Page 8 - BusinessWest August 4, 2025

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT >>
Easthampton Grapples with Growing Pains
BY GEORGE O’BRIEN
[email protected]
Easthampton
at a Glance
Year Incorporated: 1785
Population: 16,211
Area: 13.6 square miles
County: Hampshire
Residential Tax Rate: $13.67
Commercial Tax Rate: $13.67
Median Household Income: $45,185
Median Family Income: $54,312
Type of Government: Mayor, City
Council
Largest Employers: Berry Plastics
Corp., INSA, Williston Northampton
School, National Nonwovens Co.
Salem Derby says he certainly didn’t see this coming.
Easthampton’s City Council President was at a
meeting with Mayor Nicole LaChapelle, executive assis-
tant Lindsi Sekula, and City Solicitor Mark Tanner, expect-
ing conversation about municipal matters, when LaChapelle
informed him that she would leaving to become the state’s
Conservation and Recreation commissioner. And he would
be serving as interim mayor.
“It was a complete surprise, and it was really quick — she
said she’d be leaving in six days,” said Derby, an elementary
school teacher, adding that he plans to be in City Hall some-
thing approaching full time this summer, but will maneuver
around his classroom schedule once school starts, working
afternoons, weekends, and in the morning if needed.
He’ll only be in the corner office until the November elec-
tion (he won’t be a candidate for the job), and over the next
four and a half months, he plans to provide stability, keep
things running “as drama-free and interference-free as pos-
sible,” and, well, keep the ball rolling, if you will.
Indeed, Easthampton is a community in demand, and it
has been this way for a while now, a pattern that brings with
it some opportunities, but also stern challenges, as Derby,
who has been on the council for more than 20 years, well
knows.
“Housing is huge — the ability for people to find afford-
able housing is something I’ve been focused on the entire
time I’ve been on the council,” he said, adding that the chal-
lenge extends across the housing spectrum, from potential
homebuyers facing spiraling prices and limited inventory to
renters in some of the bigger complexes — many of which
have been sold to larger corporations — encountering
increases that are pretty significant.
“There was a large group of renters and tenants outside
of City Hall yesterday; they had a meeting and a little bit of
a rally,” he explained. “There’s a push for the council to help
the Legislature push for rent control.”
“Housing is huge — the ability for people to
find affordable housing is something I’ve
been focused on the entire time I’ve been on
the council.”
This housing crunch, and LaChapelle’s exit for the State
House, are just two of the many converging story lines in
Easthampton. Others include:
• Several projects in various stages of development to
bring more housing on the market. These include, as we’ll
see, everything from conversion of three closed elementary
schools to the reimagining of more former mills;
• The start of redevelopment of the Tasty Top site on
Route 10, a highly anticipated and somewhat controversial
project that begins with a new Greenfield Savings Bank
branch and also includes a gymnastics center, a daycare
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AUGUST 4, 2025
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