WESTFIELD – The Board of Public Works met on Tuesday evening during a quiet week at City Hall. Outside, the flags were flying at half mast, and the parking lot was emptier than usual.
Flags fly at half mast at City Hall on Tuesday. (Photo by Amy Porter)
Board chair John E. Sullivan called the meeting to order and asked for public participation. Diana McLean spoke on behalf of the Babe Ruth World Series. She said the organization would like to erect banners on lamp posts for the series, which will begin to welcome visitors August 7-8 for the games which run August 11-18. See westfieldworldseries.com for more information.
Superintendent of Public Works David Billips said that several steps must be taken according to city ordinance, in order to get permission to hang the banners. A public hearing must be scheduled and announced in the newspaper seven days prior to the hearing. He said the public hearing should be scheduled immediately, in order for the process to begin.
Board members Sullivan, Jack Campaniello and Thomas E. Pereira agreed to the date of July 26 at 7 p.m. for the public hearing.
McLean was asked to let the Board know how many banners would be hung, what size they would be and a general idea of where they will be located. She also said that she would be contacting Westfield Gas & Electric to see if they are able to hang the banners.
Ward 1 City Councilor Mary Ann Babinski then brought several items to the attention of the Board.
She said she has been contacted several times by constituents about a tree by Stop & Shop that has a lot of dead branches.
Billips said the tree is a top priority, and the first on the list to come down. He said he had signed the contract that afternoon.
Babinski then said that she had attended the Pioneer Valley Railroad crossing blitz at the corner of Lockhouse Road and Servistar on Tuesday. She said the railroad handed out safety tips to vehicles as they drove by.
Babinski said there are several issues with the railroad in that section, and with the Lockhouse Road bridge. She said several businesses on Springdale Road that experienced flooding in their parking lots put in drains that empty at the railroad tracks, and are washing out the tracks.
Deputy Superintendent Casey Berube said he was aware of the situation, and crews have been out clearing the basins along Springfield Road. Berube said he also planned to sit down with the Law Department to discuss it.
Babinski also spoke about the lack of gates at the railroad crossing. She said according to railroad officials, gates are the responsibility of the city. Billips said the gates belong to the railroad, and are not the city’s responsibility.
Billips then ran down upcoming projects for his department. He said the budgets were approved by the Council with minimum cuts, but that unfortunately Mayor Brian P. Sullivan had already cut quite a bit.
Billips said the projects will start with line painting and patching the old-fashioned way. The new infra-red patching machine should be in by August. He did caution the Board that the new machine doesn’t repair roads quicker, but provides a more permanent patch. It is also not as weather dependent, allowing for a longer season.
Billips said two in-house projects have been completed by the DPW, including the City View painting project.
“The guys did an incredible job,” Billips said. “We need to prove we can do it.”
He said that Berube also completed the sidewalk repair at Fort Meadow School, another in-house project.
He said they are looking for a major sewer construction job to do in house, although they haven’t yet chosen the location. They would also like to do a whole street themselves, including sidewalks, sewers, storm sewers and water.
Billips said the Mayor asked for a capital plan for vehicles, which was also impacted by the budget cuts. However, he said the plan showed that by replacing a couple of vehicles every year, within five years the department would be in good shape.
He said he would also like to work on the department’s rules and regulations, in order to clarify procedures for requests such as the World Series banners.
Before adjourning, Sullivan said the Board would not meet in August, but would be available in case of emergencies.
