City Council - License Committee

City of Chicopee City Council License Committee Members Stanley Walczak, Chair Fred Krampits, Vice Chair Shane Brooks Frank Laflamme Derek Dobosz APPROVED 1-28-19 MINUTES December 17, 2018 The following are the minutes of a public hearing held Monday, December 17, 2018 at 6:30 PM in the City Council Chambers, Fourth Floor, City Hall Annex, 274 Front Street, Chicopee, MA 01013. Members Present Walczak, Krampits, Brooks, Laflamme, Dobosz Also Present Attorney Daniel Garvey (Associate City Solicitor), Councilor Courchesne, Carl Dietz (Building Commissioner) The meeting was called to order at 6:30 PM In compliance with the Open Meeting Law the Chairman asked if anyone in the audience was recording the meeting. Hearing none the meeting continued. ITEM #1 Application for Fuel Storage License located at 357 Burnett Rd. for 32,000 gallons of underground storage (25,000 gallons gasoline and 7,000 gallons diesel). Applicant – PetroGas Group New England, Inc., Conrad Decker, 168 North Main St., Andover, MA 01810. Mr. Czepiel 115 Cymas Drive, Chicopee, Consultant for Mr. Patel, Frank Quigley Project Manager for Mr. Patel and Conrad Decker were present. Frank Quigley stated that the entity is Chicopee hotel, Inc. The parcel of land is directly across the street from First Avenue and adjacent to the Massachusetts Turnpike exit six. He stated it was previously home to the Econo Lodge Hotel which has been torn down since then and our abutter to the left is Pride Gas. He stated that the subject parcel has previously gone before the Planning Board and received the definitive site plan approval. He stated it’s a one hundred room hotel and it will be a Marriot Fairfield Inn and there are three adjacent restaurants on the property and a gas station convenience store which will be run by AppleGreen. Frank Quigley stated that the gas station convenience store is a retail facility and all of the underground storage tank, piping and pumping equipment will all meet both the local Fire Department and State Fire Marshall’s requirements for the distribution of fuel. Frank Quigley stated that in addition to the site plan approval we’ve also filed an application with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation for the intersection work which includes; significant signal work, adding a forth leg to that intersection, and significant work in terms of overlay, pavement and stripping work in 1 the intersection. He stated the application is in the one hundred percent stage and we are expecting our approvals by the end of this year or in the month of January 2019. Councilor Brooks stated that we have a challenge with Pride with respect to stacking when they’re coming in for fuel. What impact will that have when you’re making an exit. Frank Quigley stated there should be no stacking along the main road. He stated that the Planning Board was pretty significant in terms of traffic engineering. He stated that once they come in there’s plenty of parking and stacking relative to the gas station. He stated that there are no tractor trailers. Councilor Laflamme stated he does not have an issue if it’s just cars. Frank Quigley stated that it’s a four story hotel with about one hundred and eleven rooms. Fire Department Must maintain compliance with all applicable codes, regulations and inspections. Health Department No concerns at this time. Engineering Department No engineering comments for license. Engineering comments will be addressed during site plan review. Planning Department Property is split zoned; both Industrial and Business A – use is permitted under both zones (275-58(B)(3)) and (275-62(A)). Use and proposed development also approved by Planning Board via definitive site plans for the overall site’s development. Recommend approval Councilor Laflamme motion to approve fuel storage license at 357 Burnett Road for underground storage of gasoline with restrictions – Councilor Krampits 2nd the motion – motion passed Committee vote 5 – 0 favorable ITEM #2 Application for a Service Station License at 357 Burnett Road. Applicant – PetroGas Group New England, Inc., Conrad Decker, 168 North Main St., Andover, MA 01810 Conrad Decker was present he stated that we propose to construct a five thousand square foot convenience store with a Burger King and a drive-thru with parking and parking on the sides. He stated that traffic will come in off the street into the pump islands. He stated that this is not a truck stop and there is no truck parking. He stated that only tractor trailers that are going to come in here is to make the drop at the tanks. He stated it’s a self-serve station with secondary video monitoring. Frank Quigley stated that inside the gas station convenience store is a Burger King restaurant with thirty two seating. He stated you can walk in and out and there will be a drive-thru feature going around the back. Frank Quigley stated that they did the traffic study and it was submitted to the DOT. We are at the one hundred percent level with the DOT. He stated that they are reviewing for final approval for issuance of a permit. 2 Fire Department Must maintain compliance with all applicable codes, regulations and inspections. Health Department No concerns at this time. Engineering Department No engineering comments for license. Engineering comments will be addressed during the site plan review. Planning Department Property is split zoned/ both Industrial and Business A – use is permitted under both zones (275-58(B)(3)) and (275-62(A)). Use and proposed development also approved by Planning Board via definitive site plans for the overall site’s development. Recommend Approval Councilor Krampits motion to approve application for a service station license with restrictions – Councilor Laflamme 2nd the motion Committee vote 5 – 0 favorable ITEM #3 ORDERED THAT Krunali, Inc., d/b/a Chicopee Scrap Metal & Auto Recycling, 2 Mill Street, be called before the City of Chicopee License Committee and City Council to discuss the license (s) currently held by Krunali, Inc., d/b/a Chicopee Scrap Metal & Auto Recycling including compliance with restrictions imposed upon any licenses held Krunali, Inc., d/b/a Chicopee Scrap Metal & Auto Recycling. The Council may modify, suspend, fine, or revoke any license held by Krunali, Inc., d/b/a Chicopee Scrap Metal & Auto Recycling. Councilor Courchesne stated this was brought before License Committee on behalf of the Problem Property Committee. He stated he has issues with the tire piling and non-compliance of getting rid of them. He stated that in an agreement all of the tires were supposed to be removed by 2017. Hemant Kumar Patel was present he stated that he has removed most of the tires but the tire company is not taking tires from anybody now. He has invited the Fire Department to come and visit while he’s loading the tires. Councilor Brooks stated that the problem with the agreement was; when he renewed his license in 2018 the conditions were to continue to remove the tires, it didn’t give a deadline. He stated that there is just a condition without a timeline. He stated that we can’t hold anyone accountable for that until we give a detailed, with benchmarks and timelines for removal; we can certainly do that tonight going into 2019. Councilor Laflamme agrees with giving a deadline. Hemant Kumar Patel stated he wants to comply but there is only one Tire Company, Bobs Tire Company. Councilor Brooks stated that’s why we want to give you a reasonable amount of time. Councilor Walczak stated that he would like a letter from that company that they have a restriction on how many tires they can access from your property. He stated at some point we need to establish a pattern where everyone is following the same guidelines Hemant Kumar Patel stated that the city can come and take pictures to see that the tires are being moved. Carl Dietz stated he will take pictures. 3 Councilor Krampits motion to approve the license and applicant shall remove all tires by July 2019 – Councilor Laflamme 2nd the motion – motion passed The Committee will review progress of tire removal by March of 2019 Committee vote 5 – 0 favorable ITEM #4 Councilor Laflamme motion to approve the Minutes of November 28, 2018 – Councilor Krampits 2nd the motion – motion passed Meeting adjourned at 7:05 PM. 4