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Councilors press police and city to map and address quality-of-life issues; decibel meters and targeted cleanup planned
Summary
Holyoke councilors asked city leadership and the police to map services and develop a comprehensive plan to address repeated quality-of-life complaints, including trash, loud music, abandoned properties, ATVs, and open-air drug activity.
Councilors asked city leadership and the police to produce a comprehensive plan to tackle recurring quality-of-life complaints, including overflowing dumpsters, loud music, abandoned properties, ATVs, illegal open-air drug activity and neighborhood litter.
The order, filed by Councilor Kevin Jourdain and cosponsored by several councilors, asked the chief of police, the board of health director, the mayor and the law department to meet with the council to review current strategies, identify resource needs and present a map of current and planned services to achieve short- and long-term objectives.
Councilors described trash and overflowing dumpsters as a top constituent complaint. "If we can make an example out of certain these landlords that are repeatedly doing it, we need to make it such a pain in their rear end that it's more expensive for them to pay the tickets and keep going to court than it is for them to bring the truck an extra time and empty the dumpster," Councilor Jourdain said.
Chief Brian Kean described recent and planned enforcement and cleanup activity: county crews helped clean the police parking lot, the department has targeted parks for open-air drug activity enforcement and the department joined a regional ATV unit. Kean said the department will pursue decibel meters for noise complaints if current units are not operational and that he will include equipment requests in an upcoming transfer for salaries to equipment.
Councilor Juan Anderson Burgos relayed a constituent's complaint about a loudspeaker event in August 2024 that included vulgar language. "Hi, Juan, who is in charge of issuing permits for loudspeakers," Burgos read from a resident's message. "We have a neighbor that's been playing and yelling since 6PM and it is now 09:36. And the cops said they have a permit till 10PM multiple calls to the police and they can do nothing."
Councilor Carmen Ocasio said she heard music from a campus event in her living room, underscoring the distance at which loud events can be heard. The chief said he will seek decibel meters, purchase equipment with available funds and continue targeted enforcement. The committee voted by voice to record the order as complied with.
