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City Council authorizes MSBA statements of interest for two elementary schools
Summary
The Holyoke City Council voted unanimously to authorize school officials to submit Massachusetts School Building Authority statements of interest for Lieutenant Elmer J. McMahon Elementary and Morris A. Donahue Elementary, noting submission does not guarantee grant awards.
The Holyoke City Council voted unanimously March 18 to authorize school officials to submit statements of interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority for two elementary schools.
The votes let the superintendent submit MSBA statement-of-interest forms for Lieutenant Elmer J. McMahon Elementary School, 75 Kane Road, and Morris A. Donahue Elementary School, 210 Whiting Farms Road. Councilors heard from Sean Sheedy of the Holyoke School Department, who told the council the forms are nonfinancial steps required by the MSBA and that the city has already completed extensive application questions and obtained the mayor’s signatures.
Sheedy said the McMahon submission would list priority 5 deficiencies for “replacement of the windows and doors in the courtyard portion of the building.” The Donahue submission likewise listed priority 5 for replacement of exterior windows and related deficiencies. He said the MSBA’s statement-of-interest process does not guarantee acceptance, awarding of a grant, or an obligation to apply for funding.
The council took separate roll-call votes for the two items. In each recorded roll call, all members present voted yes; the clerk recorded the outcome as a unanimous approval.
The approvals allow the superintendent to upload the MSBA forms into the portal. Sheedy said the district has already completed the MSBA’s required questionnaire and file uploads and had mayoral and other signatures in hand.
Councilors framed the action as a procedural authorization to seek possible future funding rather than a commitment of local dollars. The MSBA evaluates SOIs before inviting full applications that would include cost estimates and, if invited, follow a multi-stage review process.
The council did not commit any local match during these votes; the MSBA language included in the council motion explicitly notes that submitting an SOI does not obligate the city to file a funding application or accept a grant.
