Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra on Friday named Carole Collins as the first director of the city’s new Climate Action and Project Administration Department. Her appointment will be on the agenda for the City Council when it next meets at 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 21, at 212 Main St.

Collins, of Leeds, for the past nine years has directed the Department of Energy and Sustainability in Greenfield. Under her leadership, Greenfield has reduced municipal-wide energy consumption by 25 percent since 2016.

She has a bachelor’s degree in ecological building design from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a master’s degree in resource management and administration focused on sustainable development from Antioch University New England.

Collins said, “I am thrilled and honored to join the newly created CAPA Department to work toward the carbon neutrality goals laid out in the city’s 2021 ‘Sustainable Northampton Comprehensive Plan – Resilience and Regeneration Plan.’ This new department is a tremendous opportunity for Northampton to continue to be a leader in mitigating climate change, and I look forward to what we can achieve together.”

The City Council in February approved the CAPA Department to help meet goals of achieving carbon neutrality for municipal operations by 2030 and for net-zero carbon emissions citywide by 2050. It will be a resource for everyone in the community, including residents, businesses and institutions, and will coordinate efforts to secure state and federal grants to help meet the city’s goals.

The department also includes two other staff transferred from other departments: Joshua Singer, the energy and sustainability officer, from Central Services; and William Coffey, the chief procurement officer, from the auditor’s office.

Prospect Street parking

Requests to restrict parking on Prospect Street are on the agenda for the Transportation and Parking Commission during its virtual meeting at 4 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 19.

Residents of intersecting streets have asked for the elimination of some parking spaces to improve visibility for motorists turning onto Prospect Street, including between Prospect Court and Perkins Avenue, between Stoddard Street and Winter Street, and between Adare Place and Murphy Terrace.

The agenda is available here:

https://www.northamptonma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09192023-7399

The Zoom link to join the meeting is:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89863823461?pwd=TG1XYm84TFl5NmlHdjNpTkx5QjBRQT09

Municipal broadband forum

A Broadband Feasibility Analysis for Northampton prepared by consultant Design Nine will be discussed during a community forum at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 20, in the City Council chambers, 212 Main St.

People may attend remotely by using this Zoom link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86080228265?pwd=UVkrdVFqN1NGTmpCMDRHMDEvU2JSdz09

Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra and representatives of Cloud Nine will discuss the findings of the study that was prepared after 87 percent of the voters in 2021 approved establishing a municipal light plant, which is the legal framework needed to create a broadband network in the city.

Earlier in 2021, surveys showed that 82 percent of the residents and 92 percent of the businesses who responded, were “somewhat” or “very” likely to switch to a faster, city-developed network.

“We’ve received the feasibility report and analyzed the data, providing us with a clearer roadmap for exploring municipal broadband. There’s much to consider regarding our next steps,” Sciarra said. “I look forward to engaging with the community in a substantive dialogue about the possibilities and challenges of building municipal broadband in Northampton.”

The report is available here:

https://northamptonma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/23159/Northampton_Broadband_Study_092023

Sale of 33 King Street

The City Council on Sept. 7 unanimously approved a Request for Proposals to redevelop 33 King St.

The city seeks bids for the 1.46-acre parcel that formerly was owned by the state and used for the Hampshire County Hall of Records. That vacant, two-story building, which is nearly 50 years old, is expected to be demolished.

The Request for Proposals prepared by the city’s Planning & Sustainability office calls for a minimum bid of $2.5 million and will give preference to projects that include mixed-income housing, at least 20 parking spaces available to the public five or more days a week, and a multi-story building of more than three floors.

I advocated for specifying in the scoring criteria that mixed-income housing include either attainable (defined as 800 square feet or smaller) or affordable units.

The redevelopment plan must include an easement for the public to pass through the property on foot or via non-motorized vehicles to the rail trail at the east side of the site.

The city is accepting bids through 1 p.m. Nov. 30. Profits from the sale will be split equally with the state.

The Request for Proposals is available here:

https://northamptonma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/21869?fileID=183573

Specialized building code

The City Council on Sept. 7 unanimously approved adopting the Massachusetts Municipal Opt-in Specialized Stretch Code. It promotes increased energy efficiency and decreased carbon emissions that will help meet the city’s carbon neutrality goals by 2050.

The specialized code requires new houses using fossil fuels to also have solar installations and wiring that would allow conversion to all-electric in the future.

Speaking in support, I said this is an opportune time for the city to adopt the specialized stretch code because the new Climate Action and Project Administration Department can help educate the community about its requirements.

Stan