The Easthampton City Council met on Sept. 16 to discuss the Town Lodging proposals.
Photo credit: E-Media
EASTHAMPTON — Despite calls to pause the process at its Sept. 16 meeting, the Easthampton City Council voted unanimously to support the purchase and reconstruction of the Town Lodging House and property at 75 Oliver St.
Councilor James “JP” Kwiecenski, chair of the Property Committee, spoke at length about the long process and open nature of the pathway to a viable future for the triple deed-restricted property. Because of the property’s affordable housing, historic preservation, and agricultural preservation restrictions on, finding a new owner has been a difficult process, according to councilors. At its last meeting, the Property Committee unanimously voted to support Renewal Initiatives taking ownership of the property and renovating it into veterans housing.
Kwiecenski noted that since the council had already voted to deem the property surplus and to dispose of it in May, all of the discussion about who would purchase it has been a courtesy and not something required. Ultimately, the decision about who takes over the property is up to Mayor Salem Derby.
Although Kwiecenski called this “the most transparent process we have ever seen,” several residents spoke of just finding out about the potential sale and the effect that the sale would have on the Chicoine family, who has farmed several acres of the land for many years.
Elodie Chicoine spoke, asking the council to pause and not make a final decision at the meeting. She had submitted a proposal for buying the property, but Property Committee members noted that the proposal from Renewal Initiatives was much more thorough and met all the criteria it had set for the proposals.
Committee member Thomas Peaker added that the city “can’t just hand over the property to the Chicoines. We have to go through the process.”
Other residents criticized the Property Committee meeting, saying it was not accessible and had significant technical issues. Resident Cathy Wauczinski also raised questions that members of the Property Committee had been working with Renewal Initiatives, adding, “This was not an open process.”
City Council President Koni Denham said that she will look into the issues of accessibility at the Property Committee meeting, but she would not let it hold up the process of moving forward with the Town Lodging House property. She also said that she held out hope that all those concerned could “find a way to work together.”
The City Council’s decision comes almost a month after the Property Committee interviewed Renewal Initiatives and Living Meadow Farms at its Aug. 26 meeting.
The 54-acre Town Lodging property, built in 1890, was used for affordable housing until it was vacated in April 2022. Since then, the house has fallen into disrepair. According to previous studies, nearly $1.5 million in renovations is needed to bring it up to code and function again.
Reminder Publishing will have more on the Renewal Initiatives proposal in a future edition.
