Finance panel backs vest, lighting, health grants
Finance Committee · Meeting of September 21, 2026
Agawam Finance Committee backs three state grants worth over $200,000 for policing and schools. Mayor Johnson presented all three items at the September 21 meeting, including $121,400.27 from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to expand the police department's Behavioral Health Network clinician program and $82,981 from the Department of Energy Resources for lighting upgrades at Cipella Elementary School, the final school in the district's retrofit. A separate Executive Office of Public Safety and Security grant, covering 50 percent of costs, funds the department's annual bulletproof vest replacement.
Councilor Calabrese, joining by phone, said behavioral health calls "tend to be cyclical" and can rise with winter weather. The health grant passed 5-0; the other items and the August 3 minutes carried without recorded opposition.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 1,638 words
Source: the Finance Committee meeting of September 21, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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