The state Legislature’s Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight will hear today about a $400 million capital authorization request to build a new Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke.
The virtual hearing is scheduled to run from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Members of the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home Coalition say they will be there to push for immediate passage of the Baker Administration’s plan.
John Paradis, coalition spokesman and former deputy superintendent of the Soldiers Home, aid time is running out and the plan needs to be passed for the sake of Western Massachusetts veterans.
“We call on members of the general Court to now do the right thing and to support the governor’s bill and the administration’s plan to capitalize on this opportunity,” he said in a statement.
The federal Veterans Administration will pick up 65 percent of the $400 million construction total if a plan is submitted by the end of March and the state’s funding allocation by mid-April. If the state’s timing is right, the new Holyoke Soldiers’ Home will cost Massachusetts taxpayers $150 million, significantly less than a similar project at the Chelsea state home.
In an interview, Paradis said plans to rebuild or reconstruct the Holyoke home have been discussed for at least a decade, and so far, nothing has been finalized.
“If nothing else the pandemic has shown us what happens when you ignore a problem,” Paradis said. “A year ago, the pandemic hit, and a little less than a year ago we started to hear about veterans passing away at the Soldiers’ Home and we were shocked at the numbers. Here we are still talking about it. We can’t have final closure until the state does right by the veterans and their families. We have to make sure this never happens again.”
"hear" - Google News
March 15, 2021 at 03:33PM
https://ift.tt/3qKWdqF
Legislature to hear $400M request for new Holyoke Soldiers’ Home - MassLive.com
"hear" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2KTiH6k
https://ift.tt/2Wh3f9n
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Legislature to hear $400M request for new Holyoke Soldiers’ Home - MassLive.com"
Post a Comment