AGAWAM – During a recent meeting of the Agawam City Council, the Council voted to accept grants to benefit transportation improvements for the Agawam Senior Center.

The Pioneer Valley Transportation Authority awarded a grant in the amount of $59,100 to fund a new Agawam Senior Center van. The van will allow for increased transportation access for Agawam seniors. A second grant was awarded by the Pioneer Valley Transportation Authority in the amount of $29,322 to fund the position of a Transportation Coordinator at the Agawam Senior Center.

Acceptance of both grants was approved with a unanimous vote of 8-0 by the Agawam City Council.

Before the City Council voted, Councilor George Bitzas said, “This is a no-brainer. It’s a grant that would enhance transportation services to the Agawam Senior Center. We have a great senior center.”

Bitzas continued, “The town should be very, very proud of what we have. Many people don’t know our senior center. Maybe they don’t go down there. I have a couple of friends I [brought] down just to see it and they were impressed with what we have. It’s a great, great senior center. It’s a model for the other cities and towns who come over and ask us how we do it.”

Councilor Rosemary Sandlin said that the improvements to transportation would benefit the senior center. Sandlin also commended Michael Squindo, executive director of the Agawam Senior Center, for being proactive in applying for grants. “I think we’re very fortunate in Agawam to have a senior center that’s operating from nine in the morning to probably nine at night and a new executive director down there who has been very energetic in getting grants for us. The accepting of this bus would give us one more leg in transportation,” Sandlin said.

Sandlin continued, “This here will allow us to be more proactive with our seniors who are no longer able to drive.”

Councilor Robert Magovern said, “Agawam, which I didn’t realize, is such an aging community. 26 percent of our population is over 65. I was really surprised that it’s that high in number and what these motions are all about is getting the bus, but being able to open up a lot of [opportunity to] these seniors who aren’t using Uber or aren’t driving anymore and have limited money for taxis to get around and for those people who are using it, it’s a wonderful advantage and something that I think Agawam is very proud to offer to our seniors. I think it’s great that we’re getting a new bus paid for by PVTA.”

Council President Christopher C. Johnson shared, “It’s very impressive, the services that will be available to seniors by way of transportation.”

After the City Council voted to approve the $59,100 grant for the new Agawam Senior Center van, they discussed the $29,322 grant to fund the position of a Transportation Coordinator.

Councilor Dino R. Mercadante said that he was in favor of the new position. “What I like about this $29,322 investment is that it is a grant and we can reapply every single year for this money to take care of this salary position. Therefore, we will not be burdening the taxpayer with adding another position, so that’s why I’m in favor of this,” Mercadante shared.

Councilor Sandlin said she feels the position will allow seniors more freedom. “We presently have a scheduler for transportation on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, I believe. This will make that a full week coordinator for these rides. I think, if we have to be honest with ourselves, these seniors need to have independence. This way, they won’t have to schedule two weeks ahead. They could probably do it within 48 hours. If they have something that comes up and they have to go somewhere, they have the availability and have somebody on staff on this grant,” Sandlin said.

Councilor Robert E. Rossi expressed concerns about the future of the grant and what it would mean for the town of Agawam. “I’m in favor of the grant, as I am in favor of all grants. The problem with grants is they have a habit of going away. My question is, what happens if this grant does happen to go away? Does this position go away with it? Is it attached to the community? How does that work? Sometimes, when we get these grants, we put them on and when the grants run out, they become part of our budget process again,” Rossi said.

Councilor Johnson addressed Rossi’s question, sharing, “The senior center director is confident the grant money will be available on an ongoing basis. He’s already beginning the process of applying. This is for the first year. The second year application process opens up in a couple of weeks, so he’ll be applying for that. In theory, if the grant were to dry up, then it leaves him with two choices. One would be to ask for the funding to be included as part of the town budget, or to reduce the position back to what it was.”

Councilor Sandlin said that she feels the low cost of the transportation would be a benefit to seniors. “This here would be much more economical for our seniors, because it’s a dollar or certain outings are half priced. I think that this would be beneficial money wise,” Sandlin said.

Sandlin continued, “Other communities that have this have had it for many, many years and they continue to renew it. It’s something that has been available to other communities and we’re just taking advantage of it.”

To view the full meeting, visit www.vimeo.com/Agawam.