The City Council will consider a resolution urging the mayor to reverse a decision to close the Pine Point library.
Clodovaldo Concepcion SPRINGFIELD – Ward 5 City Councilor Clodovaldo Concepcion will ask the council on Monday to approve a resolution, urging Mayor Domenic J. Sarno to reverse a decision to close the Pine Point library.
Sarno and Springfield library officials recently announced that both the Pine Point branch on Boston Road, and the Liberty Street branch will be closing, expected in October, in order to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Springfield library system including expanded hours at seven other branch libraries.
Concepcion, whose ward includes that area of Pine Point, said last week that he and many residents object to the planned closure of Pine Point, saying the neighborhood will lose a valuable, needed service.
The council meeting is at 7 p.m. at City Hall.
His resolution states the Pine Point library “is a resource that the tax-paying citizens of Springfield should have available to them.”
In addition, the resolution states that “senior citizens, children and the residents of the neighborhood look forward to taking part in the programs at the library.”
Sarno, in response Friday, said that he increased the budget for the library system for the new fiscal year, beginning July 1, but it was decided to close the two branches and expand hours at the other branches for the long-term sustainability of the library system. Hours at other branches will increase from current 18 hours per week to 30 hours per week, he said.
The library administration and Library Commission support the move for added hours and consolidation, as recommended by a hired consultant, Sarno said.
Concepcion said many users of the Pine Point library will have a difficult time going to alternate libraries, as many lack vehicles for transportation. There is a high amount of poverty in the area, he said.
The nearest library is approximately three miles away, either the Mason Square library on State Street or the Sixteen Acres library on Parker Street.
In other action, the council will consider urging the Springfield Streets and Engineering Department to rename Plainfield Street in the North End as Barbara Rivera Way, to honor the late Rivera, who was a community activist and a long-serving executive director of the New North Citizens Council.
In addition, the council will consider urging Congress to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the 65th Infantry Regiment, also known as the Borinqueneers, “for their dedicated service to our country.” Currently, the Borinqueneers, which has ties to the region, is the only segregated military infantry unit to have not been awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.