WESTFIELD – With the next regular City Council meeting scheduled for August 24 and urgent business to complete, Westfield City Council president Brent B. Bean, II has scheduled a Special City Council meeting for this Monday, July 31 at 5:30 p.m. in City Council chambers.
Westfield City Council President Brent B. Bean, II. (WNG File Photo)
“We really don’t like to do special meetings,” Bean said, adding, “Every year most councilors make time. The issues are high priority; as a collective group they responded.” He said only one councilor had a scheduled vacation and can’t make it.
One of the high priority issues is a special permit for extended hours of operation for Boise Cascade, a request that first came before the City Council in March. After several public hearings, reviews by committee and amendments to the original special permit, the matter is up for a vote.
“It would be unfair to make them wait another month,” Bean said. He said the lumberyard has done its due diligence to accommodate neighbors, and has spent money and time addressing issues of hours, light, and noise from their operation. “They’re in a tight spot,” he added.
Another time sensitive issue is the vote to approve the $250,000 appropriation from the Community Preservation Committee for the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail. The urgency is to meet engineering and design deadlines for a $6.25 million state and federal match for the central portion of the trail, currently slated for 2019.
“This is a situation in which we removed $250,000 from the general budget and in turn used CPA funds,” Bean said. He credited Ward 6 Council William Onyski for coming up with the idea, adding that other towns use CPA funds for their bike trails. Bean said questions about the legality of using CPC funds have been answered by the Law Department. “We’ll rely on them,” he said.
The first item on Monday’s agenda will be a vote to authorize a new intergovernmental agreement between the City of Westfield and Westfield Gas & Electric Municipal Light Department for internet connection services. Currently, the city is operating on a month-to-month agreement with Comcast, with whom they had a previous three-year contract.
Bean said the sooner the City Council authorizes the agreement, the sooner they can meet Comcast’s 30 day cancellation notice. “We can then light the city up… with Whip City Fiber,” he said. Bean said Comcast “has been great,” both responsive and understanding. He also added that many residents still have Comcast.
“We’re creating competition. In the end, it will save residents money on their bills,” Bean said.
Ward 3 Councilor Andrew K. Surprise (WNG File Photo)
The City Council will also vote on a resolution approving the appropriation of monies for the creation of an accessible playground in the City of Westfield. If approved, it will be incorporated into the renovation project for the Hampton Ponds playground. The project is being designed by R Levesque Associates and the project is estimated to cost about $408,000 to complete.
The last item on the agenda was a late addition, in the form of a motion by Ward 3 Councilor Andrew K. Surprise to consider the adoption of a medical district zone in the City of Westfield. Surprise said the motion, which came at the request of the Law Department is being sponsored by himself and Ward 2 Councilor Ralph J. Figy to allow for discussion and to determine exactly what the zone change would entail. Surprise said he expects the matter will be referred to the Zoning, Planning and Development (ZPD) and Legislative & Ordinance (L&O) committees, on which he and Figy serve.
