Agawam City Council opposes Southwick Carvana project

July 19, 2021 | Lauren LeBel
llebel@thereminder.com

Agawam City Councilor Anthony Suffriti explains the potential traffic impacts from the Carvana project to council members.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo

AGAWAM – The Agawam City Council passed a resolution to oppose the Carvana development proposed in neighboring Southwick at its July 12 meeting.

Carvana plans to construct and operate a new facility at the corner of Southwick’s College Highway and Tannery Road. While Southwick’s Select Board has endorsed the project, its Planning Board has not. A public hearing with the Southwick Planning Board was continued on July 20.

Council President Christopher Johnson said, “I respect the right of Southwick to make its decision regarding the project, but I think they need to hear from us that we’re concerned about the traffic impacts it’ll have on Agawam.”

Councilor Anthony Suffriti, one of the sponsors of the resolution, said, “The reason why we brought this forward is looking at the information data that has been presented to our town that has been received by the solicitor and us is going to give Agawam and the Feeding Hills area a negative impact on the amount of vehicle traffic through the center of town. Now, had 57 been extended all the way up to Southwick and bypassing Feeding Hills Center where we have two school systems that sit right there … I would have a problem with this. We’ve already done some construction work there to try to alleviate some of the traffic.”

Suffriti continued, “The negative impact in that area from that amount of traffic with cars, trucks and haulers, is going to be a critical impact on the safety of that area for the children, school time walkers, buses, and add traffic to an intersection that we’ve just spent millions of dollars in.

“We’re just a small town just trying to live happy, peaceful lives. Not saying I’m against business, but this is a lot of traffic that's going to be impacting Feeding Hills Center,” he concluded.

Co-sponsor Rosemary Sandlin agreed, “This is a project that I don’t think is good for Agawam.”

Councilor Dino Mercadante asked Suffriti how many haulers would be using these roads. “Is that going away once these lots are filled up or is that a constant?” He then asked, “What kind of impact or message can we send, or what good would our message send that actually stops them from going ahead with this project?”

Mercadante said he is also pro-business but believes they can’t be overloading this particular area in Feeding Hills Center because it doesn’t have the capacity or infrastructure. He thinks it may be better served in an area that has more highways.

Suffriti said that through his understanding, the haulers will be supplying the entire Northeast out of this area. The trips are constant, daily trips.

Councilors asked who the message would be sent to – residents in Southwick so they can vote against this, or to the people down in Agawam. Suffriti claimed it’s both.

“They get to act on how they want to act in their town, but what we feel is going to be the impact on our town and unfortunately, this is going to be a negative impact,” said Suffriti.

Councilor Paul Cavallo followed by saying, “If they said to us, ‘We’re going to be coming at 2 in the morning until 5 in the morning,’ okay, maybe I’d be fine, but we don’t know and those are the unknowns, unfortunately, is that we have to deal with – I think that’s the most critical part of it, compared to what Southwick has to deal with.”

Councilor Robert Rossi suggested that they inform Southwick of their opposition.

Johnson said, “I have severe reservation with the notion of telling another community what they should do in their particular community. I understand and agree with the concept about expressing our concerns about the traffic and the impact of traffic on Agawam but I would propose an amendment and without the amendment, you won’t have my support, not because I support the project – I don’t – but the numbers that are cited in the resolution … we’re talking about car haulers, we’re talking about five to six per day, is what they’ve submitted to the town of Southwick.”

Johnson went on to say, “I’d submit to you that the Stop and Shop in Feeding Hills generates more truck traffic than this thing will, and the Big Y in Southwick generates more truck traffic than this thing will, but it’s clear that the traffic that this will generate with employee vehicle trips and so forth will put a strain on our roads.”

Johnson said, “The resolution says now, ‘Therefore, the Agawam City Council hereby resolves to oppose the Carvana project based on the negative impacts to the town of Agawam and to forward a copy of this resolution to the town of Southwick Planning Board.”

He suggested an amendment that read, “The Agawam City Council hereby resolves to express our concerns about the proposed Carvana project based upon the potential negative traffic impacts on the town of Agawam and to forward a copy of this resolution to the town of Southwick Planning Board.”

Johnson made a motion to amend and the motion was seconded by Councilor George Bitzas. The council voted in favor.

Johnson made a second amendment to the original title of the resolution so it read, “A resolution to express concerns about the Carvana project in Southwick Massachusetts.”

The amendment was seconded by Bitzas and unanimously voted in approval by the rest of the council members.

There was also a complication with the resolution as written as Johnson explained that the sponsors of the motion did not include an emergency preamble. Because the Southwick Planning Board was expected to vote on the issue before the Agawam City Council’s next meeting in August, Cavallo made a motion to suspend the rules to allow council to pass an emergency preamble. The motion was seconded by Sandlin and the council voted to suspend their rules in passing the emergency preamble.

The resolution as a whole was approved as amended.

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