Easthampton City Council Approves $963,000 in Appropriations at September 3 Meeting

EASTHAMPTON — September 3, 2025 — Easthampton City Council voted unanimously to approve nearly $1 million in appropriations at its September 3 meeting, highlighted by a long-sought $250,000 Community Preservation Act allocation for an all-wheels skate park at Millside Park. The $250,000, to be matched by an anticipated $425,000 state park grant and $75,000 in private donations, puts total project cost at $750,000 and sets an expected construction start of summer or fall 2026, with a ribbon cutting projected for spring 2027. The council also approved a $699,985 capital stabilization transfer to fund Main Street reconstruction design from Northampton Street to Park Street, intended to keep the project in its MassDOT Transportation Improvement Program slot for an estimated $9 million in state construction funding in 2028. Bob McDonald, whose son David McDonald died 28 years ago and in whose memory a prior skate park was built and later removed without his family's knowledge, told the council, "I'm running out of time, and I'd like to really see it happen this time." The council additionally approved a $264,500 CPA appropriation for a federal grant-matched spray park water-recirculation upgrade, a $14,500 CPA appropriation for historic designations of Brookside Cemetery and the Daly Field comfort station, and an $8,641 interdepartmental transfer to cover veterans department clerk hours. A proposed charter amendment clarifying when the mayor's salary may be adjusted under the city's four-year term was amended and transmitted unanimously to the state legislature for approval.