WESTFIELD – Following a briefing by Mayor Brian Sullivan on his communication items, the City Council approved a request to serve beer and wine at a block party on Saturday, May 21 following the Run Westfield 5k.
Councilors also approved a state grant of $5,000 with no local matching funds to the Community Development Department for a Self-Assessment Tool (EDSAT) study. The mayor’s other communication items were referred to committees.
Several of the items on the mayor’s agenda and also in reports of committees involved transfers for purchases of supplies. During his briefing, the mayor said he was looking into creating a central account for all supplies, an idea which several councilors endorsed.
The appointments of William P. Gonet to the Airport Commission, Robert T. Goyette to the Planning Board, and Rene Laviolette to the Board of Registrars were referred to the Personnel Committee.
A request for an appropriation of $289,000 from Free Cash to the Westfield Redevelopment Authority was held in committee. At Large City Councilor David Flaherty said he was concerned about using Free Cash for development. Other resources are being considered, including $400,000 that remained in the Senior Center building account. In his action items, the mayor had requested approval to re-appropriate the funds for the Little River Substation Renovation and Addition. That matter had also gone to sub-committee for study.
A final vote was taken on a resolution for authorization to enter into an Inter-municipal agreement with the town of West Springfield for a Carbon Credit Development consulting Service Agreement.
Ward 2 City Councilor Ralph Figy said the agreement was a revenue generating option for Westfield, at no cost to the city.
The agreement was originally written to include Holyoke, but Ward 4 City Councilor Mary O’Connell said the city’s law department had issues with the way Holyoke had approved the agreement. As it currently stands, Westfield and West Springfield have an agreement, and West Springfield and Holyoke have an agreement, according to O’Connell.
Ward 1 City Councilor Mary Ann Babinski said she had reservations about carbon credits.
“If we get carbon credits and those carbon credits get sold to municipalities, buildings, etc. that don’t meet the standards,” she said, some of the communities that buy the credit get dumped on by carbon-producing businesses.
“What are we getting credit for?” asked Flaherty.
“Because we have a large amount of acreage growing trees,” O’Connell said.
She said another municipality, possibly even in California or Arizona that doesn’t have this could buy carbon credits from Westfield.
“It’s a whole industry that’s springing up,” she said.
“We’re almost encouraging bad behavior,” Babinski said.
“This is watershed property that will never be developed,” At-large City Councilor Daniel Knapik said. “For us, it wasn’t going to impact us because we weren’t going to develop.”
He said the acreage has watershed protection.
The agreement passed the Council with Babinski as the sole no vote.
Also passing was a resolution authorizing the city to accept and support a request made to the Department of Public Utilities and associated state agencies for the review of new and unusual circumstances related to the proposed siting of the Pioneer Valley Energy Center, due to its close proximity to Barnes Regional Airport and the Air National Guard Base.
The resolution was originally brought to the Council by Babinski on behalf of Ward 1 residents, where the proposed power plant would be built. The Public Health & Safety Committee, on which Babinski serves with At Large City Councilor Dan Allie and Ward 6 City Councilor William Onyski also took it under advisement, making several revisions to the original resolution.
“This is a great edit,” Flaherty said, congratulating Babinski.
Allie also thanked Babinski and Onyski for their work which he said resulted in a clear document.
