MAYOR DANIEL M. KNAPIK
WESTFIELD – City officials plan to use a number of funding sources to initiate an aggressive road improvement effort to repair deteriorated roads following one of the worst winters in recent memory.
Mayor Daniel M. Knapik said Tuesday that he plans to use Chapter 90 funds remaining in the current budget to begin road repairs before June 30, the end of the fiscal year. Knapik then plans to use the one-time state “pothole funds” and Chapter 90 funds, both of which will become available on July 1, the start of the 2015 fiscal year, to continue road improvements throughout the summer.
The state has allotted the city $180,000 for a pothole grant, money that must be expended before September, as well as about $300,000 current in the FY 14 Chapter 90 account and $1 million from the FY 15 Chapter 90 allotment to the city.
BRIAN P. SULLIVAN
Knapik said that priority is being given to the streets most damaged this past winter; Shaker Road, Springdale Road and City View Road. Shaker Road will be repaired and repaved from the Shaker Farms Country Club to Falley Drive, while Springdale Road will be milled and repaved between Holyoke Road and Union Street. The section of City View Road between Southwick Road and Valley View Drive will also be milled and repaved.
“We’re using the state pothole funding for Shaker and City View Road, work that has to be done between July 1 and September,” Knapik said.
West Silver Street, between Broad Street and Holcomb Park will also be milled and repaved. Also included in the repair project is the entire length of South Broad Street, down to the intersection with South Meadow Road.
Court Street will be milled between Day Avenue and Holcomb Park, and then repaved. That project will also include the repaving of High Street.
Franklin Street, between Malone Avenue and Summer Street will be milled and repaved.
Knapik said that repaving of Springdale Road and South Broad Street, being financed with the $300,000 of Chapter 90 funds in the current budget, will begin within two weeks.
“We can’t wait to have smooth roads,” Knapik said.
At-large City Councilor Brian Sullivan said this morning that Knapik’s road improvement plan “ties in with the City Council’s paving priority. Those improvements are all around the city, improvements to highly traveled streets, all accepted streets eligible for Chapter 90 funding.”
Sullivan said the next phase is to request Knapik to submit an appropriation of city funds, either through free cash or stabilization funds, for road repairs to city streets which do not qualify for Chapter 90 funded improvements.
Ward 4 Councilor Mary O’Connell, who was unable to attend the April 3 City Council meeting, had submitted a motion requesting Knapik to use free cash for those repairs.
During discussion of that motion, Sullivan said that he has been working with Knapik, as well as the Public Works and Engineering departments and other councilors to identify streets that would be included and the estimated cost of that work.
“The next phase is to repair streets that may not fall under Chapter 90 where we’d have to use free cash or stabilization funds,” Sullivan said. “We need to cognizant of the budget season, but this is a priority of the City Council.”
