WESTFIELD – The Flood Control Commission allowed public comment on a proposal to construct a playground on Ponders Hollow Road that is bisected by the Little River levee last night, but made clear that its only interest is ensuring the integrity of that flood-control structure.
The Flood Control Commission discussed the proposed Ponders Hollow Park and the possible impact of that project on an 800-foot section of the 2,500-foot-long Little River levee.
Michael Bachand, Army Corps of Engineers levee safety manager, outlined several permitting options for the city to proceed with construction of a playground, options dealing with levels of disturbance of the levee structure. The Army Corps of Engineers has 61 levee systems across New England.
Options with low impact, such as clearing the levee of brush and trees, can be reviewed and permitted at the Army Corps of Engineers regional level, while other options, including relocating the levee, would require permits issued from the headquarters in Washington, D.C., Bachand said.
Bachand said the “biggest concern of the Army Corps of Engineers with this levee is that we can’t see what is going on” because the structure has become overgrown with vegetation.
“The Corps position is that we have seen a number of communities wanting to use levees for recreation,” Bachand said. ”We have no objection to passive use. Our main concern is that the levee is functional.
“We’re OK with a recreational element if it’s done responsibly and as long as it’s maintained,” Bachand said. “We want the city to clear the levee.”
“The regulation and engineering requirements can be substantial depending on the option the city selects to pursue,” Bachand said.
Mayor Daniel M. Knapik has proposed construction of playing fields on city-owned property as part of the conversion process which will allow the city to use a section of the Cross Street Playground for construction of an elementary school at the corner of Cross and Ashley streets.
The Ponders Hollow property is currently controlled by the Westfield Fire Department and was donated to the city for construction of a fire training facility, a project which has not happened because of fiscal constraints and the availability of state-operated training facilities.
Knapik said Thursday that the city is currently negotiating with Fontaine Brothers, Inc., the Springfield-based general contractor originally hired to construct the proposed 96,000-square-foot elementary school. The construction has been delayed for three years by court challenges and the city has to seek a new construction contract.
“So we’re in the process of negotiating a payout to Fontaine Brothers for the services they rendered and the material they purchased for the school project,” Knapik said last week. “We’ll be taking possession of the steel, bricks and kitchen appliances which will be stored on city property.”
Fontaine Brothers received the contract on August 24, 2012, but City Purchaser Tammy Tefft stated that the city was informed by the Office of Attorney General that that contract is now void.
“Due to the amount of time since the contract was awarded and stopped, it’s in the best interest to rebid the project,” said Tefft. “So we have to do it again.”
Knapik said that the Purchasing Department, project manager, Paul H. Kneedler of Skanska USA Building Inc.; the project designer, Margo Jones of Margo Jones Architects Inc. are currently working on new bid documents.
“Those documents are needed to rebid the project, perhaps by the end of April, and award the contract over the summer,” Knapik said.
Knapik said that 80 percent of the levee is privately owned and questioned if there will be a political will to take the levee property through eminent domain and invest city tax dollars into improvements required by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
“It’s not a (FEMA) certified levee. We have a few hundred feet where it intersects with city property at Ponders Hollow Road,” Knapik said. “To do the (Cross Street) conversion, we don’t have to touch the levee.
“The National Park Service has given the city approval to do this conversion, replacing 1.3 acres on Cross Street with 4.3 acres on Ponders Hollow Road,” Knapik said.
Knapik submitted two communications to the City Council on March 19, one seeking council approval of a resolution “setting forth a petition to the (state) Senate and House of Representatives authorizing the City of Westfield to use certain park lands for general municipal purposes” and the second on order transferring the Ponders Hollow property from the Fire Department to the Parks and Recreation Department.
City Engineer Mark Cressotti said yesterday prior to the Commission meeting that the Army Corps of Engineers constructed the Little River levee in 1955, long before FEMA established its criterion in the early 1970s, and that the Corps repaired the structure in 1983, upgrading a short section of the levee to the FEMA standards.
Cressotti said that improving the levee, at an estimated cost of $1.5 million, would bring the entire structure into compliance with FEMA standards and “eliminate the need for flood insurances, or compensatory storage for new construction, in that South Broad Street area.
“We’ve been looking for some time to bring that levee up to acceptable standards,” Cressotti said, but added that the levee improvements are not what is being discussed in connection with the proposed Ponders Hollow playground.
Last night several speakers alluded to the fact that the proposed Ponder Hollows playground is directly related to incorporation of 1.3 acres of the Cross Street playground with construction of a new elementary school at Cross and Ashley streets and urged the commission not to become mired in the politics of that issue.
Stephen C. Dondley of 10 Kane Brothers Circle said he “came tonight to stand with the parents whose children need a new school. I encourage you not to get involved in the politics of that issue.”
“People in opposition keep throwing roadblocks,” Dondley said. “I ask that they put an end to their battle and step down.”
Ward 3 Councilor Brian Hoose also urged the commission to avoid the politics of the elementary school project.
“I understand your concern with the condition of the levee, but I would urge you that this has a lot more to do with stopping that school from being built,” Hoose said. “All we’re doing is getting something started to get the school up so our children have access to a 21st century education.
“I understand you concern for the safety of residents, but if we’re having a passive park, I don’t see any impact on the levee,” Hoose said.
