Page 8 - BusinessWest January 8, 2024

Agawam
at a Glance
Year Incorporated: 1855
Population: 28,692
Area: 24.2 square miles
County: Hampden
Residential Tax Rate: $14.54
Commercial Tax Rate: $27.54
Median Household Income: $49,390
Family Household Income: $59,088
Type of government: Mayor; City Council
Largest Employers: OMG Inc., Agawam Public Schools, Six Flags New England
* Latest information available
COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT >>
For Agawam, It’s Back to the Future
BY GEORGE O’BRIEN
[email protected]
Chris Johnson was elected Agawam’s first mayor back in November 1989.
He then served five two-year terms before return-
ing to his real-estate law practice in 2000. In the years that followed, he stayed active and involved in the community where he was born and raised, serving several terms on the City Council, where he likely would have stayed had Mayor William Sapelli, former superintendent of schools in this city that calls itself a town, declined the opportunity to seek another term.
With that decision, and with several key issues facing this community — especially movement toward renovating or, preferably (in the view of most involved) replacing its high school — Johnson sought a return to the corner office. And last month, voters gave him a hard-earned victory over his challenger, fellow City Councilor Cecelia Calabrese.
“They say that once it’s in your blood, it’s hard to get it out,” Johnson said. “I care deeply about the community I grew up in and raised my family in, and we have a few signif- icant issues that we’re facing over the next year or two. And I wanted to make sure they got a fair shake.”
Indeed, Johnson told BusinessWest that, as he returns to City Hall, there are several matters that will have his full attention — everything from a pressing need to create more housing in several categories to bringing roughly 25 years of work to create recreational facilities at the former Tucka-
hoe Turf Farm in Feeding Hills to a sucessful conclusion, to efforts to redevelop the former Games and Lanes property on Walnut Street Extension.
“I care deeply about the community I grew up in and raised my family in, and we have a few significant issues that we’re facing over the next year or two. And I wanted to make sure they got a fair shake.”
But it is the high school that will be priority one, he said, adding that, after a few failed attempts to gain traction from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), the community is moving closer to getting into the pipeline for state funding for a new school, and city residents will likely have the opportunity to vote on the matter as early as next spring.
In his view, building a new high school, even one with a projected $230 million price tag, will be more practical and
8 JANUARY 8, 2024
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