The City Council discusses a request from the golf course for a new walk-in cooler.
Photo credit: ChicopeeTV
CHICOPEE — A mayor’s order totaling $69,250 for a new walk-in cooler and a permanent pad for the freezer at the Chicopee Country Club golf course sparked much debate during the Feb. 17 City Council meeting.
Mayor John Vieau explained that the back of the golf clubhouse and walk-in cooler have been experiencing problems. The golf course has decided, with the Building Department’s guidance, to put the new freezer on a permanent pad and relocate it out of the construction area of the existing building.
Vieau added that the back part of the building needs further repair, and the city would eventually like to fully remodel the space. He said, “This would put the cooler out of that construction zone but in an immediate location to walk out for accessibility by the current concession.”
Because opening day for the golf course is usually around April 1, Vieau and a couple councilors expressed urgency in passing this order during the meeting.
Eventually, the City Council approved the funding for the golf course to purchase a new walk-in cooler, but not after some discussion.
Debating ensued during the meeting after it was stated on the agenda that the funds would be moved from the City Hall Maintenance Special account into the City Hall Maintenance account. Some councilors also wanted more clarification on things.
City Councilor Susan Goff noted that back in August 2025, the City Council approved $97,500 for a new roof for the clubhouse. She expressed her concern with the golf course not using the full appropriation for the roof and trying to use it for the new cooler.
Goff also said that the background paperwork that the City Council received had no quotes listed to replace the freezer. She mentioned that MGL Chapter 30B requires three quotes to replace the cooler because it’s over $50,000.
The city’s Facilities Maintenance director, Dave Rice, was at the meeting to offer clarification. He said that the city received a quote back on the day of the City Council meeting from Kittredge Equipment, which is on a state contract. He said the quote he received is $58,000 for a new walk-in cooler. After talking to the city’s chief purchasing officer, Rice said that if he could buy the cooler off the state contract, then the three quotes were not necessary.
Rice further explained that the leftover funds from the roof repair appropriation came after the department was originally going to replace the entire roof. At the direction of the building commissioner, Rice said they decided that it was in the best interest of the city to not replace the two flat roof parts because “we didn’t know what we wanted to do for the major repairs to the building at that time, but we wanted to fix the shingled roof as it was actively leaking at the time.”
Goff motioned to send the item to Finance and Budget Committee because she thought the council did not receive enough information.
City Councilors Abigail Arriaga, Mary Beth Pniak-Costello and Jessica Avery said they were not against the golf course getting the new freezer but expressed they wanted some more transparency.
“I’ve never been against improvements,” Arriaga said. “There was more information in the conversation that was had that I would’ve liked to have seen beforehand. I would’ve liked to have known that they didn’t do the full roof. I came into this meeting thinking the whole roof was done. Again, not against it, but the transparency was not there in any way, shape or form.”
City Councilor Douglas Girouard, who worked as a concessionaire at the golf course for 15 seasons, said the building at 1290 Burnett Road has been neglected for “many, many, many years.”
“We struggled with a building that was getting tired and old,” Girouard stated. “There [are] current concessionaires in there now that deserve a working environment like any other restaurant that is out there.”
City Councilor Samuel Shumsky said he wondered why the golf course appropriations are the ones that get questioned the most compared to other departments. He stated how the golf course is the only city department that brings revenue into the city due largely because it hosts the AJGA tournament and other events.
After more debate, the motion to send it to the Finance Subcommittee did not pass. The motion to approve the funding also did not receive enough votes. Arriaga and Goff said they were willing to change their votes if the golf course came before the Finance Committee for a full financial report.
City Councilors said that this issue is beyond the golf course, and they would like to see more communication with other departments about their finances to make sure everyone is on the same page.
