The Northampton Department of Public Works on Sunday, Jan. 19, declared a snow emergency that may last more than one night until it is canceled.

The city will tow Sunday night for illegally parked vehicles. Parking is prohibited on all city streets and in municipal parking lots from midnight to 6 a.m., except on Main Street where parking is prohibited between 2 and 7 a.m. The Armory Street parking lot is open for use during snow emergencies, except from 8 to 10 a.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. to allow for plowing.

If your vehicle has been towed, you may call Northampton Public Safety (413-587-1100) for the tow company’s phone number.

Also, with cold temperatures forecast after the snowstorm, the city announced the availability of warming shelters for people who need a safe, warm space.

The warming shelters will be open Monday, Jan. 20, Tuesday, Jan. 21, and Wednesday, Jan. 22, with varying hours of operation at these locations:

Clinical & Support Options, 29 Industrial Drive East, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Division of Community Care, 1 Round House Plaza, Monday 3 to 7:30 p.m., and Tuesday and Wednesday 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Forbes Library, 20 West St., Tuesday and Wednesday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Manna Community Center, St. John’s Episcopal Church, 48 Elm St., 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Northampton Police Department, 29 Center St., lobby is open 24/7

Northampton Senior Center, 67 Conz St., Tuesday and Wednesday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Fossil fuel-free ordinance

The City Council on Thursday voted 8-0 to approve a fossil fuel-free construction ordinance. Quaverly Rothenberg of Ward 3 was absent for that vote.

The ordinance, which takes effect Monday, Jan. 27, was sponsored by Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra and councilors Alex Jarrett of Ward 5 and Rachel Maiore of Ward 7 to comply with the city’s participation in the state’s Municipal Fossil Fuel-Free Building Demonstration Program.

It bans most new building construction and major renovations that use fossil fuels. Exceptions include scientific or medical research laboratories, as well as hospitals and medical offices regulated by the Department of Public Health. Multi-family buildings of more than 12,000-square-feet with permit applications filed before Jan. 1, 2027, may use propane for domestic water heating.

Also, emergency generators and standby power systems are exempt, and waivers are available if complying with the ordinance increases the cost of the project by 50 percent or more, the utility is unable to deliver sufficient electricity at the site of a project, or rebuilding is necessary after a natural disaster.

I supported the ordinance because it will help meet the city’s 2030 target for carbon neutrality in municipal operations and 2050 target for net zero carbon emissions citywide. Also, I cited the importance of Northampton being the only community in western Massachusetts to submit data to the state’s fossil fuel-free demonstration program.

The ordinance is available here:

https://northamptonma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/24603?fileID=200032

Special meeting Jan. 22

The City Council will hold a special virtual meeting at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 22, to vote on six financial orders totaling $12,861,457 for capital projects in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025. Votes on those appropriations were delayed Thursday when Quaverly Rothenberg of Ward 3 lodged charter objections that immediately ended debate and postponed a vote to the next council meeting.

Here is the link to join the meeting via Zoom (passcode 018897):

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81954240577

Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra has submitted a plan that calls for $23,178,032 in capital spending during fiscal year 2026. Capital projects cost $10,000 or more for uses such as new buildings, renovations, equipment purchases, and land acquisitions.

Among the projects that will be considered Wednesday are $1,600,000 for road safety improvements near Northampton High School, borrowing $2 million for paving projects and borrowing $1 million for sidewalk repairs.

The City Council on Thursday approved $1.15 million for street resurfacing and other road improvements on an 8-0 vote (with Rothenberg abstaining), and unanimously authorized borrowing for improvements to the Forbes Library ($840,535 for a new heating, ventilation and cooling system, and $600,000 to renovate the children’s department).

The Capital Improvement Program is available here: https://northamptonma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/28956/FY2026-FY2030-Capital-Improvement-Program-PDF

Also to be considered Wednesday is a financial order to appropriate $2.835,744 in free cash with $708,936 going to each of four stabilization funds. That vote was delayed Thursday when at-large Councilor Marissa Elkins lodged a charter objection.

Joint meeting on municipal budget

Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra will meet virtually at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 30, with the City Council, School Committee, trustees of Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School, and the superintendents of both school districts, to review the financial condition of the city and revenue and expenditure forecasts.

As required by the city charter, this is the first formal step in developing the municipal operating budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025.

Here is the link to join the meeting via Zoom (passcode 376558):

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81061246614?pwd=2sqMwOO1gpCesWrM9kBERUNPsqJN9Y.1

School Committee appointment

The City Council and School Committee met jointly on Monday, Jan. 13, and voted to appoint Anat Weisenfreund of 65 Kensington Ave. to fill the vacant Ward 2 School Committee seat. The vacancy was created when Karen Foster-Cannon resigned last month, citing personal circumstances.

Weisenfreund received 14 votes, while at-large Councilor Garrick Perry and School Committee member Ann Hennessey of Ward 5 voted for Angela Wack of 16 Paradise Road. City Councilor Quaverly Rothenberg of Ward 3 and School Committee member Michael Stein of Ward 4 abstained from voting. A third candidate, John Mitchell of 71 Dryads Green, withdrew Jan. 6.

Weisenfreund since 2009 has directed the Head Start and early learning programs for Community Action Pioneer Valley. She previously held leadership positions for the New York City Administration for Children’s Services and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

In supporting Weisenfreund, I cited her experience working with some of the region’s most vulnerable children for the past 16 years, as well as managing large budgets and staffs.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Activities in Northampton marking Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, Jan. 20, will be held at the Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity, 130 Pine St., Florence; First Churches of Northampton, 129 Main St.; and the Walter Salvo House, 81 Conz St.

There will be a service fair from 10 a.m. to noon at Bombyx with representatives of community organizations.

At First Churches, there will be nonviolent resistance training from 1 to 5 p.m., a community vegetarian potluck at 5:30 p.m., and a community sing for justice at 7 p.m.

And Northampton Neighbors will sponsor a “Friendsgiving” celebration at 2 p.m. in the cafeteria at the Salvo House.

Stan