Resident Betsy Shurer Sullivan told the Holyoke City Council Public Safety Committee on Oct. 28 that she and her family bought a home they expected would be served by a paved road and later learned Old Bassett Road is not an accepted city way.

"We bought the house in 2021 '2 2022," Sullivan said, adding she had "no reason to believe that it was not a city road" because the street has lights, a sign, is plowed and receives trash service.

Sullivan read a letter from the fire chief, which said in part: "In accordance with Counselor Devine and Counselor McGrath Smith's order, we went to Old Bassett Road and assessed its status in relation to fire department operations. The road is in very poor condition ... We would be unable to bring a ladder truck up the street ... It would be advantageous for our firefighting operations if the road were both widened and repaved respectively." The resident said an ambulance crew had told her the road needed attention after a prior response.

City engineering staff and DPW officials told the committee the issue is legally and technically complex. Victoria Houle, the city engineer, said there is formal documentation of a discontinuance of part of Old Bassett as a public way that may date to the early 20th century, and that some parcels adjacent to the road are in a conservation restriction. Those records, plus changing historical road names, make definitive ownership and status difficult to document in some locations.

Mike Gallagher of DPW said the department has provided low-level maintenance for years (patching, asphalt millings and seasonal plowing) but does not treat the street as an accepted public way. Gallagher said parcel maps printed for the committee show large Commonwealth-owned parcels abutting the route and that state lands may own portions of the area, which could require state permission for some work.

Councillor Meg McGrath Smith told the committee there is a "state statute" requiring roads be passable by fire trucks, ambulances and police, and that the city has sought input from the state delegation without a definitive commitment of state funds. McGrath Smith said the committee pressed staff to develop cost estimates and mapping to determine whether to accept the way as a public way or to pursue other, cheaper local interventions to make it more passable.

Attorney Mike Bissonette advised the committee to define the geographic limits of any action so the city would not inadvertently accept an excessively long stretch of roadway, and suggested packaging multiple similar streets into a single program to seek funding and to take advantage of Chapter 90 eligibility if accepted.

The committee directed staff to assemble additional materials, including survey mapping and the discontinuance document, and to convene a follow-up meeting inviting Representative Pat Duffy, conservation staff (Yoni), DPW and legal counsel to explore options. The committee voted to receive items 3, 4 and 5 and table them until Nov. 25 for further action. The resident and councillors were told the city will pursue a clearer recommendation but that some steps (land court research, survey work, or approvals from state conservation entities) may be needed before the city can accept the way or fund full reconstruction.

The committee did not adopt a specific reconstruction plan at the meeting and did not set a funding appropriation; staff said those steps would require further surveys, procurement, and possibly council appropriation votes.

What happens next: the committee plans a Nov. 25 follow-up meeting with state delegation and conservation staff, and city staff will provide copies of the fire chief letter, assessor maps and survey options.