NORTHAMPTON — In front of an audience of about 50 people at the Bombyx Center for Arts and Equity on Monday, Ward 2 City Councilor Deborah Klemer and challenger Al Simon staked out their differences heading into Nov. 4’s municipal election.
Klemer backed two of the most talked about projects facing the city in the near future, including a $29 million redesign of downtown’s Main Street, dubbed Picture Main Street, and development of a human services resource center downtown called the Resilience Hub.
Simon voiced his dissatisfaction with how the city has rolled out both projects.
Klemer is “very excited” and supports Picture Main Street “wholeheartedly.” The project would reduce traffic to one lane, expand sidewalks downtown and replace dated infrastructure.
In her experience, the animosity around the project is not as pointed as the last time she ran.
“The last time when I ran there was a lot more concern about Picture Main Street, and this time it seems people are excited about it,” said Klemer, who won the Ward 2 seat two years ago.
The city needs to address the reality that downtown is in the top 5% of crash clusters in the state, she said. In her view, redoing downtown infrastructure would enhance safety and alleviate pedestrian and bicycle accidents. At the same time sidewalks will be addressed and sewer pipes will be updated, all with government funds at the state and federal level.
“We’re not going to turn down $26 million because we would have to pay for all of that,” she said.
Simon said doesn’t have a strong opinion about Picture Main Street, but noted that he’s been shocked at how many people in his ward are against the proposal.
“It seems striking to me that a project that is a top priority and seems to be barreling ahead is a real problem for a community if the people who live there do not support a huge capital project,” said Simon, referring to conversations he’s had with residents while doing door-to-door canvassing. “That should really give the city pause if the city intends to proceed and push it through regardless of what people think. It will only decrease trust in our local government, and we have enough of that already.”
Simon, who served 18 years as an elected official in Windsor, Connecticut before moving to Northampton in 2019, has been active in Northampton politics since his arrival, especially for more recent work with Save Our Schools, a group formed to lobby for more school funding.
Klemer is also not a native to Paradise City. She moved to Northampton 14 years ago, but over that time has helped found Northampton’s branch of Indivisible, a national progressive grassroots organization, and has served on several committees.
Klemer supports the Resilience Hub project in the former First Baptist Church on Main Street that the city bought for $3.1 million. She said the Hub is needed due to the increasing homeless population in Northampton and Manna Kitchen outgrowing its facilities. She believes the facility has to be located downtown to be accessible, rather than somewhere outside the downtown area.
“The homeless population is increasing downtown, and this would give people a place to go during bad weather, and everything would be housed in the hub, and Manna will be in there,” she said.
Klemer values the amenities it will offer, including a kitchen, washing machines and showers.
When it comes to financing the project, she said the Trump administration has blocked a federal grant that would be used to develop the hub. Additionally, she believes the city paid below appraised value for the building and celebrated getting a property out of property owner Eric Suher’s hands.
Simon, on the other hand, believes the city overpaid for the building, adding that there is a ton more funding needed to complete the project. He also expressed frustration that there has been no public listing of how much it will cost to fully furnish the facility, which he views will offer “marginal gain.”
“It is not a shelter. People cannot sleep there,” said Simon. “So it seems at least, from what I know, to be an extremely expensive project with marginal gain.”
The two also have differing stances concerning a potential Proposition 2½ override. Klemer sees overrides as an inevitable aspect of municipal finance, and will be necessary, while Simon would not support an override.
“There’s going to be one next year, and it’ll be enough …,” Klemer said. “We have to be able to have overrides to be able to afford fixing things, and a lot of money goes to the schools.”
Simon thinks the current fiscal stability plan the city is operating with is functioning inadequately, and called for greater efficiency in utilizing municipal funds. He said to approve an override is the equivalent of saying, “Yes, give us some more taxes, but I’m sorry we’ve had to cut your services.”
When it comes to addressing a housing crisis, Simon wants to see construction of more public housing in the city. He added that there are more needs than housing alone, including for social services to treat addiction and mental health challenges, and praised the work being done in the city to bring together organizations doing just that.
Klemer praised the 20-unit subsidized housing project going up on Laurel Street in Ward 2 being developed by Valley Community Development and will continue to support developments and changes to zoning so that more housing can be built, especially downtown. She also noted she voted in favor of a rent stabilization resolution this year.
Ward 2 is the home of L3Harris, a munitions manufacturer, which is often a subject of debate in the city. Both candidates are unsure of how to uproot the tax paying company despite their personal feelings on the ethics of their products.
Klemer added that she voted to divest from the company in September of this year.