Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Council Votes topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Votes at a glance: Holyoke council actions April 15
Summary
The Holyoke City Council took multiple formal actions April 15, including adopting a Westfield-support resolution on battery storage, passing an administrative-leave ordinance, approving a $777,000 levee grant, and approving a series of transfers, reappointments and departmental requests.
At its April 15 meeting, the Holyoke City Council recorded the following formal actions (motions, votes, and referrals) during a meeting that included public comment, committee reports and several suspended-rules votes.
Key adoptions and grants - Resolution supporting Westfield on a 219-unit lithium battery-storage proposal (Item 51): Adopted by unanimous roll call; clerk recorded all present councilors as voting yes. (See full article for details.) - Ordinance on administrative leave, codifying state-law approach to suspension without pay and clarifying application to collective bargaining (Item 8): Passed on roll call, 12-1 (Bartley recorded as the lone no). - Acceptance of a $777,000 state grant for levee design, outreach and a seed construction project (Item 71): Unanimously accepted; council directed DPW and engineering to proceed with temporary and design work.
Transfers and budget items (selected) - Transfer of $108,695.56 from Cannabis Stabilization to Solicitor Claims and Damages (agenda item removed from Finance Committee and advanced): Council voted to remove from committee and passed first and second readings; roll-call approval recorded. - Transfers to cover firefighter injured-on-duty pay periods and other personnel moves, including the transfer associated with item 72 for injured-on-duty for three firefighters: Passed by roll call (unanimous where recorded). - Transfers to cover hazmat overtime and hazmat team (Item 29), and other small departmental transfers for radios, elections, and supplies: Approved by the council and referred to Finance where required.
Appointments and reappointments - Reappointments to boards and commissions (Items 10): Several reappointments were approved at once (items 10 through 16): Joe McGivern; Carl Eager; Callinan/Flanagan; Antonio Quinones (and others listed on the agenda) were reappointed to three-year terms; the Cultural Council reappointments (Christopher Fournier, Nevaeh Rodriguez, Timothy Damon) were also approved.
Committee actions and referrals - Ordinance Committee: Gave leave to withdraw for two orders related to creating a finance department and adopting MGL chapter 43C approach (items 24 and 25) while pursuing an alternative solicitor-recommended approach. - Development, Government Relations and Rules (DGR): Recommended compliance on orders inviting the state delegation to discuss regional issues including tolling and youth-policy bills; recommended referral of several late-file items for staff follow-up.
Other notes - The council approved several clerical and procedural committee reports, received communications from the law department and the auditor, and moved a number of routine items to committee for further study. - The meeting included multiple public-comment speakers on redevelopment, historical restoration funding, and the Westfield battery-storage proposal.
If you need staff contacts, the clerk and the appropriate committee chairs were instructed to handle referrals and to post updated packets and redactions where applicable.
