The city Department of Health and Human Services on Friday advised residents that while the risk of contracting mosquito-borne diseases remains moderate to low in Northampton, precautions should be taken through October.
The state Department of Public Health reports cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis and West Nile Virus in humans elsewhere in the state, where aerial spraying against mosquitoes and activities after dusk are being curtailed in some communities. Those measures are not currently needed in Northampton, according to health officials.
Both diseases are transmitted to people through bites from an infected mosquito. Health officials report that while most people infected with West Nile Virus may not experience symptoms, some develop severe illnesses, including inflammation of the brain. Eastern Equine Encephalitis, though rare, is a serious disease that often starts with a sudden onset of headache, high fever, chills, and vomiting. Inflammation and swelling of the brain, called encephalitis, is the most dangerous and frequent serious complication that can lead to severe neurological conditions or death.
People can reduce the risk of being bitten by:
- Using Environmental Protection Agency-approved mosquito repellents, especially between dusk and dawn.
- Wearing long sleeves, pants, and socks when outdoors during those hours.
- Using mosquito netting on baby carriages and playpens.
- Repairing window and door screens to keep mosquitoes out of homes.
- Removing standing water from containers such as buckets, plant pots, tires, and wading pools.
- Keeping horses in indoor stalls at night.
Respiratory illnesses
City health officials are urging residents to get vaccinated this fall to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
During a presentation to the City Council on Thursday, public health nurse Jennifer Brown said that COVID-19 is not a seasonal virus and that during a nationwide surge this summer, cases in Northampton rose to the same level as last winter. She said a new vaccine aimed at the latest variants will be available this fall for everyone six months and older.
The latest public health guidelines urge people with respiratory virus symptoms (fever plus cough or sore throat) to stay home until the symptoms are gone. Precautions such as wearing a mask are then advised for the next five days.
COVID rapid antigen tests are available at the Department of Health and Human Services, Puchalski Municipal Building, 212 Main St., and the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce, 99 Pleasant St.
Further information about respiratory illnesses is available here:
https://www.northamptonma.gov/2104/Respiratory-Data-COVID-Wastewater-RSV-an
Appointments for vaccine clinics are available here:
https://home.color.com/vaccine/register/northampton
Water restrictions
The city Department of Public Works on Thursday implemented a water-use restriction for the municipal water system to ensure a sustainable supply and to protect stream flow for aquatic life.
Non-essential water use is banned between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. until further notice. That includes irrigation of lawns and watering of gardens, flowers, and ornamental plants by means of sprinklers or other mechanical devices (watering with a hand-held hose is permissible); washing of vehicles other than by commercial car wash; and washing of exterior building surfaces, parking lots, driveways or sidewalks, except as needed to apply paint, preservatives, stucco, pavement or cement.
The city’s water supply is regulated by the state Department of Environmental Protection, which requires that the restrictions be imposed when the stream flow in the Mill River drops below 26.3 cubic feet per second. The restrictions will be lifted when the stream flow rises above that level for seven consecutive days.
Violators are subject to a $100 fine for the first offense, and $200 for second or subsequent offenses.
Climate Action director
The City Council on Thursday unanimously approved Benjamin Weil of Northampton as director of the city’s Climate Action and Project Administration Department. He has been interim director since May when he succeeded Carole Collins who had served since September 2023 as the first director of CAPA. She returned to her previous position as director of the Department of Energy and Sustainability in Greenfield.
Weil had been an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Conservation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and also previously worked at the Center for EcoTechnology in Northampton. He has been a member of the Northampton Energy and Sustainability Commission since January 2018.
Weil’s appointment as permanent director of CAPA was unanimously endorsed Wednesday by the Committee on City Services, which I chair. In my remarks supporting his appointment, I cited Weil’s breadth of experience and his vision for balancing his responsibilities to develop strategic partnerships across municipal departments, coordinate education and engagement programs in the community, and oversee opportunities to secure grants.
The City Council last year approved the CAPA Department to help meet the goals of achieving carbon neutrality for municipal operations by 2030 and for net-zero carbon emissions citywide by 2050. It is a resource for everyone in the community, including residents, businesses and institutions, and coordinates efforts to secure state, federal and private grants to help meet the city’s goals.
More information about CAPA is available here:
https://www.northamptonma.gov/2529/Climate-Action-Project-Administration-CA
Police chief
Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra on Thursday appointed John Cartledge as permanent police chief. Cartledge has served as interim chief this year, succeeding Jody Kasper who resigned on Jan. 1 to become chief of police in Nantucket.
The City Council on Thursday referred Cartledge’s appointment to the Committee on City Services, which I chair. It will consider the appointment during its next meeting at 5 p.m., Monday, Sept. 23.
Cartledge was selected from among four applicants and was unanimously endorsed by the seven-member search committee. In making the appointment, Sciarra stated that Cartledge’s “leadership has been instrumental in ensuring that Northampton’s police force remains a model of progressive policing focused on serving the community with integrity and respect.”
Cartledge has worked for the Northampton Police Department since 1995 and served as captain of operations between 2015 and 2019, when he became captain of administration. A native of Northampton who now lives in Easthampton, he has a master’s degree in criminal justice.
The public will have an opportunity to meet Cartledge at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 11, at the Northampton Senior Center, 67 Conz St.
More about Cartledge is available here:
https://www.northamptonpd.com/about/meet-the-chief.html
Resilience Hub lead partner
Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra announced Aug. 30 that Clinical & Support Options (CSO) is the city’s new lead nonprofit partner in developing the Resilience Hub, succeeding Community Action Pioneer Valley.
CSO provides temporary shelter, permanent housing and other community support for people who have been homeless, as well as outpatient mental health, crisis and emergency services in Northampton, Greenfield and Springfield. It operates the shelter at 91 Grove St. and is building a new shelter in the Northampton industrial park.
The new partnership with the city is designed to ensure that services at the Reliance Hub and the new CSO shelter in the industrial park are complementary. CSO also will assist the city in raising money to complete work needed on the former First Baptist Church at 298 Main St., which has been vacant since 1993. Sciarra stated, “As the project moves into its next phase, CSO will focus on the necessary fundraising and programmatic development work before construction begins.”
The Resilience Hub will provide services and resources in a central location, including a community center and kitchen during the day, to members of the city’s most vulnerable population. The building also will serve as headquarters for the Department of Health and Human Services Division of Community Care, and it will be used as an emergency response center and shelter during crises.
More information about the Resilience Hub is available here:
https://northamptonma.gov/2166/Community-Resilience-Hub.
Valley Green Energy
Three information sessions about the Valley Green Energy regional electricity program will be held during September for customers in Northampton, Amherst and Pelham.
The program designed to offer cleaner electricity and stable prices to residents and businesses will start in November. The communities will use their collective buying power to increase the amount of renewable electricity in the supply provided by the utility, which in Northampton is National Grid.
In-person information sessions will be held from 1 to 2 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 10, at the Bangs Community Center, 70 Boltwood Walk, Amherst, and 1 to 2 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 17, at the Northampton Senior Center, 67 Conz St. There will be a virtual information session from 7 to 8 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 26. Here is the Zoom link to join that meeting: https://amherstma.zoom.us/j/81381124425
Participants in Valley Green Energy will automatically receive an additional 10% of their electricity (compared to the minimum required by law) from renewable sources for 13.994 ¢/kWh, a price that will be lower and more stable than the National Grid residential electricity supply price in place at launch. National Grid’s basic service rate is 16.055 ¢/kWh. However, because the utilities’ prices change, future savings cannot be guaranteed.
Two additional program options will be available by request. One allows participants to receive electricity that is 100% from renewable sources for 16.474 ¢/kWh and the other to receive the minimum amount from renewable sources required by law (currently 24%) for 13.594 ¢/kWh.
Current customers of National Grid will automatically be enrolled and may choose to opt out.
Further information is available at ValleyGreenEnergy.org
171-187 King St.
The Planning Board will hold a public hearing at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 12, in the City Council chambers, 212 Main St., on the application by Cosenzi Automotive Realty for a commercial parking lot with approximately 335 parking spaces. at 171-187 King St.
That 5.35-acre site, which has been vacant for nearly two decades, previously was a Honda dealership and at one time was owned by the Massachusetts Electric Co. It is in the Central Business-Gateway District.
The City Council in May unanimously approved a zoning amendment to ban motor vehicle sales as part of future developments in the Central Business-Gateway Districts on King and Pleasant streets. Auto dealerships had been allowed in those districts if a special permit was approved by the Planning Board.
The districts are intended to “create a gateway to downtown Northampton and adjacent residential neighborhoods, develop a pedestrian-scale public realm, facilitate redevelopment of the area with a broad range of moderate to high-density commercial, mixed-use and residential buildings” and “provide increased options for housing and services that benefit residents in the surrounding neighborhoods and travelers along the corridor.”
The amendment was approved after Carla Cosenzi, president of the TommyCar Auto Group, in January filed an application for a special permit to develop a 14,400-square-foot automotive dealership at 171-187 King St. City action on that application was delayed because it did not meet many existing zoning requirements for the Gateway District.
The zoning change does not prevent Cosenzi for up to eight years to include a dealership in developing that property, which she purchased last year for more than $5 million. The latest application for the commercial parking lot was filed Aug. 5
In order to approve the site plan, the Planning Board would have to determine that the project meets the other zoning requirements for the Gateway District that existed before the amendment prohibiting auto dealerships.
The application is available here:
https://northamptonma.portal.opengov.com/records/1549
Taste of Northampton
The Taste of Northampton, which returned in 2022 after an absence of about two decades, will be held again this year from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, on Main Street, which will be closed to vehicle traffic between Old South and King and Pleasant streets.
Local restaurants and breweries will showcase food and beverages at the event sponsored by the Downtown Northampton Association and the City of Northampton. There also will be live music and a play area for children.
More information is available on the Taste of Northampton Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/tasteofnorthampton
Northampton Rehabilitation and Nursing Center redevelopment
Valley Community Development Corp. will hold a groundbreaking celebration at 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 18, for its project to redevelop the former nursing home at 737 Bridge Road into 60 units of affordable housing:
State and local officials are scheduled to participate at the project site.
Construction is expected to last approximately 14 months, concluding in November 2025.
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