City Council members in attendance took their new seating assignments on Monday. (Photo by Lynn Boscher)
WESTFIELD – The City Council held its meeting Monday night, moved from Thursday due to the snow storm. Council President John J. Beltrandi, III could not attend the rescheduled meeting, nor could Ward 5 Councilor Robert A. Paul, Sr. City Clerk Karen J. Fanion called the meeting to order, and Westfield High School ninth grader Trent Stucenski and Boy Scout Troop 109 led the City Council in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Fanion asked for nominations for President Pro Temp, and At-large Councilor Dave Flaherty was unanimously chosen for the duty. After moving to the podium, Flaherty asked if there were any members of the public who wished to speak.
Kristen Mello, a member of WRAFT (Westfield Residents Advocating for Themselves) said the community group held a public discussion on Sunday, and asked themselves what was being done about water issues in Westfield, and whether there was anything more the City Council could do to help? She said they learned that according to Section 26 of the City Charter, councilors can secure information on any matter.
Mello then read a list of 11 questions that she said residents would like answered, such as how much land area in Westfield has been identified as having high or medium yield aquifer beneath it, and how much of that land is protected under the Water Resources Protection District. She then passed the questions to the Councilors, and a motion to refer the matter to the Natural Resources sub-committee was made by Ward 1 Councilor and sub-committee chair Mary Ann Babinski.
WHS ninth-grader Trent Stucenski and members of Boys Scout Troop 109 lead City Council in Pledge of Allegiance. (Photo by Amy Porter)
Two items were then acted on under Communications from the Mayor, which Brian P. Sullivan had presented to the councilors during his briefing prior to the meeting. The first was immediate consideration and acceptance of an incentive payment from the Westfield Gas and Electric in the amount of $19,342. Sullivan explained during the briefing that the incentive was for several energy projects to be done around the city for the Green Communities grant of $266,000 which the City Council had approved on July 6. He said Westfield G&E had done a concurrent study and was offering the incentive to encourage the energy savings. He said none of the money for the projects would be coming from the general fund.
Sullivan said this would be used for the first three projects, which included new lighting for the basketball court at Westfield High School and the gymnasium at North Middle School. He said he would be coming back to the council for the next five or six projects, which would be replacing lighting fixtures in the elementary schools. The incentive payment was unanimously approved.
The council also unanimously approved authorization for the Mayor to execute a development agreement for the Springfield Road Traffic Signalization Project. The agreement is the city’s part of a $1.93 million MassWorks grant for upgrades on that section of Route 20, including street lights and widening.
Six appointments and reappointments by the Mayor to various committees and positions were referred to the Personnel Action Committee, including the reappointment of Cindy Gaylord to the Historical Commission; the reappointment of Michael Tirrell to Park and Recreation for Ward 5; and the appointment of Meagan L. Laramee to Park and Recreation for Ward 2. During his briefing, the Mayor had mentioned that Park and Recreation was one of the few committees represented by wards, and thanked Ward 2 Councilor Ralph J. Figy for the referral.
The appointment of John Bowen as a full-time member of the Planning Board, and of Peter Cowles, Jr. as the Media Systems Specialist for one year, were also referred to PAC.
The council also passed on second reading an amendment to the ordinance on City Councilors’ salary, which Figy said brought the ordinance in line with the budget passed in June. The councilors had voted a $1,000 salary reduction in June for the current fiscal year.
On the remainder of the agenda were six motions brought by councilors for consideration. The first by Ward 3 Councilor Andrew K. Surprise and Flaherty asked to establish a Special Purpose Stabilization Fund dedicated to road and sidewalk repair and maintenance, to be funded by the total revenues of the Local Option Meals Tax and Room Occupancy Tax, and refer it to Finance. Surprise said when the Mayor asked to pass the Meals Tax he committed to use it for purposes relative to road and sidewalk maintenance and repair.
At-large Councilor Brent B. Bean, II asked to amend to refer it to Legal, and Figy asked to send it to Legislative & Ordinance.
Bean said while the roads are a needed purpose, he was reluctant to lock in the funds. “I get very concerned about locking money up, and definitely want a legal opinion,” Bean said. The motion carried as amended.
The next four motions were from the President Pro Temp. Flaherty postponed action on his first motion, to enable internet browsing on city council workstation computers until the first meeting in February.
Flaherty’s next motion, requesting an updated Capital Plan to be delivered to the City Council on or before he first meeting in March to be referred to Finance, the Treasurer and Audit departments, passed unanimously.
Flaherty then asked to remove his next motion without prejudice; to create a rule that prevents committee meeting overlaps. Flaherty said he had discussed the motion with several councilors, who suggested he combine it with the next motion, requesting the Charters & Rules committee to review the current City Council rules and take suggestions for edits and revisions. Figy amended this motion to refer it to L&O and Legal.
“It’s smart to look at this. Charter & Rules is not an official sub-committee. In the end, it would have to go to an official sub-committee. Good move by Figy,” said Bean.
Newly elected At-large Councilor Matt Emmershy’s first motion asked the City Council to look into videotaping sub-committee meetings. (Photo by Amy Porter)
The last motion was the first by newly-elected At-large Councilor Matthew Emmershy, relative to recording and broadcasting of Committee meetings, to be referred to Government Relations.
In introducing his motion, Emmershy asked to add At-large Councilor Nick Morganelli to it. He said he had spoken to the Mayor, and believed there were several options to record committee meetings at various price levels, from $1,000 mobile units to $4,000 fixed units. Emmershy added that he thought referring the matter to Government Relations to begin with would bring the Mayor into the discussion, which would then need to be referred to Legal, Finance, L&O and possibly the Personnel Action Committee.
Figy said this was definitely a topic to be considered, and amended the motion to send it to Legal and to bring in the new Media Systems Specialist Peter Cowles, Jr., who was one of the appointments presented by the Mayor that had been referred to PAC.
“This is something citizens think is very important, being able to access videos of sub-committees. Any money we allocate to that would be well spent,” Morganelli said.
Babinski said that since councilors have been asked to deal less with discussion during Council meetings and have discussions in sub-committee meetings, “then it becomes even more important.”
Harris said the council had considered the matter before, and found it to be very complicated and very costly, and that people tend to campaign during these committee meetings. “It sounds good. I think it should be investigated,” Harris added.
“This is something people want. I think we should be as transparent as possible, and this is addressing that,” Surprise said.
Emmershy said if the videos are tied into existing services, the cost would only be $200 to $500 more. “Once we lay the groundwork equipment-wise, with the $1,000 or $4,000 option; then it’s a couple of hundred dollars a year,” he said.
Bean said while he is definitely not a media person, he would like to see a counter on this. He said other communities must be doing it, and they should get some numbers of people viewing them, to make sure the effort was worthwhile. He also said he wants people to come to meetings, not just watch them on TV. “Really interesting to see,” Bean said.
“I’m in favor of this. I agree with Councilor Harris, sometimes (there is) grandstanding going on. Many people can’t attend a lot of meetings,” Flaherty said, adding that technology has changed dramatically. “People were streaming on cell phones during the campaign, and got thousands of views – more than the City Council.”
“Even if we wanted to change it and have everyone come, there is a limit on the number of people that can fit in the rooms,” Babinski said.
At-large Councilor Dan Allie agreed that there has been a lot of efficiencies, and that discussions should be in sub-committee meetings, although he said they were “about as exciting as Robert’s Rules of Order.” He said taping them would allow them to be viewed on Channel 15, so people could watch them whenever convenient. The motion as amended passed, and the meeting was adjourned.
