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roundhouse republican articles ******** Pulaski project backed Republican, The (Springfield, MA) May 30, 2006 Author: NANCY H. GONTER; STAFF; The Republican (Springfield, MA) Estimated printed pages: 3 ngonter@repub.com A developer of land next to the Northampton park would have to create as many parking spots as the project consumes. NORTHAMPTON - The city is moving forward with the development of a piece of prime real estate that could lead to the enlargement of Pulaski Park. A city-owned piece of the underused parking lot behind the Roundhouse Plaza that is a little more than an acre of land has been offered to a developer who will "create economic activity" that will add the most to city coffers. The challenge for a developer is that the city is requiring that any project create as many parking places as are eliminated by its construction, meaning a parking garage or parking deck must be part of the project, said Wayne M. Feiden, the city's director of planning and development. "What makes this really exciting for us, besides making the parking lot safer and more desirable, is we will get 30 extra feet of park," Feiden said. After doing a survey of the area, the city learned the property line for Pulaski Park is not at the fence at the rear of the park, but is instead a concrete wall at the bottom of a steep slope, Feiden said. Part of the proposal calls for a developer filling in that space and the building fronting on the park, he said. "It could make the park bigger and the building could create shading," Feiden said. Ford Gillen Architects Inc., of Amherst, hired by the city when the site was being considered as a possible location for a senior center, prepared some plans for the site that include a 18,000-square-foot building which are intended to give a developer ideas, not to restrict anyone, Feiden said. The City Council in December 2005 declared the parcel surplus, so only the approval of Mayor Mary Clare Higgins is needed for a developer to be selected, Feiden said. Another challenge for the developer will be dealing with soil contamination on the site, which used to be a factory where coal was converted to gas for street lighting. A tar-like waste product was dumped there and while it is not a risk now, it could be if excavation must be done, Feiden said. Baystate Gas Co., which purchased the Northampton Gas Lighting Co. many years ago, is responsible for the cost of making the site comply with state regulations, he said. Proposals from developers are due on July 12. They will be evaluated based on the developer's experience with complex projects and those with "brownfields" contamination, as well as the developer's financial and technical resources. In addition, bids will be evaluated based on which provides the "greatest financial return to the city" over 10 years. Credit will be given for a developer who provides wireless Internet serves for Pulaski Park, who provides extra parking spaces, who builds an energy-efficient building and who makes improvements to the park. Edition: Hampshire/Franklin Section: News Page: B01 Index Terms: PARK; DEVELOPMENT; PROJECT Copyright, 2006, The Republican Company, Springfield, MA. All Rights Reserved. Used by NewsBank with Permission. Record Number: MERLIN_3958412 OpenURL Article Bookmark (right click, and copy the link location): Pulaski project backed http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.new sbank.com:SUNB:SUNB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=111FD3A 314C6EC88&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=0F41EC32601CE3D6 ********** Briefs Republican, The (Springfield, MA) February 7, 2006 Author: STAFF; The Republican (Springfield, MA) Estimated printed pages: 2 NORTHAMPTON Site cleanup talks The City Council has appropriated $30,000 for legal services to negotiate cleanup of the Roundhouse parking lot with Bay State Gas. Planning Director Wayne Feiden said the area was once owned by a company that manufactured gas and released coal tar at the site. The site was purchased by Bay State Gas, which assumed responsibility for cleanup. Feiden said this is the first installment of negotiating costs. LEYDEN Development hearing A 7 p.m. public hearing will be held on Thursday at Pearl Rhodes Elementary School, Brattleboro Road, on a proposed update of the town's community development strategy and a prioritized list of projects. GREENFIELD Church raffle St. James Episcopal Church, will raffle a 2006 GMC Canyon 4-wheel drive pickup donated by the Don Lorenz dealership to fund its support of regional nonprofits. Four-hundred $100 tickets will be sold at the church to raise $40,000. AMHERST Film festival The 13th Massachusetts Multicultural Film Festival at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst opens tomorrow and pays tribute to Asian cinema, featuring four women filmmakers who will present and discuss their work. Free screenings are at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays through May 10 in the Isenberg School of Management's Flavin Family Auditorium. For a complete list, go to www.umass.edu/film Edition: Hampshire/Franklin Section: News Page: B01 Index Terms: BRIEFS Copyright, 2006, The Republican Company, Springfield, MA. All Rights Reserved. Used by NewsBank with Permission. Record Number: MERLIN_3700217 OpenURL Article Bookmark (right click, and copy the link location): Briefs http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.new sbank.com:SUNB:SUNB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=10FA989 ABAA76D38&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=0F41EC32601CE3D6 ******* >>>> FRONT PAGE Hamp site sale approval likely Republican, The (Springfield, MA) December 8, 2005 Author: FRED CONTRADA; STAFF; The Republican (Springfield, MA) Estimated printed pages: 3 fcontrada@repub.com NORTHAMPTON - A proposal to sell a prime piece of real estate near Pulaski Park is going back to the City Council for a final vote after a public hearing last night at which few members of the public showed up. At its previous meeting last week, the council gave preliminary approval to a resolution asking that the city declare a 47,690-square-foot parcel in the Roundhouse parking lot surplus land and authorizing the mayor to sell it. The city had been looking for ways to develop the site for years and had considered it as a location for a new senior center. That plan was ultimately rejected because of the lack of free parking. Ward 5 Councilor Alex D. Ghiselin had asked that the city hold a public hearing on the matter before the council took a final vote. Dozens of people attended a series of public hearings on Smith College's plan to build a science center in the Green Street neighborhood. Many of them took issue with the way the city negotiated with Smith. Last night, however, only four members of the public, including Ward 4 City Councilor-elect David Narkewicz, attended the hearing scheduled by the Committee on Economic Development, Housing and Land Use. Planning Director Wayne M. Feiden gave a PowerPoint presentation showing an architect's rendering of a possible development in the northwest corner of the parking lot. It showed a six-story building rising four stories above Pulaski Park, which sits above the parking lot. The city will maintain possession of land at the opposite side of the lot where the old Mill River bed runs, Feiden said. Plans call for a bike path that will eventually connect to the Manhan Rail Trail in Easthampton to run through that section. In soliciting bids, Feiden said, the city will stipulate that the developer must provide parking to replace any spaces in the Roundhouse lot that are lost through the project. The city will also require that the space on the ground level of Pulaski Park be reserved for commercial use. Because the city-owned park land extends to a concrete wall at the bottom of the slope, the developer might have to fill in that space in order for the building to be accessible from the park, Feiden said. He said the project will probably be expensive because there are several utilities, including the city's main gas line and a major storm drain, under the site. Because of that, the city expects to gain more through tax revenues over a period of years than from the sale itself, he said. Mayor Mary Clare Higgins, who was at the meeting, said the matter will go back to the council for a final vote next week. The committee will begin working on language for the request for proposals in February, she said. "We'd like to move it along because we think it's a good project," Higgins said. Edition: Hampshire/Franklin Section: News Page: A01 Index Terms: REAL ESTATE; SALE Copyright, 2005, The Republican Company, Springfield, MA. All Rights Reserved. Used by NewsBank with Permission. Record Number: MERLIN_3586616 OpenURL Article Bookmark (right click, and copy the link location): 'Hamp site sale approval likely http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.new sbank.com:SUNB:SUNB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=10E67CB 457C64DC0&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=0F41EC32601CE3D6 ************* Views sought on sellng site Republican, The (Springfield, MA) December 3, 2005 Author: FRED CONTRADA; STAFF; The Republican (Springfield, MA) Estimated printed pages: 3 fcontrada@repub.com NORTHAMPTON - The City Council has given the mayor preliminary approval to sell a key piece of land near Pulaski Park for development, but several councilors want to give the public a chance to weigh in on the matter first. The 47,690-square-foot parcel is in the northwest corner of the Roundhouse parking lot off Crafts Avenue, at the bottom of the hill from Pulaski Park and the Academy of Music. The city currently uses the space for metered parking. The resolution presented to the council on Thursday asks it to declare the land surplus and authorize the mayor to sell it in consultation with the Committee on Economic Development, Housing, and Land Use. Planning Director Wayne M. Feiden told the council that a study done by Ford Gillen Architects shows that a building can be constructed on the site without obstructing the views of the Roundhouse or the Mount Tom Range from Pulaski Park. The developer must agree to replace any parking spaces that are lost because of the project, he said. Afterward, Feiden said the site could accommodate a six-story building, perhaps with two tiers of parking on the lowest levels. He said a mix of commercial and high-end condominium space would probably be the most profitable use for a developer. The city has been studying the possibility of developing the Roundhouse lot for years. The Senior Center Building Committee considered the site as a location for the senior center, but ultimately opted to build it near the Walter P. Salvo House on Conz Street. Feiden told the council that a number of obstacles will make the site expensive to develop. Sewer and water lines running underneath the parcel would have to be relocated. In addition, the city is in continuing negotiations with BayState Gas to clean up coal byproducts dumped in the area by the Northampton Gas and Lighting Co, which once operated out of the Roundhouse. BayState Gas inherited that liability after it merged with Northampton Gas and Lighting. Because of the potential development costs, Feiden said the city would probably not get much money in the short term from selling the site. "Over the next 10 years, it we would get a substantial amount of tax money," he said. In addition to creating new tax revenues, development of the site would create jobs, Feiden said. Although councilors were enthusiastic about the plan, Ward 5 Councilor Alex D. Ghiselin said he would like to have at least one public hearing on the matter before the council gives its final approval. Other councilors pointed out that the topic has been under discussion for years and that the public had a chance to comment on it when it was before the Committee on Economic Development, Housing and Land Use. See microfilm for staff map Edition: ALL Section: News Page: B01 Index Terms: PROPERTY; GOVERNMENT-LOCAL; SALE Copyright, 2005, The Republican Company, Springfield, MA. All Rights Reserved. Used by NewsBank with Permission. Record Number: MERLIN_3576543 OpenURL Article Bookmark (right click, and copy the link location): Views sought on sellng site http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.new sbank.com:SUNB:SUNB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=10EA6B3 3067CB0B8&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=0F41EC32601CE3D6 *********** City solves mystery of barrels Sunday Republican (Springfield, MA) August 8, 2004 Author: FRED CONTRADA; STAFF; Sunday Republican (Springfield) Estimated printed pages: 4 fcontrada@repub.com Bay State Gas Company plans to dispose of the 55-gallon drums, according to a city official. NORTHAMPTON - The mystery of the 55-gallon drums has been solved and help is on the way. For months, residents have been puzzled by three 55-gallon barrels, which have been sitting under the South Street overpass at the rear of the Roundhouse parking lot. Pleasant Street resident Alan L. Scheinman said he first noticed the drums in April while he was walking his dog. "At first I just thought that someone lawfully left them there, but they were there for a long time," Scheinman said. "They looked rusty. When you see 55-gallon drums, that you think might have been illegally dumped, you wonder what's in them." Scheinman notified the police, the Northampton Board of Health, and the Department of Public Works about the drums in June. Health Agent Ernest J. Mathieu said earlier this week that he wrote to the Massachusetts Electric Company about the barrels, because they are on land that the company owns. When he got no response, he sent a second letter by certified mail directing the company to remove the barrels. Debbie Drew, a spokeswoman with the electric company, said after investigating the situation, the company found that the barrels did not belong to the utility. Drew then called Planning Director Wayne Feiden, who said that the barrels contained mud from drilling tests performed by Bay State Gas. As Feiden explained, the Northampton Gas and Lighting Co., which operated at a site in the lot some 60 years ago, dumped coal byproducts on the ground. Although that practice was accepted at the time, it is now illegal. When the city discovered some contamination in the area a few years ago, Bay State, which inherited the liability for the waste, was ordered to clean the property. The mud in the barrels is a product of drilling tests conducted by the company, Feiden said. Other barrels containing soil from the tests were picked up during the winter on a regular basis, because of concerns snow plows might hit and rupture them, Feiden said. However, there is no problem with the drums sitting there for months, because there is a six-month grace period for disposing of the contamination. Bay State has contracted with Clean Harbors, a hazardous waste disposal company, to pick up the barrels, according to Feiden. Edition: Hampshire/Franklin Section: News Page: C01 Index Terms: UTILITY; POLLUTION Copyright, 2004, The Republican Company, Springfield, MA. All Rights Reserved. Used by NewsBank with Permission. Record Number: MERLIN_2853870 OpenURL Article Bookmark (right click, and copy the link location): City solves mystery of barrels http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.new sbank.com:SUNB:SUNB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=1049428 BEA9183B5&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=0F41EC32601CE3D6 ************* Meetings to eye municipal needs Sunday Republican (Springfield, MA) February 1, 2004 Author: FRED CONTRADA; STAFF; Sunday Republican (Springfield) Estimated printed pages: 4 fcontrada@repub.com A number of hot-button topics are up for discussion. NORTHAMPTON - In the upcoming months, the City Council will hear directly from department heads about their financial needs in fiscal 2005, although that will not be the case at the City Council meeting this Thursday. Last week, Mayor Mary Clare Higgins met with the Finance Committee to begin discussions on the 2005 budget. The mayor laid out two scenarios: a level-funding budget that would run a small deficit, and a budget that would deliver the same level of services as in the previous years with rising costs factored in. That budget would exceed revenues by about $1.6 million, necessitating an override of Proposition 21/2. The mayor and the Finance Committee agreed that it would be productive to have the full council meet with department heads during the planning period. However, it was decided that it would be too short notice to begin that process this week. Instead, it will start at the council's next meting on Feb. 19. The Conservation Commission, at its scheduled meeting on Thursday, will take up a request by the Planning Department to determine whether the construction of a rail trail from the Roundhouse parking lot to Earle Street along the old New Haven and Northampton Railroad right-of-way is subject to the Wetland Protection Act. The trail is part of a projected system of bike paths that will link Easthampton, Northampton, The Village on Hospital Hill, and the Norwottuck Rail Trail. - In Hadley the Planning Board Tuesday night at 7:30 will hold the first of what is expected to be several hearings on the proposed 323,000-square-foot Home Depot project set to be built on Route 9 where Montgomery Rose has operated. With a full house expected, the hearing will be held at Hopkins Academy. - In Amherst, the School Committee is holding a budget forum Saturday at the Amherst Regional High School. The regional budget will be reviewed from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and the Amherst elementary budget open from 1 to 4 p.m. Parents are invited to come and comment. - In Boston Wednesday, the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees will vote on whether to raise mandatory in-state student charges for the 2004-2005 session by a system-wide average of 1.6 percent. In addition, the board will decide whether to increase campus room and board costs by 5-7.7 percent, depending on the campus. At the Amherst campus, fees would increase 0.3 percent, or $26, to bring the total of tuition and fees to $9,008. Room and board at Amherst would increase by 7.7 percent, or $441, up to $6,189. Edition: Hampshire/Franklin Section: News Page: C03 Index Terms: GOVERNMENT-LOCAL; BUDGET; MEETING Copyright, 2004, The Republican Company, Springfield, MA. All Rights Reserved. Used by NewsBank with Permission. Record Number: MERLIN_2605132 OpenURL Article Bookmark (right click, and copy the link location): Meetings to eye municipal needs http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.new sbank.com:SUNB:SUNB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=1008592 CA78964AA&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=0F41EC32601CE3D6 *********** >>> FRONT PAGE Sites for senior center rejected; others sought Republican, The (Springfield, MA) January 29, 2004 Author: FRED CONTRADA; STAFF; The Republican (Springfield, MA) Estimated printed pages: 4 fcontrada@repub.com NORTHAMPTON - After going around the board, the committee charged with finding a site for a senior center is back to "go" without staking a claim to a single property. Meeting for the first time this year, the Senior Center Building Committee rejected all locations it had been studying and came up with suggestions for half a dozen more. "We're back to square one," said Co-Chairman David Stevens yesterday. "Put your thinking caps on." The city has wanted to build a senior center for several years to serve the estimated 5,000 residents over the age of 65. A small space at the Council on Aging office in Memorial Hall now serves as a meeting place and activities center. Mayor Mary Clare Higgins has said that the city would consider providing $2.5 million towards the project. Stevens said that any site under consideration must have at least 75 free parking spaces for seniors and staffers. The free parking would offset some of the cost for seniors of participating in activities at the center. The city would also like to build on land it owns because it does not want to take property off the tax rolls, he said. The Council on Aging has received a $20,000 community development block grant to undertake a feasibility study, but it will not use the money until it has settled on a location. One plan that had been under consideration was to locate the senior center in a $6.6 million, multi-story building in the Roundhouse parking lot behind the Academy of Music. In that scenario, the Council on Aging would have occupied three floors, and a private developer could build as many as 14 luxury condominiums. However, the cost to the city would have been $3.5 million, more than $1 million over budget, and the plan failed to provide enough new parking spaces, Stevens said. Other options were taken off the table for various reasons. The old Florence Grammar School, which is owned by the city, had potential as a senior center, but the School Department is using the available space for classrooms. Land on Spring Street, Florence, that the committee had been looking at was purchased by the Elks Club, which has built a lodge there. A site on Locust Street near the Department of Public Works yard might contain hazardous waste that would be prohibitively expensive to clean up. Ella Smolenski, who works with a senior center focus group, said some citizens are growing impatient with the pace of the project. "Quite frankly, folks, we're behind the times here in Northampton," she told the committee on Monday. "This is a disgrace." City Councilor James Dostal, who serves on the committee, said he will talk with the mayor about locating a senior center on the former State Hospital land, which is under development for housing and commercial use. This idea was previously rejected because the Village on Hospital Hill is a private development. But Dostal said the issue is worth revisiting. Other possibilities the committee promised to pursue include sites near the Jackson Street Elementary School and the Walter Salvo House on Conz Street. It will also investigate building a center in Look Park and near Agnes Fox Field, a small playground off State Street. "We're looking for the public to suggest more places," Stevens added. "You need at least two acres, preferably on a bus line. Where do we go from here?" Edition: Hampshire/Franklin Section: News Page: A01 Index Terms: SENIOR CITIZEN; COMMITTEE; BUILDING; PROPERTY Copyright, 2004, The Republican Company, Springfield, MA. All Rights Reserved. Used by NewsBank with Permission. Record Number: MERLIN_2602488 OpenURL Article Bookmark (right click, and copy the link location): Sites for senior center rejected; others sought http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.new sbank.com:SUNB:SUNB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=1006B2C 95206055E&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=0F41EC32601CE3D6 ************ Opposed play remains issue in Amherst Sunday Republican (Springfield, MA) January 25, 2004 Author: DIANE LEDERMAN; STAFF; Sunday Republican (Springfield) <parsed> Northampton, the Senior Center Building Committee is meeting tomorrow to discuss the possible locations. A study by the city's planning department ruled out the Roundhouse parking lot as a viable site, but the commitee is still looking at the old Florence Grammar School on Pine Street and some city-owned land near the Walter Salvo House on Conz Street. Edition: Hampshire/Franklin Section: News Page: C02 Index Terms: GOVERNMENT-LOCAL; MEETING; SCHOOL Copyright, 2004, The Republican Company, Springfield, MA. All Rights Reserved. Used by NewsBank with Permission. Record Number: MERLIN_2595359 ***** Focus set on site for senior center Sunday Republican (Springfield, MA) January 18, 2004 Author: HOLLY ANGELO; STAFF; Sunday Republican (Springfield) Estimated printed pages: 4 hangelo@repub.com NORTHAMPTON - The Senior Center Building Committee may be discouraged, but it is determined to refocus its energies to find a viable site for a senior center in the city. The committee is scheduled to meet Jan. 26 at 3:30 p.m. at the Council on Aging in Memorial Hall. "Starting the 26th we'll be putting a big effort into it and meeting more frequently," said Michael J. Ahearn Jr., co-chairman of the committee. "We haven't given up." The number of possible sites has dwindled, but there are still places in the city where a new center could be built. A recent study by the planning office at City Hall discounted including a senior center in a proposed multi-use building near the Roundhouse. Other possible sites include Florence Grammar School on Pine Street and city-owned land adjacent to the Walter Salvo House at 81 Conz St. "We're back to square one," Ahearn said. "We're going to see if there's anything available out there that we don't know about." The committee was appointed in July 2001 by Mayor Mary Clare Higgins and was asked to identify possible sites and locate funding sources. In November 2001, the project was given a financial boost when Jean P. Liswell left the bulk of her estate, about $80,000, to help build a senior center. Senior activities and services currently take place inside the Council on Aging headquarters at Memorial Hall. The space is so small there isn't room for an on-site meal program and larger activities need to be located at other sites in the city. And, there are only five parking spaces available. The council serves about 2,500 seniors each year. The committee is looking at both building a senior center and locating one in an existing building. At least two acres is needed to build a new center. Once the committee decides on a site, Ahearn said the committee will hire a consultant to perform a feasibility study. The committee has about $20,000 in grant money to hire a consultant, he said. "I try not to be discouraged," Council on Aging Executive Director Patricia A. Shaughnessy said. "I know it will happen because it should happen." Edition: Hampshire/Franklin Section: News Page: C01 Index Terms: BUILDING; SENIOR CITIZEN Copyright, 2004, The Republican Company, Springfield, MA. All Rights Reserved. Used by NewsBank with Permission. Record Number: MERLIN_2586305 OpenURL Article Bookmark (right click, and copy the link location): Focus set on site for senior center http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.new sbank.com:SUNB:SUNB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=1003BAF FC53A420D&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=0F41EC32601CE3D6 **************** date gap **************** Bike-path funding called realistic Union-News (Springfield, MA) May 12, 1995 Author: DAVID BERGENGREN STAFF; UNION-NEWS (Springfield, Mass.) Estimated printed pages: 3 A rail official sees the $1.5 million organizers hope to obtain as 'in the ballpark' for what the company might sell its land. EASTHAMPTON - The $1.5 million being sought by organizers here to purchase railroad land for an 11-mile stretch of bike path would be "in the ballpark" of what the land should cost, according to a railroad company official. "I don't think a number like that would be out of the question," said Pioneer Valley Railroad General Manager Marc Levine, referring to the $1.5 million. "I think we would be in the ballpark. You wouldn't be far from what the company would be targeting" for that property, Levine, who is based in Westfield, said. Any final decision would have to be made by the PVRR's five-member Board of Directors, Levine said. Easthampton-Southampton Bike Path Committee officials said that if they received the grant money, they would have the railroad property appraised before making any actual offer to purchase it. Easthampton Town Planner Stuart Beckley said he expected a decision probably in October on the group's April 28 applications for nearly $1.6 million to purchase the railroad property and to cover the design costs of a proposed added stretch of bike path from Ferry Street in Easthampton to the center of Northampton. With $1.5 million slated to purchase property rights, $67,000 is being requested to cover project designs, Beckley said. The grants are primarily federal money. The applications are made through the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission to the state Executive Office of Transportation and Construction, Beckley said. The PVRR rail bed runs diagonally across Southampton and Easthampton, roughly paralleling Route 10 through both towns. In Northampton, the proposed bike path would cross Route 10, then run between routes 10 and 66, ending at the Roundhouse Parking Lot beside the Peter Pan bus terminal downtown. Beckley said he was optimistic about the grant applications' chances, but added, "This is our first try, so I really don't know how it will go." Wayne Feiden, principal planner for Northampton, said his outlook was similar. "It's a competitive grant process, but we think it's a wonderful project, so I'm cautiously optimistic," Feiden said. "We hope that the Northampton downtown will sort of become the hub of three separate rail trails," Feiden said. One bike path would extend out to Williamsburg, another out through Hadley and Amherst to Belchertown, and the Easthampton-Southampton bike path would eventually extend all the way south to Westfield, he said. Standing beside a stretch of the proposed trail just off Union Street in Easthampton on a beautiful afternoon last Tuesday, four members of the bike path committee allowed themselves to dream a little about what kind of asset the bike path could be for the area. "It passes three different ponds and crosses the Manhan River twice," committee chairman Patricia Kowal said. "It's beautiful." The bike path could be used for other activities such as hiking or jogging, said Kowal, who pointed out that many elderly residents living near the center of Easthampton could easily walk the trail the short distance to the town's new senior center on Pleasant Street. "The whole bike path would be an activity center of its own," committee member Donna Bristol said. LENGTH: 18 Edition: HAMPSHIRE Section: NEWS Page: B1 Index Terms: PROPERTY; RECREATION; ROAD; FUNDS; COMPANY Copyright, 1995, The Republican Company, Springfield, MA. All Rights Reserved. Used by NewsBank with Permission. Record Number: MERLIN_326640 OpenURL Article Bookmark (right click, and copy the link location): Bike-path funding called realistic http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.new sbank.com:SUNB:SUNB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F2F0AB 2B98DAD32&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=0F41EC32601CE3D6 *********** Hamp panel votes to cut parking perk Union-News (Springfield, MA) October 6, 1994 Author: DAVID REID STAFF; UNION-NEWS (Springfield, Mass.) Estimated printed pages: 3 Having completed a survey of city department heads about their daytime use of reserved parking spots behind City Hall, the City Council's City Property Committee voted 3-0 yesterday to convert the 16-space lot entirely to short-term metered parking for the public's use. The same action was recommended at the nearby Memorial Hall, where 10 parking spots are controlled by the city. To become official city policy, however, the full City Council must adopt an ordinance, approving the changes and setting hourly rates for the meters. "So this may very well not be the last we hear of this," Mayor Mary Ford offered late yesterday. If adopted, the change would mean the end of parking directly behind City Hall for Clerk Christine Skorupski, Auditor Michael Lyons, Treasurer Shirley LaRose, Heath Agent Peter McErlain, and Solicitor Kathleen Fallon. The committee recommended leaving a space for Ford, as well as two of the three existing handicapped spaces; the lot already has five metered spots that are rarely empty during the day. At Memorial Hall, the change means no parking spots for the Council on Aging, the Veterans Affairs office or the Arts Council, although two large handicapped parking areas would remain. Walking time for officials If these spaces are metered, the affected officials could do what other municipal employees do: Park in specified long-term parking areas in the nearby Roundhouse or Hampton Avenue parking lots, a short walk from either building. All employees are issued decals by the Personnel Department. Property Committee member and Ward 1 City Councilor Judith Fine, whose motion it was to alter the parking, said the change will allow more public access to offices in City Hall and the Puchalski Municipal Building. "This needs to be seen and viewed as a practical thing for the public," said Fine. "The intent here is to open up parking for people doing short-term business with the city." "Official Business" placards will be issued to department heads who apply on an as-needed basis, the committee decided. Fine said her recent survey showed few department heads need instant and frequent access to their cars for official business. Some view spots as perk Later, however, she acknowledged that some department heads affected told her they view the parking spots as perks that come with the job - and which they deserve. "But others told me that it's about time," Fine said. "What I was hoping was that they could trim the number of city officials' spots based on need (and) using some objective criteria," Ford said. She said it's typical that several times daily she drives to another location on city business, and that her spot saves three or four minutes each trip. And while agreeing that "increasing public access to City Hall is a goal we all support," Ford said she wondered whether the Board of Health deserves a spot due to their frequency of their inspections. Vote brings shrug But McErlain, informed of yesterday's vote as he climbed into his vehicle after work, simply shrugged. "Whatever they think is best," he said. "I'll just go with the flow." Also asked to respond, longtime Auditor Michael Lyons said he made his feelings clear when communicating with Fine: "I said I considered it absolutely as a perk." As long as everyone's treated equally, he said, "It's OK. Besides, I need the exercise." But Planning and Development Director Penelope Kim, who has never had one of the coveted City Hall spots, warned that increasing public access to that lot will worsen an already dangerous situation. She said the driveway, wide enough for only one car at a time, is treacherous for pedestrians using the Main Street sidewalk, "and drivers would need to exercise extreme caution." LENGTH: 22 Edition: HAMPSHIRE Section: NEWS Page: 17 Index Terms: GOVERNMENT-LOCAL; VOTING; PARKING; PROPERTY; DEVELOPMENT Copyright, 1994, The Republican Company, Springfield, MA. All Rights Reserved. Used by NewsBank with Permission. Record Number: MERLIN_299512 OpenURL Article Bookmark (right click, and copy the link location): 'Hamp panel votes to cut parking perk http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.new sbank.com:SUNB:SUNB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F2F0CB 65CBE76CF&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=0F41EC32601CE3D6 ****** Group chooses 2 possible sites for new 'Hamp fire station Union-News (Springfield, MA) April 6, 1991 Author: CAITLIN ROTHER STAFF; UNION-NEWS (Springfield, Mass.) Estimated printed pages: 3 Attorney Bart Gordon, chairman of the Fire Station Site Selection Committee, tentatively named two Massachusetts Electric Co.-owned parcels on King Street as preferred sites for a new station this week. In a presentation Thursday to the City Council, Gordon detailed the committee's first two choices, which he said are not final. He said the committee will wait for input from city councilors and members of the public before making final recommendations on a site for a new fire station that would replace the deteriorating 1872 brick building on Masonic Street. No dollar figures were mentioned in connection with any of the proposed sites. The two preferred sites are on the east side of King Street near Northampton Honda and a site at the corner of King and Church streets. Seven other proposed parcels were categorized as less and even less desirable, including the city building housing the Water Department on Prospect Street; a parcel at Masonic and State streets; the city-owned parcel on Atwood Drive; the Roundhouse and Maplewood parking lots; and a building held by the Daily Hampshire Gazette on Conz Street. "We're not in a position to go out and buy a site now," Gordon said, adding that the committee's report will provide the city with the basis to proceed with purchasing a site when the time comes. "It pays to be opportunistic," Mayor David B. Musante Jr. said, noting how the city saved money by taking advantage of 90 percent state reimbursement for renovations to the Bridge Street and Leeds elementary schools. Moving the planning process along could save the city some money down the line, he added. Massachusetts Electric uses the King Street site near the Honda dealership as an area to park trucks during an emergency, such as a power failure, for days at a time. Muante said the city offered the power company an exchange, giving the firm access to city property to park their trucks, so the city could purchase the King Street site. The second preferred site, at King and Church streets, which Gordon said has been used as a parking area, would have to be graded and leveled. The parcel is known to neighbors as a place where children go to cause mischief, so the city's buying it could turn a nuisance into a useful proposition, he said. That site would need a traffic signal, however, and the impact on residents in the neighborhood would have to be considered. At-large City Councilor Paul Bixby suggested that Veterans Field be placed on the list of proposed sites. Gordon agreed to consider it. Shel Horowitz, of 39 Holyoke St., said that if the city chooses one of the King Street sites, it should ensure that fire trucks have easy access to Ward 3. LENGTH: 13 Edition: HAMPSHIRE Section: NEWS Page: 12 Index Terms: FIRE; BUILDING Copyright, 1991, The Republican Company, Springfield, MA. All Rights Reserved. Used by NewsBank with Permission. Record Number: MERLIN_156178 OpenURL Article Bookmark (right click, and copy the link location): Group chooses 2 possible sites for new 'Hamp fire station http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.new sbank.com:SUNB:SUNB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F2F10F 544DA6325&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=0F41EC32601CE3D6 ******* Hamp building for sale Roundhouse put on market Union-News (Springfield, MA) November 6, 1991 Author: DANIEL MILLER STAFF; UNION-NEWS (Springfield, Mass.) Estimated printed pages: 2 Robert G. Curran Jr., the owner of the Roundhouse building, has moved to Miami Beach, Fla., and put the 135-year-old structure up for sale. Curran became the sole owner of the Roundhouse in 1989, after 12 years of stalled development plans and disagreements over possible uses of the building. Curran is asking $1.55 million and has said he wants to sell the 15,000-square foot property at 244 Main St. because he feels it would be impractical for him to try to manage it from Florida. "Something breaks, and you've got to rely on someone else to fix it. It's hard to be an absentee landlord." In the mid-1980s, the building received $1.5 million of renovations, funded by a partnership of owners, Roundhouse Renaissance Associates. In 1986, the project was one of five in the area to win state Historic Preservation Awards. The 15,000-square-foot historic structure, fully rented, is occupied by the TWM Northeast engineering firm; Sears, Casagrande & Hersh, tax consultants; the Good Thyme Deli; and the Words and Pictures comic-art museum established by Kevin Eastman, co-creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It is being marketed by the Goggins & Whalen Real Estate Agency Inc. Curran said he plans to purchase and renovate hotels and other commercial properties in the Miami area. He said he went to Miami Beach because he needs a "change of scene." In part through his Peruvian mother, Curran has ties to the Latin American community there. Curran, 30, has spent half his life in Peru. While business is good in Florida, Curran stresses that he wasn't driven away by the recession, which reportedly has struck Massachusetts the hardest of any state. "Northampton will hold its own through a severe recession. It is one of the most beautiful places in the world to live." The Roundhouse, built as a coal-gasification plant in 1856 for the Northampton Gas Light Co., had been used by the city as storage space for years before 1977, when two developers, David Gompers of Rye Beach, N.H., and John Dwyer of Weymouth, signed an agreement to buy it for $12,000. However, in 1982, after Gompers and Dwyer had failed to submit a development plan, the city filed suit, asking for a judgment on whether the agreement should stay in force. Earlier that year, the city had obtained $225,000 in a federal grant for a 175-space parking lot near the Roundhouse. Gompers and Dwyer had insisted on the parking as a prerequisite to development. By 1984, Curran and his father, Robert G. Curran Sr., had bought into Roundhouse Renaissance and eventually bought Gompers and Dwyer out, Curran said. LENGTH: 14 Edition: HAMPSHIRE Section: NEWS Page: 15 Index Terms: BUILDING; COMPANY Copyright, 1991, The Republican Company, Springfield, MA. All Rights Reserved. Used by NewsBank with Permission. Record Number: MERLIN_181205 OpenURL Article Bookmark (right click, and copy the link location): 'Hamp building for sale Roundhouse put on market http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.new sbank.com:SUNB:SUNB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F2F112 DEE1E51D6&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=0F41EC32601CE3D6 ********** Good Thyme to move Union-News (Springfield, MA) November 30, 1989 Author: CAITLIN ROTHER STAFF; UNION-NEWS (Springfield, Mass.) Estimated printed pages: 2 Good Thyme Deli owner Carlo Valone said yesterday he will close his deli operation next month and open a new sit-down restaurant in The Roundhouse to be called Good Thyme Food Co. Valone said he signed a lease for the space Tuesday, when the License Commission denied a request to transfer his seasonal liquor license to Paul Ford for a billiard hall at 5 Pearl St. "The whole thing stinks," he said, referring to the commission's claim that the license was not transferable, though the minutes of the meeting at which it was issued could not be found. However, Valone intends to use the beer and wine license at his new restaurant. The delicatessen owner of 17 years says he is being forced out of his location because of a nearly 30 percent rent hike. The business, which he hopes to open the first week of January, will still offer catering services and take-out food. Valone also plans to hire a couple more employees to prepare vegetables for the salad bar. The restaurant will seat 40 people inside and a total of 100 during the summer when the deck opens. Valone and Roundhouse owner Robert Curran Jr. will ask the Planning Board to recommend the Zoning Board of Appeals grant a finding allowing Curran to house the new restaurant and a nightclub on another floor. The ZBA will consider the request Wednesday, Dec. 6, at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. Curran said yesterday when he submitted the finding request, someone was interested in opening a nightclub. However, "Right now it doesn't look like a reality," he said. With Valone in the middle floor, Curran said an additional 5,000 square feet still will be available for rental, split between the first and third floors. "My rents are very reasonable," he said. LENGTH: 9 Edition: HAMPSHIRE Section: NEWS Page: 38 Index Terms: RESTAURANT; ZONING; COMPANY Copyright, 1989, The Republican Company, Springfield, MA. All Rights Reserved. Used by NewsBank with Permission. Record Number: MERLIN_93891 http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.new sbank.com:SUNB:SUNB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F2F130 A44FA5E63&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=0F41EC32601CE3D6