Public Service Committee Meeting January 15, 2026

Published January 6, 2026, 1:59 p.m.

City Council
Holyoke Massachusetts
Pursuant to the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law, G.L. c. 30A, §§ 18-25,
Chapter 2 of the Acts of 2025,
notice is hereby given of a meeting of the committee on
Public Service

Thursday, January 15, 2026
6:30 PM

Meeting to take place at
Holyoke City Hall, 536 Dwight St
and can be accessed remotely on Zoom Meetings
Per order of the Chair: Juan Anderson-Burgos
Remote access via www.zoom.us
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86320540644?pwd=OU16Jd3rq4s26W9mo5E82acxj94yKS.1
Meeting ID: 863 2054 0644 Meeting Passcode: 695206 or by call in at 1 (646) 558-8656 with the same Meeting ID and Passcode.

Live Spanish interpretation will be available on local access channel 15 using the television’s SAP option, through the live stream on the city website, as well as on the Zoom feed by clicking the interpretation option and choosing Spanish.

Agenda

Item 1: Minutes of November 20, 2025 meeting.

Item 2: 6-3-25 From Mayor Joshua Garcia, letter appointing several members to serve on the Recycling Advisory Committee.  Members will serve a three-year term expiring August 2028.
*Clarification: Cynthis Koch is the only new appointment to be interviewed.

Item 3: 9-2-25 From Mayor Joshua Garcia, letter appointing Jeff Burkott and Davin Pasek as the Fence Viewer Committee.
*Tabled 11-20-25

Item 4: 12-2-25 From Mayor Joshua Garcia, letter appointing Ms. Verna Nortez of 475 Mpale St. #303 to serve on the Holyoke Housing Authority.  Ms. Nortez will replace Marilyn Sanabria and will serve th remainder of Sanabria’s term expiring on April 2, 2030.

Item 5: 12-2-25 From Mayor Joshua Garcia, letter appointing Mr. Joseph Charles Mazzola of 332 Pleasant st. to the Local Historic District Commission Fairfield Ave.  Mr. Mazzola will serve a three-year term expiring July 1, 2028.

Item 6: 12-2-25 From Mayor Joshua Garcia, letter reappointing Mr. Matteo Riondato of 56 Fairfield Avenue to serve on the Local Historic District Commission.  Ms. Riondato will serve until July 1, 2026.

Item 7: 12-16-25 From Mayor Joshua Garcia-letter appointing Ms. Karen Betournay of 751 Hampden St. to the Holyoke Redevelopment Authority.  Ms. Betournay will replace Mr. Carl Eger and will serve a five-year term expiring November 1, 2030.

Item 8: 12-16-25 From Mayor Joshua Garcia-letter appointing Mr. Henry N. Martinez-Cartagena of 59 Chestnut St. Apt 4 to serve as a Commissioner on the Park and Rec.  Mr. Marinez-Cartagena will replace Mr. Moquin and will serve the remainder of his term expiring June 30, 2027.

Item 9: 12-16-25 From Mayor Joshua Garcia-letter appointing Mr. Scott Geiger of 63 Cherry Hill to serve as a Commissioner of the Planning Board.  Mr. Geiger will replace Mimi Panitch and will serve the remainder of her term expiring June 30, 2026.

Item 10: 12-16-25 From Mayor Joshua Garcia-letter appointing Mr. Paul E. Burns-Johnson of 15 Steven Dr to serve as a Commissioner on the Planning Board.  Mr. Burns-Johnson’s term will serve a five-year term expiring on June 30, 2030.

LAID ON THE TABLE
(Items taken up at previous meeting(s) and laid on the table. Discussion may or may not take place)

ADMINISTRATIVELY LAID ON THE TABLE
(Per City Council Rule 9P, “Any order not acted on within 45 days shall be deemed tabled.” Items within this section are laid on the table by virtue of being in the committee more than 45 days. Discussion of these items is unlikely, but any item may be removed from the table upon motion of the committee.)

Item 11: 8-6-24 From Personnel Director Kelly Curran- City of Holyoke Social Media Policy

Item 12: 5-20-25 Anderson-Burgos- Ordered, that we revisit a discussion about city councilors having Holyoke email addresses. Issues are coming up with some councilors having to delete emails because inboxes are full, and potentially losing emails that are subject to records requests.

Administrative Assistant: Jeffery Anderson-Burgos
The listing of matters are those reasonably anticipated by the chair which may be discussed at the meeting. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items may also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by law. Agenda subject to change up to two business days (48 hours) prior to posted meeting time.