Contractors continue to apply the roof and outdoor structures at the new Westfield Senior Center on Noble Street Friday. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
Greetings from Ward 2. I was pleasantly surprised to see such great weather for the election. I want to thank and congratulate the 54 percent of the registered voters that voted. Even if your candidate did not win, you did as a voter.
There are a lot of projects continuing in the ward. The senior center is on target to be enclosed before the snow flies. This will allow for construction to continue uninterrupted. The crew at Forish Construction is doing an outstanding job. It will not be long before we will be moving into this new center. Congratulations also goes out to the Friend’s group. They are in the middle of a campaign to raise funds to furnish the center once built. If you would like to contribute, please call the Friend’s group at the senior center or see Billy Tatro.
Work on restoring the former Red Cross Building on Broad Street is scheduled to begin in June 2015. Domus is currently working with their architects to finalize the plans.
The Voc-Tech students continue to work on the Gazebo on the green. They are working on finishing up the roof. The windows and doors, both special orders, have gone out to bid and will be installed in the spring. Mr. Fallcetti and his students should be commended for the fine work that they are doing. Work may not be progressing as quickly as we would like but we need to remember that the students that are seniors are the only ones that can work on the gazebo. These students can only do this every other week because of the school schedule.
A big kudos needs to go out to Mayor Knapik. Because he trained the seniors in the Construction Shop, they are now OSHA certified which allows them to work on ladders and lifts. Thank you, Mr. Mayor for taking the time to perform this valuable service for our students.
The rail trail is officially open as Phase II is almost complete. A few minor change orders are being completed. Money for the next phase is in the bank. Bid documents are being prepared to go out in late December or early January. Construction will begin in early spring. It is the nature of this grant that all work must be completed by July 1, 2015. Westfield was selected to receive this grant because of our track record of completing projects within the allotted time frames. A public hearing and informational session will be conducted on November 13 at 6:30 p.m. in Council Chambers. Public input will be solicited on helping to make bicycling and walking safer, more convenient, viable, and more accessible to all citizens and neighborhoods in Westfield. Please come out and express your ideas as the newly formed Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Committee is serious about listening to your ideas.
The issue of groups of unruly young adults is still an ongoing issue. Since Westfield State University students have returned for the fall semester, the police have responded to problems downtown 61 times up to last weekend. I refrain from blaming all of this on the college students as they are not the only violators. A group of civic leaders is beginning to meet to address this issue including the Police, Fire, Health, Licensing, Planning and Building departments. It is my hope that a new city ordinance will emerge from the work going on that will require all landlords to register their apartments and obtain occupancy permits. There will be a fee associated with this and the funds generated will be used specifically by the various shareholders within the city. There are numerous issues to be dealt with but everyone at the last meeting felt that the city was heading in the right direction.
The city continues to request that if you see a disturbance or property damage, that you please call the police. They have limited resources but will continue to do the best that they can. I want to thank the Westfield Police Department for the fine job they have done to date.
Finally, I would like to thank my fellow city councilor, Jimmy Adams, for stepping forward in trying to help fill the void that the city is feeling since the BID was dissolved. I, too, will contribute to the WOW so that some of the services that the city, especially downtown, received can be reinstated. I would like to take this opportunity to challenge the rest of the city to get involved and make a donation to WOW.
I have rambled long enough, but I am excited to see everything that is going on in Westfield. I hope that everyone has a safe and health holiday season.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not the staff, editor, or publisher of this publication.
