WESTFIELD—The City Council will be meeting this evening and there is a full list of agenda items up for discussion.
The meeting is set to feature public hearings on zoning changes and site plans, reports from city officers regarding the Barnes Aquifer and truck traffic on Paper Mill Road, a possible vote and discussion on a synthetic turf and crumb rubber moratorium on city-owned land and mayoral requests, among other items.
For the “Communications from the mayor,” Mayor Brian Sullivan said that the most of his requests are for the acceptance of grants or gifts to the city.
Westfield City Hall
“Everything going into city council from the mayor is really just a grant or a gift, so it’s pretty simple and straightforward,” Sullivan said.
Some of the grants include over $266,000 that was given to the city from the Department of Energy Resources Green Communities Designation Grant, over $135,000 total in grants related to the public safety communications center and $158,000 for the Westfield Barnes Regional Airport Layout Plan.
Westfield Mayor Brian Sullivan (WNG file photo)
In addition, Sullivan is expected to request that city council approve making the city’s interim treasurer-collector Megan Kane, and interim auditor Mary Daley, into permanent positions.
“Both have been there on an interim basis and I’m just looking to make them permanent for the fiscal year ’18 time frame,” Sullivan said.
Regarding reports from city officers, one will be in relation to protection of the Barnes Aquifer from officials at Barnes Regional Airport, and the other is related to a possible truck exclusion on Paper Mill Road.
For Barnes, airport manager Eric Billowitz is expected to address the council and will talk about what they do to help protect the aquifer. According to a letter for the city council, Billowitz wrote that the airport “follows and is subject” to all local, state/Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and federal/Environmental Protection Agency “laws and regulations as they pertain in an aviation environmental,” among other points within the letter.
Westfield Police Chief John Camerota
As for the truck exclusion on Paper Mill Road, Westfield Police Chief and traffic commissioner John Camerota is expected to provide for city council a request to look at creating a truck exclusion for Paper Mill Road.
“The residents up there are looking to get heavy truck traffic off their road,” Camerota said.
According to Camerota, residents have said that the traffic is loud, can cause damage to the roads and is possibly dangerous.
“We agree that there should be an exclusion,” he said.
Camerota said that if it is successful, then the next step would be to submit a written request to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
For site plans and public hearings, there are several that are going in front of city council to change the zoning to business A.
According to city planner Jay Vinskey, there is a public hearing for three total parcels on 4 Taylor Ave. and 95 Main St., then a second public hearing for a parcel on 397 Little River Road.
Vinskey said that the Taylor Avenue location is currently zoned residential, Main Street is commercial A and Little River Road is residence A and rural residence.
According to a petition for zoning amendment submitted to city council by R Levesque Associates, Inc., the Little River Road request is being made “to allow for a proposed gas station/convenience store,” according to the cover letter.
As for the Taylor Avenue and Main Street location, a petition for zoning amendment, also submitted by R Levesque Associates, Inc., explained that the reason for the proposed amendment was for relocation of a Dunkin Donuts restaurant currently located at 93 Main St.
Both applications can be viewed online through the City’s document center within the municipal website.
In addition, there is a public hearing for a contractor’s yard and trailer drop and office at 103 Servistar Way.
Also, city council is expected to discuss and vote on an amendment to a special permit that would modify hours of operation for Boise Cascade, which is being brought from city council’s legislative and ordinance committee.
Regarding the moratorium on synthetic turf and crumb rubber, city council is expected to vote on a resolution that would put a three-year moratorium on the use of the materials on city-owned property. This is being brought from city council’s natural resources committee, who gave a positive recommendation for the resolution.
