Holyoke Public Service Committee Advances Four Mayoral Board Appointments

Other Committee · Meeting of January 15, 2026

Holyoke's Public Service Committee advanced four mayoral appointments to the full City Council in a busy January 15 session. Committee Chair and Ward 6 Councilor Juan Anderson Burgos, at-large Councilor Patty Devine, and at-large Councilor Howard Graney voted three to zero on each action. Karen Baterni, a 38-year attorney and former city solicitor from 2003 to 2010, was recommended to a five-year seat on the Holyoke Redevelopment Authority replacing Carl Eager, with a term running to November 1, 2030.

Verna Nortez, a resident civic volunteer and senior center worker, was approved for the Holyoke Housing Authority through April 1, 2030, replacing Marilyn Sanabria. Joseph Charles Mazzola, vice chair of the Historical Commission and owner of Paper City Fabrics, was cleared for the Local Historic District Commission through July 1, 2028, in connection with an effort to merge the city's two historical bodies. Scott Geiger, a Cambridge landscape architecture principal who has lived in Holyoke since 2021, was recommended to fill the remainder of Mimi Panich's Planning Board term through June 30, 2026.

All four appointments go before the full City Council on January 20.

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Source: the Other Committee meeting of January 15, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.