EAST LONGMEADOW – The East Longmeadow Town Council hosted two public hearings and discussed a bylaw to potentially ban growing bamboo at its Aug. 11 meeting.

For the meeting’s first public hearing, the council continued the public hearing regarding a temporary moratorium on ground-mounted photovoltaic systems.

Councilor Donald Anderson explained that the moratorium was not anti-solar but meant to give the town time to establish the proper protocols for installations.

“This is in no way an anti-solar bylaw. This is actually a chance to get it done right and to look at the proper bylaws so there is a way to make it work after public hearings. It’s a more of a timeout so the town can formulate a proper plan moving forward,” he said.

After three public hearings, the council unanimously approved the temporary moratorium with an end date of Sept. 1, 2021.

The second public hearing at the meeting was for a transfer of license and change of location for the Beer Shop to move from its Harkness Avenue location to North Main Street and be renamed Heritage Park Liquors.

Attorney Matthew Porter, who represents CPA Liquors Inc., jumped into the call to explain that the store would move into Olympia Sports’ current location whose lease is set to end at the end of the year.

He added that the new owners have not had any issues with violations in the past. “They have not had any violations whatsoever and they run a very tight ship. They take pride in the type of business they operate. Moving into here would give the opportunity to grow that they would not have at the Harkness Avenue location,” he said.

Councilor Marilyn Richards suggested that rather than transferring the license from location to location, the new owners would have to apply for a new liquor license. The rest of the council agreed and voted to the public hearing at its next meeting.

During her regular report, Town Manager Mary McNally announced that the town had finally received word of what it would be receiving for state funding for the 2021 fiscal year.

“The legislature has indicated that the funding levels will match Fiscal 20 for both Chapter 70 and unrestricted government aid. We had factored in a roughly 12 percent decrease in unrestricted aid so that provides us with a bit of breathing room on our budget,” she said.

Under new business, the council also discussed a proposed bylaw that would ban growing bamboo in East Longmeadow from resident Bob Black, who discussed some of the dangers of growing bamboo.

“Bamboo is probably one of the most invasive plants on earth, it’s a fire risk and can lead to infestation. It’s known to puncture sprinkler systems and ruin things like that. The roots can have sharp bamboo spokes that can be dangerous for kids,” he said.

Councilor Pat Henry questioned whether now was the right time to approve such a bylaw. “We have so much going on in town right now, we have many, many issues that we’re facing. And this just seems one more thing to pile on that I’m not certain is going to result in any bylaw we can put together,” he said.

The council unanimously voted against the bylaw at this time.

The East Longmeadow Town Council next meets on Sept. 8.