CHICOPEE – The Chicopee City Council hosted two recent meetings to discuss a variety of agenda items. The Special City Council meeting occurred on Jan. 28 at the request of Mayor John Vieau. This meeting was used to go over discussion items with the council, but did not involve any voting or passing of orders.

One topic that was considered by the council was moving forward on the City Hall Phase II renovation. According to Vieau, Phase I of the renovation is almost complete and he thinks that Phase II will be an important next step. With the renovation, Vieau said he wants to make sure the building meets certain protocol in regards to active shooter safety for employees. Phase II would allow for cosmetic updating and reconfiguring of City Hall offices to make them more efficient and productive, he said. Vieau also said that if the council allowed Phase II to begin, it would allow for architects to get started with design, but it would be anywhere from 12 to 18 months before they actually get to building.

“The intent is do we want to move forward or do we want to not? I am 100 percent in favor of it. I know a lot of employees who’ve been here for a very long time would really like to see it,” said Vieau.

Planning Director, Lee Pouliot, broke down both Phase I and Phase II of the renovation further. According to Pouliot, Phase I focused on HVAC, mechanical system updates, a new roof and general masonry. Phase II will reorganize offices, rethink security of the building, replace lighting and look into replacing the elevator.

“Phase 2 is anticipated to really focus on the inside of the building,” he said.

To fund everything fully in Phase II it would cost the city $1.4 million. Pouliot also said a more conservative route would be to break it up by funding one step or a few steps at a time.

“I do believe that this is a very important project and I’m excited for it,” said Vieau.

In the end, the council took a vote in favor of pursuing Phase II of the renovation. This was not a binding order, but rather a consensus for now.

Another important discussion item was the idea of establishing an Assistant Human Resources Director position and including their salary in the Chapter 7 Ordinance. Richard Merchant, human resources director, proposed not adding an additional staff member, but rather changing one of the positions that the city already has.

“The idea is to have an internal post,” said Merchant. “I think it’s a solid plan toward the succession that we’re hoping to have come the end of this year when my term will be over.”

 The special meeting also discussed Vieau’s idea of purchasing two vehicles and starting an e-permit program for the pick-up of bulk items, plus installing trash receptacles in Chicopee Center. Vieau said he wants Chicopee to be “one of the cleanest cities in Western Mass.”

He said, “It bothers me to see people littering. It bothers me to see people throwing trash out the windows.”

Vieau is in favor of introducing curbside bulk pickup to stop residents from dumping and littering. Some councilors are torn on the idea of purchasing trucks for this and spending the funds on the program.

Possible purchase of police cruisers within this fiscal year was also considered by the council. Vieau said that they will need to buy four cruisers given that the last time cars were purchased was 2013.

Given the discussion nature of the meeting, all of the items on the agenda were only brought forth and considered. Official Mayoral Orders will be voted on in future City Council meetings.

On Feb. 2 a regularly scheduled City Council meeting occurred. To start, the council approved a Mayoral Order to appropriate $72,000 to the Police Special Account for new bulletproof vests. According to Councilor Frank Laflamme, this money will provide 60 new vests.

“We need to protect our officers,” said Laflamme.

The council also approved a grant that will help the water pollution facility in Chicopee control pollution levels. It is required that the city test for nitrogen and reduce nitrogen pollution at the Chicopee Water Pollution Control, which is what the grant money will assist with.

Many Mayoral Orders approved grant money for various Council on Aging programs such as the meal programs, senior programs, and the tablet loan program.

The council then moved into license renewals and special permit votes. One special permit that caused debate among the members was a project proposal that will redevelop an existing 80,000 foot building and open a marijuana cultivation facility and retail facility. Many councilors expressed the view that this facility will increase traffic and therefore cause a lot of backup, accidents and issues within the city.

“It’s the traffic issue for me and that’s why I’m not going to vote for this tonight,” said Laflamme.

Councilor Joel McAuliffe, however, was in support of allowing the special permit.

“I don’t share a lot of the concerns that have been raised, although I think most of the concerns that are raised can be abetted with some of the protocols that have been put in place. I think we have an opportunity to attract more people to the city of Chicopee, increase revenue and also spin-off help for Al’s Diner, who needs a desperate amount of help, and also the brewery,” he said.

Councilor William Courchesne said he talked to the owners requesting the permit about the issue of traffic. According to Courchesne, they said they are willing to take steps to help this, such as requiring customers to make appointments to come to the store.

Though the council was divided at first, the motion ended up passing.

The meeting then ended with more routine license renewals and permit approvals.

Those interested in viewing both City Council meetings in their entirety are encouraged to visit the ChicopeeTV Facebook page.