historic preservation Archives — Western Mass Politics & Insight

December 2024
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Take My Council, Please: To be There or to Be Just a Square…?

A week before the Springfield City Council was to consider tax rates for residential and commercial properties, members briefly clashed over funding to close deficits from prior years. There was another mayor-Council flashpoint last week, albeit one that took the guise of old school political territorialism. The removal of the historic Stearns Square bench had reached the Council. However, the body punted on a resolve at the request of one councilor.

Springfield CPA Projects Go Big on Endangered Structures for FY25 Grants…

SPRINGFIELD—Alongside normal business at its June 10 meeting, the City Council greenlighted a list of projects that received funding under the Community Preservation Act (CPA). In 2016, voters authorized a 1.5% surcharge on tax bills.

The Committee’s chair, Robert McCarroll, announced nearly $3 million in projects for fiscal year 2025.

Take My Council, Please: Matters of Historic Proportions…

Was the defining issue at the October 16 meeting of the Springfield City Council for naught? It certainly seems possible. The debate collapsed into confusion and hand-wringing until its lead sponsor, Council President Jesse Lederman untied all the knots.

Take My Council, Please: A Gentle Cycle of Rinse and Repeat…

The Springfield City Council faced a light agenda this past Monday. Once more the Council held off on final passage of a historic district for the former Isolation Hospital. The body continues to meditate on the owner’s litigation threat. That limited the meeting to uncontentious items. Among them was a revote on the firefighters’ labor contract due to a drafting error.

Take My Council, Please: Ages of Miracles, Art, Excess & Satire…

The Springfield City Council remains a sea of relative political calm even as the mayoral race begins to make waves. Fortuitously, Monday’s meeting included three challengers to Mayor Domenic Sarno—two incumbent councilors and a former councilor all of whom support a bill to make a local singer’s tune the state jazz song.

Take My Council, Please: The Allen, Er, Maple Parsons Project…

At its November 14 meeting, the Springfield City Council confronted a largely ho-hum agenda of financial orders. However, one item revisited the scars of the tornado. Despite opposition from some, the Council approved Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding for the renovation of the Parsons Apartment block at 169 Maple Street.

Take My Council, Please: Have You Had Your Legislative Break Today?…

SPRINGFIELD—The City Council considered and passed a plethora of legislation at its Monday meeting this week. Action commenced on a pair of historic districts—each were at different stages of passage. The ordinance banning the sale of non-shelter animals at pet stores also passed the Council.

Take My Council, Please: Historic Preservation, a Gothic Experience…

SPRINGFIELD—Rare are week after week regular Monday meetings of the City Council here. Normally, the next meeting after a regular session is for permits and one did appear on the agenda. Yet, this week, there was another regulation session with its own clutch of legislation

Take My Council, Please: In Pursuit of Current & Historic Truths…

SPRINGFIELD—For only the third time since the city adopted the Community Preservation Act (CPA), the City Council here thumbed through and approved the recommendations. Councilors love the program as it lets them approve projects beyond the ambit of mayor. Meanwhile anybody—including some city organs—can suggest

Take My Council, Please: After the Primaries of Summer Have Gone…

SPRINGFIELD—The City Council virtually returned from August’s semi-recess Monday to find a massive pile of fresh items on the floor requiring attention. The vast majority were financial, but several were also complex. Others fell under the Community Preservation Act (CPA) demanding more scrutiny than the

Springfield…and the World…

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