Good morning Ward 2 and to the City of Westfield. We live in a great community that is growing in a positive direction. We are with our challenges but I feel that we can address them together as a community. It has been awhile since my last article. My parents have had emergency medical issues and they live in Ohio. I am lucky to be retired and able to make the trip to Ohio to assist them through this tough time. I am happy to report that both my Mother and Father have successfully weathered this storm and have recovered.
If you ask anyone what is the number one issue facing Westfield, I would say most say it is the condition of our roads. I agree that this is a major issue and one that needs attention. I am pleased to see that Southwick Road and Franklin Avenue have been repaved. The four main entry routes into and out of the City are now in great shape. The Finance committee is making it a priority to ensure that all Chapter 90 funds are spent on roads and not on other projects that Chapter 90 funds can be spent on. There are numerous roads within the City that need attention and the D P W has created a list of streets that are prioritized to receive attention. I am happy to report that St. Dennis and Avery Streets are on that list from Ward 2. Recently Lindbergh Ave has begun to be added to the discussion.
The Legislative and Ordinance Committee has been discussing the process of converting Private Ways into City Streets. As Chair of this Committee, I want to thank the Committee members, Mary O’Connell and William Onyski, for their hard work on this issue. Most people do not realize that there are over 200 streets that are Private Ways. Why is this big deal? Because the Chapter 90 money that Westfield receives form the State is only calculated on Public or City owned Streets. Chapter 90 funds can only be spent on Public ways. This means that the City of Westfield must use City funds to maintain all of the Private Ways. The City plows, repairs pot holes, etc on all of the streets but must be careful from what pot of money is used to pay for this. If we can increase to number of public ways this will increase the amount of Chapter 90 funds we receive. It will not be a large increase, but any additional funding will help.
While I was gone, the Boy’s and Girl’s Club of Greater Westfield announced the Youth off the Year. Congratulations to Nelson Gabrial Santos-Ferrer a junior at Westfield High School. Not only is he Westfield’s Youth of the Year, he is also the Youth of the Year for Massachusetts. Also I would like to congratulate the Kiwanis Club’s Good Citizenship award winners, Matthew Seklecki from the Westfield Technical Academy and to David Huntly from Westfield High School. All three award winners deserve our congratulations for a job well done.
I have been the Liaison the Westfield Public Schools for the past four years. In this role I am the conduit between the City Council and the School Committee. I attend School Committee Meetings and beginning this year I have been getting a report on a regular basis from the Superintendent. I then give the Council an update. This is a responsibility that I take seriously and I feel has helped improve the communication between the two bodies. I was present for all of the School Committee’s Finance sub-committees meeting creating the budget for the next fiscal year. To say that this was a monumental task is an understatement. The level funded budget came in with almost a $3 million dollar increase. The Superintendent and his leadership team did an amazing job bringing the budget down to a more reasonable number. The School Committee then cut and additional $200,000 before sending to the budget to the Mayor.
The full city budget was presented to the City Council on June 1, 2017. After some discussion the budget was sent to the Finance Committee for further review. The Finance Committee has set up several budget hearings to further study the budget. The following meetings have been scheduled: Monday 6-12 at 5:00PM Finance Departments, City Clerk, Community Development, Fire, and police; Tuesday 6-13, 2017 at 6:00PM Engineering, Health, and DPW; Thursday 6-15-15 at 6:00PM School Department; Monday 6-19-17 at 6:00PM Finance Committee discusses findings; Wednesday 6-21-17 at 6:00PM Public Hearing; At 7:00PM Finance Committee as a whole; Thursday 6-22-17 Special City Council Meeting to pass the budget.
I would like to encourage all of the voters in Westfield to take the time to examine the 255 page budget submitted by the mayor. This is a task that every city councilor takes seriously.
Lastly, I would like to that everyone that attended my campaign kickoff Wednesday evening at the Son’s of Erin. The volunteers did a great job of taking care of everything so I was able to mingle with everyone. Thanks again and I hope to continue as your Ward 2 Councilor. Office hours for June will be on Thursday 6-22-17 at 11AM at the Senior Center.
I hope all of you have a wonderful summer.
Ralph Figy
Ward 2 City Councilor
