can look at it immediately. Yeah. That's not a problem. >> Yeah. The uh I'm trying to remember

16:24exactly when that one was but I just took the notes so it can be looked in tomorrow. I think that was done in conjunction with another project that might have been happening there.

16:34>> Okay. And then the other one which is literally down the street which is on the corner of Franklin and Elm itself. Um I'm not quite sure um what side it's

16:47on but the tree I believe it belongs to the city and has grown in where it's digging into the ground and lifting their foundation or something like that.

16:57I did I believe I spoke to Mike on that one as well. Um so they were concerned that that was going to affect their house. So those are the the two that they have actually

17:08called me on and continue to ask me what's going on. Like I don't know. Um and then my other concern is actually on the Mayor Street. I did call um the city the Holy Gas and Electric went

17:24because there's a lot of trees um because also my daughter lives on that corner um and that's where Josh lives as well and a lot of those trees are the the wires for the Gas and Electric are

17:39literally on it. I know they went. What they did I don't know because it still looks the same to me. So that's like I feel it's concerning that coming winter time that's going to be an issue

17:50cuz like the trees are all in between the wires are there and the trees like all the way up by where Josh lives like starting at St. St. Jerome I believe it is. Is that the one Mike?

18:01>> Are you talking about where yeah St. Jerome turns into Dunn Avenue and about Dunn Avenue? >> Yeah. So that was those are my the ones I've seen um and then of course but then you did say the

18:13stump grinding. I was just going to ask but then you answered that you don't have it yet like all along Main Street where they knocked down all those trees.

18:21But other than that, yeah, no. That's all I I had to say on that. >> Gas and Electric only take action if they think that the branches are are a danger to their lines.

18:36And another thing that will have to be looked at is the if these trees are coming off of private property or not. And it the area can be reviewed to see what what can be done if anything.

18:50>> Yeah, cuz they did Gas and Electric did go and they had their trucks there and they did something, but to be quite honest, to me it looks the same. I didn't see a difference.

19:00>> There's there's different standards too for the voltage of wire. So if you're dealing with a primary line, they may remove branches farther and also if there's communication and secondary

19:09lines. So sometimes like a lot of people call and are worried about trees touching wires and it's a communication line which has, you know, virtually no voltage on it and they don't really

19:19prune trees off of communication lines. So I don't know what the voltage is there or what kind of wires we're looking at, but that could also have a reason to do with it. >> Excellent.

19:29Uh Councilor Devine. >> I you hear me okay? >> Yes, we can. >> Okay. Hi. First of all, I wanted to welcome everybody to the meeting and I'm sorry I couldn't be there

19:42in person, but I wanted to thank you for a great presentation. It really was terrific and I really appreciate all the work that you did. And just to let you know,

19:58just a quick shout out to John Tuite cuz he did serve, I want to say over 20 years in the tree department. But once again, thank you so much for the great presentation and I appreciate all the

20:11work you did. I hope that I can get to be at a meeting someday in person. Thank you again. >> Excellent. Thank you. Anything else from the committee? All All Councilor McGrath Smith, I see

20:24your hand. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, I had a a question around um communication. So, and I know I I actually spoke with Mr. Gallagher earlier today.

20:37One of the things that uh my first call as I was a as I became a councilor I hadn't even been inaugurated yet. That morning of the inauguration, my first call as a councilwoman was to ask me

20:47about a tree. Uh, so these are the calls that we get all the time. And it was about an an X that had gone on a tree and and someone just had no idea what it meant. Um, and

20:59some of it had just been that someone had put in for a tree to be removed like two owners ago, but the backlog was so severe that now there's this new owner

21:06who has no idea that this tree is on this list to be removed. So, I guess one of my questions is what does it look like for us to communicate to people that trees are coming down? Is it a

21:16doorknob with a doorknob with a like a flyer that goes on the door handle or is it just a lawn sign that says tree work coming soon, call DPW and then a number

21:28if you have questions? I'm just trying to be practical around how to help people understand what it means just because often times people see an X on a tree, they don't know what it means or

21:38they really want to see work done, uh but then they're not always happy if it happens without them knowing it's it's coming somehow. So, I just wanted to bring that up and ask if we had any

21:48creative ideas around communication. >> No, that that's a great point. Um, what we've done I've done door hangers in Springfield a lot. We've done it for um planting trees and notifying people

21:59about planting trees cuz that can be contentious sometimes. Um, but if it's tree has an X on it and it's hasn't come down for two years, that's a major issue. If it's got an X,

22:08it should be coming down much sooner than that. So, there shouldn't that shouldn't be an issue moving forward if we're going to be removing a tree and you typically right as of right now

22:17we're um we can update the SeeClickFix um when people call in about a specific tree I I'll add a comment as to what I'm going to do to it what or what the crew

22:25is going to do to it. Um, so that's one way, and then with, you know, phone calls and emails, um, that works. But you're that's a great point, you know, if you do a big

22:32project, you want everybody to know. And I think door hangers and, you know, putting out social media posts could also work. Um, and then the uh what was the other

22:40thing I was going to say? Slip my mind. But yeah, that's a that's a great point. You don't want to be doing a bunch of work and show up and then nobody knows

22:45what's going on. That's a that's a great point. Yeah. >> It's also a way to celebrate the work that you do, or just to get it out there. I think that in this era of there's a lot of vectors of

22:55communication, somehow it's harder than ever for people to really know uh what is going to happen or what has happened. Um, so I don't even know even think

23:05about the CPA committee where when they do complete a project, they'll put up a banner, right? That or a plaque. This was, you know, paid for with taxpayer

23:13funding. Thank you to, you know, the CPA committee and taxpayers for doing this project. Even if there was uh a lawn sign or something that you're putting up even

23:21after a project and you left it up for a couple of days, I don't know. I just think it's a good thing for people to know about the good work that you're doing and spread the word and have as

23:30much knowledge as possible. >> Uh that's a great point. That's what um New Aisters Re-Seeds has been doing on the plantings that we've been doing. They've been putting in signs, which is

23:37really cool with all the orchards and pollinator gardens, so that's a great point. >> Um, I also know that, you know, I know you're going to redo the, you know, the

23:45idea is to redo the tree inventory, but I also wonder about the nursery because I know that it was put in at one point and the idea was that those trees would

23:53then uh be able to be used, but then my sense is that they became overgrown or or maybe not as useful now. And then is that true or can it sort of be maintained or added to um and what the

24:07thought is around that? >> It it's a mix of both. Right now I just was in there this week and it it it's kind of cool. There's some there are some really nice um more mature trees

24:15that would probably be too difficult to move and too costly to move, which is too bad, so they might get cut down, but there are definitely still some trees in

24:22there um that we could move out and move out into the street, which would be awesome. Uh the issue is also just equipment, you know, digging out those trees. Um, you you don't want to damage

24:30too many roots. And so, um, in Springfield, we had a tree spade, which is just a big kind of ice cream scoop that goes in with three knives and you can scoop the whole tree out and then go

24:39set it in a hole, which is super effective. And then there's also we also had a bare root digger, which is again a big scoop with slats in it and you can

24:46scoop up the tree and then you shake all the dirt off and there's just the roots left. And that's um those trees need to be planted that day. So there's uh doing

24:53a nursery is great, but we have to have a way to get them out efficiently and effectively. And so that requires equipment. But I would it would be awesome to have a tree nursery there.

25:00That would be fantastic. And that's also awesome because there's a fence all the way around it. And one of the biggest problems we had was deer just running through the our our fencing and and

25:09rubbing on all the trees and wrecking them all. So that's got 10 ft high fences around it. So it would be awesome to get that nursery up and running again. >> Mhm. Agreed.

25:17Well, thank you so much for your presentation. Well, I really appreciate it. >> Thank you. >> Awesome. Thank you. Any other questions from anyone in chambers or further

25:24comments from folks online? If you're online and you want to jump in, please raise your hand. Magnificent. All right. Uh, thank you so much for coming. Uh, we really appreciate the

25:36update. This is super helpful information. This will be up on um YouTube broadcast of this kind of thing. So feel free to point people toward that. And we'll also do a committee

25:45report at our next city council meeting, which you're always welcome to attend if you would like, but you are not required. Um, again, thank you so much.

25:53It was really interesting to learn about all this stuff and to meet everyone and to like learn about the trees and the ice cream scoopers and stuff. This is great.

26:02Awesome. Thanks so much, guys. Excellent. Gallagher, you're welcome to stay. We have some other pertinent business. You don't have to. I mean, feel free to stay in this seat.

26:14Get comfortable. We got some we got some work to do. Councilor Divine, I see your hand. >> Uh Madam Chair, if it's proper, I'd like to make a motion that your order has been complied with.

26:24>> Awesome. Okay. Motion on the table that item two has been complied with. >> Second. >> All in favor? Aye. All right. duly voted. Um, Geoffrey, this is, is this

26:34one where we have to do a like a roll call? Yeah. Okay, so roll call vote because we have a councilor online. Um, so in how do I phrase this? In favor of being complied with, um, councilor

26:52Rivera. >> Yes. >> Councilor Devine. >> Yes. >> Councilor Thalheimer. Yes. There we go. Okay, now it's officially complied with. Okay, um, motion to take up item number three. >> Second.

27:05>> All in favor? >> Aye. >> Aye. >> Um, councilor McGrath-Smith, is your hand still up or is it a new thing? >> Sorry, my apologies. >> No worries, just checking, making sure

27:17I'm not stopping all of everybody like Godzilla. Okay, cool. Item number three, uh, filed by councilor Vacon in, um, February of this year, order that the the HPD, HFD, and DPW provide a

27:30quarterly summary, no individual information report to the city council on employee injuries, including number of employees out injured, length of time out, nature of

27:39injuries, and any actions taken to reduce injuries along with any other information the department wishes to include. Refer to public safety and copy to each department. And what I have done

27:46in the meantime was, uh, through our excellent administrative assistant, reached out to said, uh, chiefs and director of DPW to see if this would be a feasible thing to do.

27:58Um, it came back with some concerns about privacy, and my understanding is that we had also reached out to the law department and there were concerns about

28:06HIPAA violations. Gallagher, do you wish to speak to this? >> Yes, um, I reached out to the law department regarding this and the, uh, they are, um, they set some parameters as they are

28:21worried about the HIPAA violations that they, and they said a, uh, basic general annual report of, uh, of the number of claims and and other information could be available and the what

28:37what I've done from there is I have well eight through HR and our workers comp claims company that manages the workers comp or as future comp is working on a report for us to be

28:52able to submit. We just do not have it have it from them yet. But the law department laid down like what parameters would be acceptable to put on a report that would not run the

29:06risk of legal action against the city. >> Excellent. Thank you. Yeah, I know that there were definitely some concerns about that as well. Councilor Divine, I see your hand.

29:15>> Yes, thank you, Madam Chairman. Excuse me. I agree with you 100% about the HIPAA possibility of violations there. And also, I think that certainly if they don't know about it

29:30now, the unions should know about this and see what effect that would have on their collective bargaining agreement. And as many of you know, I come from a union background being a

29:43assistant business manager for 12 years. And if I were advising the union as far as this order goes and too much information was given out including the number of employees out

29:58injured, it leaves so much unfair things to talk about. And I would advise them if the city isn't careful with this order that they file an unfair labor practice

30:12charge. And I think that's the last thing we need. But I just think this is the wrong order at the wrong time. And I have a big big problem with it. Thank you. >> Thank you, Councilor Divine.

30:24Councilor Vacon, as the maker of the order, could you could you speak to this and also what prompted you to file the order? I see your hand. >> Yes, that would have been helpful. Thank you.

30:33So the reason that I filed it is because up until very recently, we were receiving on a regular basis the number of people out injured. And we were also seeing the transfers from the payroll

30:48account to the out injured account. And we have subsequently done away with that. And part of the reason that we were receiving that information was to understand how many people were out

31:01injured and affecting the ability to get the work done. And as we all know, there have been some big problems with injuries in DPW. And I specifically in

31:13my order noted that we were not seeking any individual information. But what we are seeking is what steps are being taken to A, minimize injuries. B, what is our workers comp company and our

31:34departments doing to help people get back to work. And even more importantly, what are we doing to prevent the injuries. Because as we all know, there have been a lot of

31:48recruiting difficulties and a lot of difficulties being able to get the work done. And so the purpose of my order was to understand systematically what our biggest departments are doing

32:03to proactively address this issue, which is a very costly issue and it's also very damaging to people that get injured on the job. So, to the degree that we can improve our prevention,

32:18we're helping out the citizens who depend on the services, but we're also helping out the employees by creating a safer work environment. So, those are the majority of the reasons why I filed

32:33this order. It is not in any way aimed at looking at individuals or out of any interest in gaining any individual information, but rather to look at are there trends? Are there

32:50certain kinds of injuries that are happening in one department on a more frequent basis than others as an example. Thank you. >> Thank you. Director Gallagher. >> Well the

33:07some of the things that we're undertaking we have we're working on implementing a new safety training program and we we started with three trainings that

33:21were are required by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards, which is a new division of relatively new division of state government for maybe the last 10 years.

33:34They're the state's version of OSHA and OSHA does not really have any jurisdiction over municipalities. We've already are the entire staff of DPW, whoever's needed the training, we've

33:50completed work zone safety training has been done through for our entire department that needed it. Our our office personnel did not need that one. Hazard communication training has also

34:05recently been completed for everybody that works in the department because different forms of hazards can come up anywhere in the building depending on what could go wrong. And we've also

34:23we had take on the list of different trainings that we're exploring and setting up programs for and the these these programs were going to be ongoing. Some of these trainings will

34:40one-time training for each employee and other trainings be required on an annual basis, such as the work zone safety program. So we are we are taking steps

34:54in the right direction to improve the safety and hopefully if less than the number of injuries that we do have happening at the department. And I can only speak for my department in this.

35:11>> Yes, and and the chair, if I might add >> Yes, go ahead Councilor Vacon. >> Thank you. I'm not trying to pick on you and your department, Mike. I was looking

35:22at the larger departments that have had the most injuries and we used to always see the police and fire. So it's, as I said, more aimed at prevention and I'm very appreciative of all the

35:36work the folks in all of these departments do. Okay? Thank you. >> Thank you. Councilor Councilor Devine, I see your hand. >> Yeah, thank you, Madam Chair. Sorry about my dog barking.

35:49A couple of things. One, I'm very serious about this particular order. And I think if it's going to go anywhere, if anybody should be keeping track of this type of stuff, it would be

36:01human resources. I think that our departments have enough to do without all of a sudden going, now we have to get a quarterly summary to the city council.

36:11I I just don't think that's our place. And like I said before, I would definitely look to the unions to file charges if necessary. So in the meantime, I think

36:23our best bet would to be to give this leave to withdraw. >> Is is that a motion? >> Yeah, yes, please. I'd give it a motion to give it leave to withdraw.

36:31>> motion on the floor to give this item leave to withdraw. >> Second. >> Second. Excellent. All in favor? Aye. So let's do the roll call vote. Councilor Devine? >> Yes. >> Uh >> Rivera?

36:44>> Yes. >> Councilor >> Thalheimer also yes. So we will give this leave to withdraw. Um Councilor Bacon, you are welcome to reframe and refile. Um I would urge you

36:54to get in touch with the law department to talk about what some of their parameters are in terms of getting to you getting some of the answers to your questions. Thank you.

37:04All right. Motion to take up item four. >> Second. >> All in favor. >> Aye. >> Okay. Item four uh from Councilor McGrath Smith ordered that a monthly standing order be added to public safety

37:15meetings where the committee reviews the SeeClickFix report and the status of logged issues. We did get a communication from this from Victoria Hool um and the recommendation was to

37:25close this which sounds like leave to withdraw. And let me read the explanation why. The city is evaluating resident reporting and public status tracking methods as part of the neighborhood

37:35traffic calming program including the potential use of SeeClickFix. The appropriate format and frequency of reviewing reported concerns can be considered after a platform and

37:46administrative workflow are selected. Accordingly, no separate monthly standing order is recommended at this time. Councilor McGrath Smith is the maker of the order. Do you have any

37:57thoughts on this? >> Sure. Thank you, Madam Chair. Um you know this came out of the transition from last council to this council and um seeing that a lot of

38:08folks were putting forward orders to council that um could have been SeeClickFix tickets and really at the time wanting to see council um you know help to message to the public

38:20that they should be using SeeClickFix and that counselors you know could be putting in SeeClickFix tickets for constituents if they were not able to access the technology. And I think in

38:31general uh we've seen a a market decrease in the kind of single one-off you know do this pothole or fix this thing kind of orders through council which I think is a good thing. It means

38:42like less is is you know clogging the the public safety jacket um or is being sent, you know, to DPW without any context or a conversation. Um some things are being approved uh for

38:53example on the floor, but maybe there isn't funding for that. So it should be part of a larger conversation um than just a send and approve. So I think that the idea is to try to

39:04figure out how to use SeeClickFix and I think in general we're doing a better job at that. Um I welcome us returning to the to the concept after we you know look at what comes out of the

39:14traffic mitigation reports that are coming out of the the two um you know consultants that are doing work around that issue this year which I think should be within the next few months. It

39:24should be I think with three months was what Victoria said. So I'm happy to to have it be given leave to withdraw or complied with and knowing that it'll keep coming up. Um I also think too

39:38there's a difference between how different department heads are using it um which could be part of a conversation. It isn't just about road safety because a lot of different things

39:47are are shared on it. >> Excellent. Thank you. Uh any other comments on this? Director Gallagher. >> Yes. I I did uh respond to you an email on >> That's fine. >> regarding this for the um

40:00the uh first of all SeeClickFix is a for the city of Holyoke is administered by the mayor. And the uh the mayor is in charge of it and he uh he uh designates out the various

40:14categories. And there there is a category for uh already for uh traffic uh traffic lights and uh safety concerns. So there's already an existing category that he'll assign uh

40:29certain complaints to or somebody may uh submit a ticket under and he he'll the mayor can recategorize uh somebody's SeeClickFix. Sometimes they'll just put

40:40in something random and he'll decide what category it goes to and he'll also uh he'll also decide who it's going to be assigned to and um and it's also anybody who has C Click Fix

40:54whether on their computer or on their foot can submit can submit a ticket themselves. So I know I know of at least one city councilor. I think actually I know of

41:05two that currently use it and and the I also have my office staff also uses it. If they get a if they receive a phone call and somebody calls that there's a pothole or

41:19something, I have them I have them now enter a C Click Fix ticket for that. It gives me one handy platform for tracking all of them. And in the so far in calendar year 2026

41:34I've closed out four about 450 some odd 462 C Click Fix tickets for my department alone. >> That's awesome. >> And I cannot I cannot speak to how the other departments use it. I do have

41:54access to all all of them. But I I'm I'm responsible for what comes what under my department. And we I think we we use it as a tool and I think we use it effectively at DPW.

42:11>> Excellent. Thank you. So no particular need seen for a standing monthly order where this committee reviews C Click Fix reports. Okay. So motion? Oh, Councilor Divine, I see your hand.

42:26>> Sorry. I'm just I'm just wondering it's might be a little late. And I appreciate what Councilor McGrath Smith had to say about her order. I'm just wondering if we can it might be too

42:37late at this point, but I would propose that we include item number five since we really talking about it with DPW. And I learned something new today or maybe I it was refreshed in my memory

42:52that the mayor is responsible for the SeeClickFix um information to be uh implemented through the um different departments. So it's up to Council for McGrath Smith as well as the

43:05chair if we could take up item number five to go along with this as well unless it's too late and we have to >> I had I the reason thank you Councilor Devine. The reason I had not taken them

43:14up is because one is about a monthly standing order and the other one is about presenting a plan and I thought there was substantive difference between the two that they merited their own

43:23conversation um because also Victoria Hool had responded separately to them on like separate responses to each of the items not taken them up together. So uh

43:34also we're in the back stretch with item four so we could just finish it up. >> Good enough Madam Chairman. Thank you. >> Awesome. So I'm looking for a motion on item four.

43:43>> I would say um motion to order is leave to withdraw? >> I think so because we won't be doing the monthly standing order. >> Okay. >> Like we talked about it but it is not a

43:52thing that we will be doing in future. So >> So motion to leave to withdraw. >> Second. >> Okay. All in favor? Aye. All right. Uh Councilor Rivera, remember to do the roll call. >> Yes.

44:04>> Councilor Devine. >> Yes. >> Councilor Thalheimer. Yes. All right. So that is done. We will give that leave to withdraw. Motion to take up item number five. >> Second.

44:13>> All in favor? Aye. So item number five related but different. Uh also Councilor McGrath Smith ordered that a plan be presented to public safety concerning how SeeClickFix can be effectively

44:22implemented through DPW engineering and council including how it can be made prominent on the city website, how counselors can log issues from constituents, what communication

44:31structure can be used to respond to people who log issues and how a public facing report can be shared online showing the status of issues that were logged. Consider also if a driving speed

44:42slash traffic complaint category can be added and to that we also got a response from Victoria Hool saying the neighborhood the recommendation to close the recommend the neighborhood

44:54traffic calming program is evaluating Sea Cliff Fix and other potential reporting methods including resident and councilor submissions, traffic safety complaint categories, communications

45:04with residents, status tracking, website access, public facing reporting, staffing needs and costs. Because the matters identified in the order are incorporated into that ongoing

45:13evaluation, the order may be closed with recommendations to be presented as part of the program. So it sounds like things that they are already doing. Councilor McGrath Smith.

45:22>> Director, yeah, and this came from the traffic So this order was put in at her request originally um because we were originally talking about these issues prior to these two

45:32consultants being brought on as part of this plan. Um so you'll notice for example there's a traffic um commission um that's that order is an ordinance. So

45:42there were some things that were put in as legwork with the thought that they would be in the jacket ready to be used when they came out. Um but if the if she wants to not have

45:51us hold on to it if if she's you know has has decided it makes more sense to just refile when we get there, it doesn't matter. And this this initially came from her.

46:02>> Mhm. That yeah, that was my understanding as well, but there has been some time between them. So things have shifted. That that makes sense. Uh Director Gallagher, do you have anything

46:09to add on this? >> Uh I I think I said everything on this on the last one. >> Excellent. All right. So looking for a motion. >> Motion to give the this order leave to withdraw.

46:22>> So moved. Okay, so second. All those in favor? All right. Councilor Rivera? >> Yes. >> Councilor Divine? >> Yes. >> Councilor Thalheimer? Yes. All right. So

46:30that one is is done. Thank you all. Uh motion to take up item number six. >> Second. >> All those in favor? Aye. So item number six filed filed by yours truly. Um the

46:41condition of the sidewalk on Northampton Street between West Glen and Clark Streets is virtually impassable especially for persons with disabilities. And this one we actually

46:49have an awesome report. Let me read it to you. Engineering previously evaluated the sidewalk conditions along Northampton Street and recommended improvements

46:56contingent upon identification of an appropriate funding source, which we talked about when we when we took it up in March. Chapter 90 funding has since

47:04been approved, and a construction change order has been executed for sidewalk improvements along the west side of North Hampton Street between Whiting Farms Road and West Glenn Street. Work

47:12is anticipated to begin in fall 2026 weather permitting. And I I feel like I saw it fixed out there cuz they're doing a whole bunch of work on the street already. So this one is actually done.

47:25So the motion on this one >> been complied with? >> Yeah, I mean I think so. So motion that this order has been complied with. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Councilor Rivera? >> Yes.

47:34>> Councilor Divine? >> Yes. >> Councilor Tallheimer? Yes. High fiving myself. This is my order and my ward. I'm very pleased with this. All right. So go team.

47:47Okay. Uh a motion to take up item number seven. >> Second. >> All those in favor? Aye. Okay. So item seven, filed by Councilor Rivera, ordered that the superintendent of

47:59Holyoke Public Schools be invited to appear before the appropriate committee of the City Council to discuss public safety within the Holyoke Public Schools with particular attention to Holyoke

48:07High School, including current safety measures, recent concerns or incidents, and the steps being taken to ensure the safety and well-being of students, staff, and visitors. This one I have

48:16reached out uh through our our admin assistant. The earliest we can get those folks to come in is January 11th because their meetings are on the same day as our meetings as it turns out.

48:28>> Okay. So we could table it. >> Yeah, I think we have to table it, but I know it's important to you and I wanted to make sure that it got some airtime on

48:33the agenda and so that we had a public update on this. So we're looking forward to having those folks join us in January. >> Okay. >> So motion to table? >> Motion to table. Item seven?

48:44>> Yes. I I will second it. All those in favor? Aye. All right. So uh guess a roll call. Councilor Rivera? >> Yes. >> Councilor Divine? >> Yes. >> Councilor Tallheimer? Yes. All right. So

48:55we'll we'll revisit this one back in January. >> Madam Chair? >> Yes. >> You don't need roll calls for tables. >> Oh, great. I I you know, there's like this form and

49:06that form and the other I just wanted to make sure we covered all our bases. Thanks Gallagher. Yeah, I think so. We got communications and everything else we might need. I mean, you're always

49:14welcome to join us. Consider it a standing invitation. >> Mike's like Mike's like I'm out. See you. >> Well, we're we're Yes, thanks for coming in and thanks for the tree guys. See you

49:23later habibi. Okay. Um I'm Can we motion to go out of order cuz I'd like to do eight a little bit later cuz we've got some other stuff we can take up in the meantime and get through. Is good?

49:34>> Motion to >> Okay. All those in favor? I. >> I. >> Do I need a roll call for that one, Jeffrey? >> I didn't actually catch what what the motion was.

49:44>> Uh we're motioning to go out of order. >> Oh, that's just suspending the rules. No, you don't need a >> If we're going to suspend the rules. Okay, so that brings us to I'm going to

49:52double back to this one. This brings us to item number nine. Motion to take up nine. >> Second. >> All those in favor? I. >> I. >> Okay, item number nine, filed by

50:00Councilor Vacon, request the Board of Health to provide provide a report on the status of removal of the kratom products from all stores in accordance with the statewide ban in effect as of

50:098/26/26. This one we need to table because um the director of the Board of Health is working on a communication on this that we expect to get in for our December 14th meeting.

50:20>> Motion to table. >> Motion to table. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I. >> I. >> And because it's tabling, we don't need to do a roll call vote. Thank you, Jeffrey. Okay, so that said,

50:30we have a number of other items where we got communications in slightly too late um to add them to the agenda, but we can make a motion to take up off the table some of these items.

50:43>> Make a motion to take some of these items off the table. >> Yes, I would like to make a motion to take as many of them off the table as possible. Um let me walk you through

50:51what we've got. Um so we can motion to take up item 10 off of the table. All those in or motion to take up item 10 off the table. Second. All in favor? >> I.

51:02>> Jeffrey, I don't a roll call for that, do I? >> No. >> Okay, great. I'm just going to keep going. If I need a roll call, just interrupt me. Okay, so item 10 introduced in 2023 uh and and

51:16by counselor former counselor Bartley and added to by counselors Divine and Rivera in order to keep this order active, ordered that the city engineer and or Violia suggest improvements to

51:26the sidewalk and catch basin near 5 Martin Street at the corner of Westfield and Martin. Owner's contractor noted that the sidewalk is too high and the design causes water to pool in the

51:34parking lot. The catch basin is above grade not catching stormwater. Owner very willing to confer with city engineer on this matter, refer to public safety for a review hearing and we

51:42tabled it a bunch of times because most of the times we picked it up it was buried under snow so nobody got to look at it. Here's the update. Engineering has completed its review of

51:51the sidewalk and drainage concerns near 5 Martin Street at Westfield Road. The existing sidewalk elevations reflect the surrounding grades including the adjacent gutter and private property

52:00elevations. No catch basins appear to be improperly elevated. Raising the sidewalk is not recommended as doing so could trap stormwater behind the sidewalk and worsen drainage conditions

52:10on the adjacent private property. Any proposed changes to the private parking area would require the property owner to provide survey elevations and a proposed

52:18grading plan demonstrating that adequate drainage can be maintained away from the building. Such improvements would be the property's owner property owner's responsibility and require review

52:27through the city's driveway permit process. A variance from the board may also be necessary depending on the proposed driveway width. Engineering does not recommend

52:37modifications to the public sidewalk or drainage infrastructure based on the existing conditions. Additional review may be undertaken if the property owner

52:44submits the necessary survey and grading informations. Recommendation close order. Engineering has completed its evaluation and provided its recommendation. Any future improvements

52:53initiated by the property owner can be reviewed through the applicable permitting process. >> Make a motion that this order's been complied with and that we thank the

53:01engineer for the information. >> Second. >> All >> those in favor? >> Aye. >> Roll call. Councilor Rivera. >> Yes. >> Councilor Devine. >> Yes. >> Councilor Thalheimer. Yes. All right. So

53:13this has been complied with and um many many thanks to the engineer um the engineer's office. We're getting a lot of information in so we're going to be able to move some of the older things

53:22out of the jacket uh and we are deeply appreciative for that work. Okay. Motion to take >> up item number 11, Madam Chair. >> Yes. >> Second. >> All those in favor? Aye. All right.

53:36So we'll be taking up item 11. Um this is filed in 2024. Um former Councilor Bartley and Councilor Rivera, the DPW install a protective wrap around barrier lattice

53:47wire around the Holyoke Railroad platform. Unfortunately, people are using this for protection from the elements but it is a very dangerous location and I don't anyone don't want

53:55anyone to stumble onto the rail tracks as it happened in Northampton. Taken up and tabled a number of times because we were waiting for information. Here is the update.

54:03DPW has reviewed the request for installation of a protective barrier at the city-owned railroad platform. Based on preliminary discussions, the intent appears to be preventing individuals

54:12from accessing or congregating underneath the platform. While a lattice or wire barrier could potentially limit access, such materials may be easily damaged or bypassed and

54:23may not provide an effective long-term solution. Additionally, any installation would need to avoid interfering with passenger access and railroad operations. As the underlying concern

54:33appears to involve unauthorized access or activity beneath the platform, engineering DPW recommends referral to the Holyoke Police Department for evaluation of the reported safety

54:41concerns and determination of whether additional patrols, enforcement, or other measures would be appropriate. So recommendation, refer to the Holyoke Police Department for further evaluation

54:51and give the DPW portion of the order leave to withdraw at this time. Any physical improvements subsequently recommended by HPD can be coordinated with DPW as appropriate. So we could go

55:01in a couple directions with this. We could give this leave to withdraw and you could refile the same order but send it to HPD >> Okay. >> Um because that would get to the safety

55:09concerns, but would also address the DPW recommendations. Um other thoughts from the committee on this? >> I would say give it leave to withdraw. >> Okay. So motion to for leave to

55:21withdraw, second from Councilor Devine. All those in favor? >> Aye. >> All right. Councilor Rivera? >> Yes. >> Councilor Devine? >> Yes. >> Councilor Thalheimer? Yes. All right. So um

55:33>> Motion to take up item number 12, please. >> Second. >> All those in favor? Aye. >> Aye. >> Okay. Um item number 12 filed by Councilor Anderson Burgos ordered that

55:44the city engineer review Old Jarvis Avenue to address safety concerns of several residents including vehicles traveling at high rates of speed and large trucks traveling on the street on

55:52a regular basis. Residents are asking for consideration of a truck exclusion, making it a one-way and or barriers at one end making it a dead end. Residents

56:00have expressed that speed humps were installed 15 years ago, but they did not prevent speeding. Um we've taken up and tabled this twice. One of the times we tabled it back in August we had a

56:08substantial four-page report on this one and that is what is referenced in um Man, I was looking at this earlier. Westfield Road, Holyoke Road, platform, Old Yes. So I

56:27Engineering recommends that this order be closed. Thank you. They all look the same as a comprehensive memorandum, which is true, uh addressing the Old Jarvis Avenue tra traffic safety

56:37concerns, previous evaluations and recommended next steps was provided to the Public Safety Committee on August 7th. While the specific council order has been addressed, tra traffic safety

56:45concerns throughout the city including Old Jarvis Avenue may continue to be considered to the city's ongoing Safe Streets for All safety action plan and developing

56:54neighborhood traffic calming program. These initiatives will provide a more comprehensive data-driven approach to identifying, evaluating, and prioritizing potential traffic safety

57:04improvements citywide. Residents and councilors are encouraged to participate in these efforts submitting traffic safety concerns for the city's online interactive comment

57:14map, which is available through the Holy Oak Safer Streets website. The city will continue to consider potential improvements through these ongoing initiatives. However,

57:22maintaining this individual council order as open is not necessary for that work to proceed. And so the recommendation is to close the order. Engineering has provided its response to

57:30the specific council order and further evaluation and prioritization. We'll proceed through the city's broader traffic safety initiatives without the need to maintain this order as open. I

57:39will also say that I have reached out to Councilor Anderson Burgos, and he does agree with this recommendation and will pass uh this information along to his

57:46constituents and send his uh regrets that he was not able to attend this meeting tonight in person. So motion leave to withdraw. Okay, motion for leave to withdraw,

57:58seconded by Councilor Divine. All those in favor, aye. Uh Councilor Rivera. >> Yes. >> Councilor Divine. >> Yes. >> Councilor Thalheimer, yes. So that one is leave to withdraw. Um

58:10>> there make a motion to take up item number 13. >> Uh 13 we don't have communication on. We are waiting for Councilor Rivera to get back to us on this one. Um >> my motion.

58:21>> Oh, thank you. Uh but we do, I believe, have information on 15 and 16. So I will make a motion to take up um item number 15. >> Second. >> All in favor, aye. >> Aye.

58:36>> All right. So item number 15 uh filed by Councilor Vacon, order DPW and engineer evaluate the conditions at Homestead and Meyer and make recommendations for needed

58:46infrastructure improvements and provide a cost estimate. Flooding has been occurring there for years and has worsened with recent storms, causing a safety hazard. And what we had gotten

58:55back from the DPW is DPW engineering has evaluated the reporting flooded flooding concerns at the intersection of Homestead Avenue and Meyer Drive. Initial maintenance

59:05activities included cleaning the existing catch basins and drainage structures. Further engineering evaluation identified an HG and E utility pole that had been installed through an existing

59:16underground drainage pipe obstructing the drainage system. HG and E has been notified and will be responsible for correcting the issue. Following completion of the repairs,

59:26engineering will monitor drainage conditions during subsequent storm events to determine whether the obstruction was the primary cause of the reported flooding or whether additional

59:34improvements may be warranted. Recommendation, close order. Engineering has investigated the concern, identified a specific drainage obstruction, and established a corrective course of

59:44action with HG and E. Any additional drainage concerns following completion of the repairs can be evaluated through normal DPW engineering operations without keeping the council order open.

59:56>> Thank you, Madam Chair. I make a motion that the order has been complied with and thank the engineer for the information. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> Aye. >> Aye.

1:00:05>> All right. So complied with roll call vote. Councilor Rivera? >> Yes. >> Councilor Devine? >> Yes. >> Councilor Thalheimer? Yes. All right. So complied with. Motion to take up item 16.

1:00:17>> So moved. >> Um all those in favor? >> Aye. >> Aye. >> Do we get a second? I'll second that just for the notes. I was like, did we We're flying through

1:00:25this. We're Look at us. All right. So item number 16 um filed by Councilor Vacon, order that a sign indicating no truck outlet be placed at the end of Rhode Island Street, similar to McGrail

1:00:35and Franks. Tractor trailer drivers are damaging the road slash utilities when entering the area by mistake. We do have lots of conversations about no truck

1:00:43signs and the DOT. Here's the update. Uh Rhode Island Street no truck outlet sign. Engineering has reviewed the request for no truck outlet signage on Rhode Island Street and documented the

1:00:54reported concern on the city's Safer Streets interactive comment map for consideration as part of ongoing traffic safety planning efforts. Rhode Island Street is not a dead end roadway as it

1:01:03connects to York Street, Florida Drive and the surrounding street network. Therefore no Therefore standard no outlet signage would not be appropriate. Of particular

1:01:12relevance, Westfield Road between Homestead Avenue and Northampton Street is subject to an existing MassDOT approved heavy commercial vehicle exclusion permit E - B - 137 - 7017.

1:01:26It is possible that this restriction may be contributing to truck traffic diverting onto adjacent residential streets. I am pleased that they put in this part

1:01:34because I we've talked about this before. Similar concerns have previously been raised regarding truck traffic on Arden, Lorraine, and Fenton streets, including reports of large vehicles

1:01:43using residential streets as shortcuts and encroaching onto private property when negotiating turns. Rather than pursuing additional truck restrictions on individual residential

1:01:52streets, engineering suggests that the city consider whether the existing Westfield truck uh Westfield Road truck exclusion continues to serve its intended purpose or whether modifying or

1:02:01rescinding the restriction subject to mass DOT approval may provide a more effective network-wide solution. Recommendation, close order. Engineering does not recommend installation of the

1:02:12requested signage at this time. However, engineering or has feedback from the Public Safety Committee whether the city should pursue a broader evaluation of the existing Westfield Road heavy

1:02:20commercial vehicle exclusion including potential modification or removal through mass DOT. Any such evaluation should or could proceed as a separate initiative without keeping this order

1:02:31open, which to me sounds like we close this order and we can file a different order or different um specific language to the evaluation the existing Westfield Road

1:02:42heavy commercial vehicle exclusion. >> So would that be a motion to give it leave to withdraw? >> We we could um because We yeah, we cannot place the sign. DPW

1:02:53does not feel like that would be appropriate to place that sign, so this would probably have to be a leave to withdraw rather than complied with, but with a recommendation that a a different

1:03:02as they've described order be filed perhaps. >> I'll give a motion to give it leave to withdraw. >> Okay, Councilor Divine has made a motion to give it leave to withdraw. Councilor

1:03:11Rivera has seconded. All in favor? Aye. Okay. So uh roll call. Councilor Rivera? >> Yes. >> Councilor Divine? >> Yes. >> Councilor Thalheimer. Yes. All right. So that is leave to withdraw.

1:03:23So I think we've gone through most of these. Let me just Let me just double check because Yep. >> you for a second? Um, did we do item number 14 or did I miss that?

1:03:34>> Um, item number 14 we have not yet heard back from Roka. So that one is still sitting in the jacket. >> Okay, thank you. >> yeah. So looking over the jacket,

1:03:43we just to give it a quick overview, um, we tabled item seven because they'll be joining us in January. Uh, we've tabled item nine because that communication will come in on December 14th.

1:03:57Um, we are still waiting for Councilor Rivera to come back to us uh, about item 13. Item 14 we are waiting on an invitation and that just leaves us with item eight.

1:04:09>> Motion to take up item number eight? >> Second. All those All those in favor? Aye. So item number eight uh, follow uh, filed by Councilor Panitch and myself

1:04:19ordered that the council revisit and comprehensively revise the noise provisions of chapter 83 of the Holyoke code of ordinances to reflect contemporary circumstances and address

1:04:28noise issues in the city of Holyoke. And we had taken this up and tabled it in August uh, in part because it is sort of a longer discussion, but I wanted to put

1:04:36it back on the agenda and uh, reach out to Councilor Panitch if you have any thoughts on this because I feel like this is also an ongoing discussion. Some of the noise issues that we had

1:04:44initially talked about have shifted now that Wycoff is closing, but there are other places where noise pops up. As it's getting cooler, car windows are coming back up. Um, but that was a

1:04:55substantial concern over uh, a portion of the summer. Um, your thoughts? >> Yeah, I think we still need more information to address this. There are things that we asked for that have

1:05:07fallen by the wayside because it wasn't an emergency anymore. For instance, the um, permits issued by the police department for various noise emitting devices. I think

1:05:21we still need to look at them and look at how they're being managed. And I have spoken often on to counselor Israel Rivera about noise issues downtown. And I think he raises a

1:05:36very a very serious point about how you know we do respond to for instance complaints when we hear them from Ward 7 but we haven't really had a look at how words 1 through 4 are affected by

1:05:54intermittent noise. And I would like to see if we can get more by way of information about that. Something perhaps like the semi town hall sessions that this committee has held

1:06:11just so that we know what we're addressing. But there is increasing public health information out there that makes it clear that noise is a very serious health issue.

1:06:26And yes you know we admit that we're going to be affected by noise when we choose to live in a city rather than out in the country somewhere. But I do think that this is something

1:06:37that perhaps with the aid of the health department we should look into. So once we do this we don't have it related issues popping up again every 6 months. You know we should write

1:06:49something that to the extent we can addresses the issue comprehensively and for 10 years, 20 years rather than a few months. >> Hm. Yeah I mean we hear a lot of

1:07:05different things about noise in a lot of different places. And you and I have talked quite frequently about hearing damage and what that looks like. And noise is also one of those things

1:07:18that is something is too loud that can feel very subjective and thinking about decibel levels and at what decibel levels hearing damage is actually affected. So, it's within that public

1:07:27health realm. Um, Councilor Rivera, Councilor Divine, do you have thoughts on this? Thinking about things that might affect your ward or in your neighborhood or um

1:07:36places or spots of concern. >> Um, if I might Oh, I'm sorry. >> Oh, Councilor Rivera, then Councilor Divine. >> Okay. Thank you. Um, maybe we should look into if we ever got the new What is

1:07:49it? The decimals because we had an issue with that not having any or we just had one, something like that. >> Oh, the decibel meters. Yeah, I I I believe um our zoning officer does have

1:08:01a a like a decibel meter and I believe the police have them as well, but I'd have to double check on that one. So, they are things that exist and you can

1:08:11download apps on your phone to sort of check it, but um there are some questions sometimes about reliability, but also like we have a lot of loud things in the city from time to time. So,

1:08:23>> live in the flats, so >> You know. >> I I hear the parties. Yeah. >> Yep. Um, more to say on that? >> No. >> Councilor Divine. >> Madam Chair, I believe the um police chief at one point

1:08:37they said they had a decibel meter, but it was so old it really wasn't working very well. And he also indicated I have a picture which I I'll have to show you in person

1:08:48rather than trying to do it online um of an event that happened down near the canals last summer, I believe, where all these cars came in and all these speakers

1:09:01were going off and he had I actually went down there um to find out what was going on cuz I did get some complaints and I was actually nervous about all the

1:09:11cars and speakers and apparently a lot of these people were not from Holyoke according to the chief. So, um he really wants to keep an eye on those kind of

1:09:20permits and things like that. So, I think it it definitely is important to keep him um informed about different things and I'm pretty sure he's on it as

1:09:30well. Whether or not we want to make an order that's 10 years in the making I don't know if I want to go along with that, but I definitely think that the

1:09:39chief is onto this thing and he should be included in any further discussions. Thank you. >> Excellent. Thank you. So I think what I'm hearing here I mean it sounds like

1:09:50we're leaning toward tabling it because it's a larger broader discussion, but I want to think I want us to think about how to framework that discussion. So perhaps

1:09:59this is a piece where we invite relevant department heads and different folks from the community, different parts of different neighborhoods, but also taking a very close look at

1:10:12the noise provisions of chapter three of the Holy Oak code of ordinances. Like maybe this is our homework is to read that and to look at it and say does this

1:10:20work but not this and and how to enforce those things and thinking about I know that right now leaf blowers is on everybody's radar because everything is you know like what time are the leaf

1:10:32blowers allowed to start, what time are they you know and how loud is too loud and that is it is we have seasonal things that pop up about noise levels, but

1:10:40maybe this is a good opportunity for all of us to go back to chapter 83 and look at the Holy Oak code of ordinances to reflect contemporary circumstances and address noise issues

1:10:50because they might have things for loudspeaker permits, but those loudspeaker permits might like this might have been written 50 years ago and it doesn't reflect current technology.

1:10:59So I think we should make a motion to table this and then put it on a future agenda where we all do a little bit of homework and bring it in and think about possible

1:11:09revisions or things that don't currently reflect where we are. Does that make sense for folks? Counselor Devine I I you started to speak and I kept going. So >> no no no that's okay.

1:11:20I think that's a good idea and that does give us some homework to do. So it's chapter 83 of the Holy Oak code of ordinances. Um any chance we could get a link to that?

1:11:32>> Yeah, I'll I'll see about either getting it linked or getting it on our radar um as an item for our next meeting. Um so that we can all take a look at it as

1:11:43part of the packet, but also um Jeff Jeffrey, if you don't mind our amazing admin assistant Habibi, if you don't mind sending that part around relevant

1:11:53portions to the committee, that would be much appreciated. >> Yeah, I can I can definitely add that as one of the attachments the next time this is taken up. I I think the last

1:12:03time the committee took this up, I might have actually included it in the packet, but failed to do it this time around. >> That's okay. I think last time also it

1:12:10was on the agenda, but we had a number of different things to get to and by the time we got to it, we were like let's do this later. So um I think we have a Do we have a

1:12:19motion to table on the floor? >> Yeah. Set motion to table. >> Okay. Okay, so motion unseconded. All those in favor, aye. All right. So let me just take a quick minute to make sure

1:12:30that we everybody else look as well. Like did we get through Is there anything outstanding that we missed? Because I know that there are other things that we're going to see on our

1:12:41next agenda. Like at some point we're going to return to Ezekiel's plan 2.0. We just haven't gotten more information on that. And I know there were a couple

1:12:49of things that came in from our most recent city council meeting that are not yet on this agenda. Um but we'll get here. Did we miss anything on our current agenda?

1:13:01I don't think we have. I think we're good. So we just need that one last motion. >> Good good meeting, Madam Chair, and my friend Jenny. >> It's not done yet. We got to do the thing.

1:13:10>> Motion to adjourn. >> That's the thing. >> Okay. >> to adjourn. >> Second. >> All those in favor. >> Aye. >> Aye. >> Uh just in case we need to do the roll call, Councilor Rivera. >> Yes.

1:13:23>> Councilor Divine. >> Yes. >> Councilor Thalheimer, yes. Um excellent. Thank you for This was an excellent meeting. Again, our thanks to the engineering department uh and DPW and

1:13:34all the folks who came in and got us information. Like, we were able to clear out a lot of things and resolve a lot of issues, which is super helpful, which

1:13:41means we can spend some deep time on upcoming orders that need a little bit more space in the room. So, um counselor Divine, anything before we wrap up?

1:13:51>> No, excellent meeting and like I said, I just want to say hi to my friend Jenny Rivera. >> Hi. >> Yep, I miss you. I hope you feel better soon. Uh well, we'll we'll do this again in

1:14:03December. We'll see you back here on December 14th. And again, many thanks to Holy Oak Media for all of their work, uh our fantastic translators and interpreters, and uh we encourage you to

1:14:12come back in December. Awesome. This meeting is hereby adjourned. >> Thank you. >> Thank you.