AGAWAM — At the City Council’s Aug. 5 meeting, Mayor Christopher Johnson alluded to the idea of adopting a stormwater fee, something he said the town has been considering for the past six to eight years.
“At this point, better than 50% of our neighboring communities have already adopted stormwater fees because everybody’s facing the same dilemma, which is, how do they maintain stuff that’s 50-, 60-, 70-plus years old with no dedicated stream of revenue to pay for it,” he said.
Johnson was talking about creating a consistent revenue stream for the town’s stormwater projects, which he said were extensive and expensive. Agawam’s stormwater infrastructure, he said, is old and already failing in some places. He said he regularly asks people how much they thought the over North Street culvert repair project costed and he’s never received an answer higher than a million dollars.
The project was over $3 million, he said.
“The reality is stormwater work is not inexpensive to perform,” he said.
The town, Johnson said, was fortunate enough to receive ARPA money for big projects like North Street, but there’s a list of projects close to it in cost.
In an interview Aug. 7, Johnson said the projects include culvert replacements and failed drainage outfalls. On Aug. 8, he visited a drainage culvert in Feeding Hills, where the surrounding area was eroding away.
“People think they’re small issues but they’re not,” he said.
Johnson said there were two options to address the town’s stormwater needs: adopting an “alternate revenue stream,” such as a stormwater fee, or raising real estate taxes. He said he wanted to meet with the City Council and create a “shared vision” on how to tackle the issue.
“I don’t want to jump the gun,” he said. “I want to revisit it and talk to the council.”
That discussion will happen either later this year or early in 2025, he said.
Paving, paving and more paving
In other business, work on Springfield Street is scheduled to be completed this month. Johnson said the town started milling that morning and was supposed to last until the end of the week.
Resurfacing should occur in the last week of August, depending on the weather.
“That should be completed this year from Sacred Heart [Parish] all the way down to O’Brien’s Corner,” he said.
“Eversource is supposed to come in and fix the section of Springfield Street by the bridge that they ripped up unexpectedly last year, so hopefully that happens this year,” he added.
Meadow Street will also be repaved and resurfaced this fall. The $4 million project to give the street a new water main and storm drains ended in June, Johnson said. The hope is that the new storm drains will prevent flooding during rainstorms.
“We’re waiting for Eversource to finish some gaswork on the street, but the plan is to repave, resurface Meadow Street this fall,” he said.
Sidewalks on Southwick Street in Feeding Hill Center should be finished shortly, he said.
Councilor Dino Mercadante asked if Eversource was done with their work at the intersection by the Morgan-Sullivan Bridge. Johnson said it has and that Eversource is saying that area should be repaved before or after the Big E, but not during.
Council President Rosemary Sandlin asked about the Suffield and Silver Street intersection. Johnson said it was “just about done,” with paving and signal installation already done. The final inspection was scheduled to happen at a meeting that week.
Councilor Edward Borgatti asked about a roundabout at the intersection of Pine and Barry Streets. Johnson said the town was studying its options for improving the intersection, which include a roundabout, signals, and four-way stop signs, he said.
Councilor Gerald Smith said he was in favor of the four-way stop signs.
“If everybody had a stop, that would create a situation that would be a lot safer, and probably very inexpensive to install two more stop signs,” he said.
Each option has its challenges. With a long sightline on Pine Street, Johnson said, people will drive faster down the road thinking they can “time the light,” if the intersection is signalized. Stop signs may require blinking and flashing lights to retrain drivers. Roundabouts may impinge on the property owners who live around the intersection.
The town will hopefully have its preferred option later this year or early in 2025, he said.
