Westfield Mayor Daniel M. Knapik points to a table full of products from retail establishments located in the downtown section of the city as part of a press conference to announce a community campaign to help beautify the downtown area after the dissolution of the Westfield Business Improvement District earlier this fall. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
WESTFIELD – At the Westfield Athenaeum Wednesday, a small collection of downtown merchants and assembled city officials gathered to hear the announcement regarding the city’s plans to continue where the recently-dissolved Westfield Business Improvement District (WBID) left off.
According to Westfield Mayor Daniel M. Knapik, the initiative has drawn in two sponsors – United Bank and Firtion-Adams Funeral Home – to donate a combined $11,500 to Westfield on Weekends (WOW) and to lead the charge in challenging others to donate to beautifying and revitalizing the city’s downtown.
“This is a giant leap forward for the city and it provides a key transition from where we were over the summer with the dissolution vote,” said Knapik. “With this energy and momentum, we didn’t want to take a step backwards.”
Knapik also donated $100 to the effort, joining City Council President Brent Bean II and Prob Reshamwala, owner of Mina’s Wine and Spirits of Elm Street, who also each donated $100 and $162 respectively during the event.
Westfield City Councilor and business owner James R. Adams, of Firtion-Adams Funeral Home, helped kick off a community campaign to help beautify the downtown business district after the dissolution of the Westfield Business Improvement District (BID) earlier this fall. Adams donated $1,500 to Westfield on Weekends that will help fill the gap created by the loss of the BID. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
What started as a casual conversation over coffee between Knapik and James R. Adams, vice president of Firtion-Adams and an at-large city councilor, became a full fledged effort to keep the BID’s spirit alive through WOW.
Adams spoke briefly of his recent donation of $1,500 and encouraged other businesses to do the same.
“Hopefully other businesses will step forward voluntarily, because what was a big issue with the BID was that they were forced to (join the BID),” Adams said. “I think this is a very minimal amount to keep our businesses and downtown vibrant.”
Adams said that he would be happy to donate every year to WOW and that the vote to dissolve the BID – which he had to abstain from due to having money invested in he organization – was “one of the saddest votes we had to take.”
“I voted to start the BID,” he said. “It was a very sad vote that we had to take, but we had to support our businesses and here we are. We’re going to turn this right around and get this back to where it was going.”
Dena Hall, the Western Massachusetts regional president for United Bank, announces a $10,000 donation from United Bank to the Community Campaign for the downtown beautification and event programming which will be part of Westfield On Weekends. The new program was created after the dissolution of the Westfield Business Improvement District (BID) earlier this fall. The announcement was part of a press conference staged at the Lang Auditorium Wednesday. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
Dena Hall, regional president of United Bank and a member of the Westfield Redevelopment Authority, went even further, announcing that the bank will be donating $10,000 to WOW.
“We’re very committed to Westfield, as we’ve been in this community as Westfield Cooperative Bank for 100 years and Westfield United Bank since 1981 and we’ve supported WOW since the beginning,” said Hall. “When the BID was dissolved we asked ‘what can we do? Where can we step in?’ We have deep pockets, we’re a $5 billion organization.”
Hall added that United will match every dollar that anyone wants to donate, with their goal being to raise $20,000 by November 25.
“We want to declare our success at the WOW tree lighting,” she said. “We’re excited and encouraged by everyone here today. Hopefully everyone in the community will take our lead, step up and participate.”
Following words from Sen. Don Humason, Jr. and Rep. John Velis, who secured $15,000 for the organization in Boston, Knapik added that a piece of legislation was put forth to the city council earlier this year that would allow it to adopt a state law allowing the city to donate to charitable causes.
“I believe that is a critical component that will allow us to ensure the progress we’ve made will go on into the future,” he said. “There’s always money to do things when you’re a mayor, it’s what’s important to you.
“This is the next big step, for the city to be able to donate to charitable causes,” Knapik continued. “Because if the community representatives think it’s important – because the community said so – then we need to do that as a community.”
Knapik also added that money has been allocated within the city’s public works budget to hire four seasonal laborers to work pick up where the BID’s “Clean Team” left off, handling trash details and cleaning sidewalks among other tasks once performed by the BID.
“To make downtown a good place to do business, we have to ensure it is an inviting place for commerce to come,” Knapik said, adding that these workers will be at work until the next budget cycle.
In a statement, Westfield on Weekends Board Chairman Bob Plasse said that, since it’s inception, WOW has worked to produce quality events in and around Westfield and is thankful for all of the support it has received since 2003.
“WOW has always believed Westfield’s quality of life depends on the degree to which residents honor its past by taking ownership of its present and future,” said Plasse. “We hope that many will… follow Councilor Adams’ fine lead and donate to this important cause.”
“With a successful challenge campaign, WOW will not only be able to continue producing its calender of events, but will be able to find the wherewithal for everyday management and sustainment,” he concluded.
