City Council approves Johnson’s capital improvement plan

Agawam Mayor Christopher Johnson, seen here in a file photo, saw his capital improvement plan approved by the City Council on May 4.
Reminder Publishing file photo

AGAWAM — Mayor Christopher Johnson joined the City Council on May 4 to present a five-year capital improvement plan.

The council unanimously supported the plan, which will cost more than $2 million from the general fund each year.

In recent years, Agawam invested in a new police station, replaced the roof of the library and purchased a tower truck for the Fire Department. The city is in the process of building a new high school, which Johnson said was the largest capital project in Agawam’s history “by a long, long, long shot.” The high school is on time and on budget, Johnson said, adding, “Our friends in Washington aren’t making it any easier with the craziness that’s going on in the world.”

Despite these major investments, the laundry list of roadwork, water mains and roof replacements dwarves the projects done in recent years. The plan spans fiscal year 2027, which begins in July, and FY31. Johnson began by listing several “small” projects that will be paid for by the city’s general fund. Among these were a new $170,000 boiler at the DPW and a $125,000 feasibility study to look at turning the Perry Lane site into a recreation center once the new Early Childhood Education Center is built at the high school.

Johnson said roadway projects are a perennial need. The state will pay for some of these projects, such as paving Suffield and Southwick streets, and the Maple Street Safe Routes to School project. However, most of the road projects fall to the general fund, supplemented by Chapter 90 state aid. These projects include the controversial intersection at Suffield, Cooper and Rowley streets, expected to cost the town $800,000. Roadway projects also include sidewalk rehabilitation and extensions and traffic signal improvements.

Many of the projects focus on the Fire Department, which will need to replace a $55,000 generator and a $105,000 rescue boat in FY27. In FY28, emergency dispatchers, who manage calls for both the Fire and Police departments, will be trained on a new system in FY28, which will cost $225,000. Also in FY28, a replacement for the roof of the Fire Department headquarters will cost $245,000, and a new HVAC system in the building will be about $160,000.

The parking lots of both fire headquarters and Fire Station 2 will be repaved for $225,000 and furniture will be replaced for $55,000. Both of those projects are scheduled for FY29. New Fire Department radios will cost about $1.1 million between FY30 and FY31, and replacing the overhead doors at both fire stations will be $180,000 in FY31.

When it comes to the city’s four elementary and two middle schools, Johnson said the plan is to keep them repaired and functioning for the next 25 to 30 years, when they will all be at the end of their useful lives. At that point, he said the city would build a single school to educate all Agawam K-8 students.

To make this plan a reality, the four elementary schools need new roofs, as they were last replaced in the late 1990s. Johnson said the city has been accepted into the accelerated repair program of the Massachusetts School Building Authority, a semi-governmental entity that reimburses municipalities for a portion of eligible costs. In total, the four projects are expected to cost $5.45 million, and Johnson said the MSBA will reimburse about half of that cost. These projects are scheduled for FY27.

There are other school building projects, including a new roof for Doering Middle School for $1.85 million and new hallway flooring in the school for $235,000. Both of those projects are scheduled for FY30. Agawam Junior High also requires new flooring. Johnson explained that the “ugly” epoxy floor will be covered with a vinyl tile for $135,000 in FY27.

Projects on the horizon that are expected to be needed in a decade or so include the expansion of the Fire Department headquarters and a renovation or replacement of Fire Station 2.

Johnson said many of the water and wastewater projects are “dictated” by the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. The projects for these departments are covered by their respective enterprise funds.

Water Main replacements will be needed on Main, South, Suffield, Silber and Mill streets, River Road, Belvidere and Brookline avenues and Perry Lane. The price tag for each of these ranges from $1.5 million to $4.6 million. The city’s water meters will be replaced over a six-year span, at a cost of $300,000 per year.

Councilor Robert Rossi asked what was going to be done with the old police station. Johnson told him it is currently storage for the high school building project. Once that is complete, it will need a structural assessment.

“The number one thing we hear is roads and sidewalks,” said Councilor Edward Borgatti, adding that there are no sidewalks running to the city’s two largest parks. Johnson countered, saying, “We’ve spent more money in the past three years on road paving than in the history of the town.”

Councilor Thomas Hendrickson asked the mayor to refresh residents’ memories of why the Feeding Hills Sewer project was not on the list. Johnson said it was “not financially feasible.” A study by Tighe & Bond done more than a decade ago estimated the project would cost more than $100,000 for every home along the sewer line. He also said it would require multiple pump stations, but that there was not expected to be enough sewage to properly run those pumps.

Councilor Christine Rickmon had several questions about items not on the plan. Johnson explained that many projects with alternative funding sources, such as grants, and were not included. She also asked why there were no air conditioners in the schools. Johnson told her they were not built for air conditioning, and it would cost “tens of millions of dollars” to retrofit them.

Rickmon asked Johnson about a list of security issues at the schools that was provided to her anonymously.

Johnson explained that the schools have personnel that address security issues. He said he could not verify the accuracy of the list and added, “With all due frankness, I don’t believe it is particularly responsible to bring up anonymous lists that are provided to you.” Rickmon responded that she had the related work order numbers but otherwise let the matter drop.