Westfield City Council (WNG file photo)
WESTFIELD—City council this week comes in with a shorter agenda than usual, and will be addressing several items from the council’s committees.
The Westfield City Council will be meeting Thursday, Sept. 7, at 7 p.m., with communications from Mayor Brian Sullivan beginning at 6:30 p.m. The agenda features several items coming from the legislative and ordinance committee of the council, including a request to rescind on bond orders, a recommendation to buy land on Furrowtown Road and a resolution on an intergovernmental agreement between Springfield and Westfield for the placement of telecommunications equipment on Provin Mountain.
For “Communications from the Mayor,” which starts off the meeting, there are two items that will be coming from the city’s unforeseen account.
According to Sullivan, the first item will be used for emergency security in the building department, which could be used for the purchase of materials needed to make a building safe after an event like a fire or other catastrophe. The second item is to cover the salary of a commissioner in the Historical Commission. Sullivan said that due to a “miscommunication between her and the city” the commissioner did not collect their stipend.
Westfield Mayor Brian Sullivan (WNG file photo)
Also in the communications, Sullivan is submitting a resolution to create a gift account for handicap-accessibility improvements within Westfield parks. If successful, Sullivan said that this will allow the city to take donations that can be used for handicap accessibility at parks, particularly Hampton Ponds Park.
The final two items in communications are in relation to the Zoning Board of Appeals. Due to two open vacancies, one of which was because of retirement, Sullivan is submitting the appointment of Christine E. Webster for a first alternate on the board, and Kathleen A. Hogan-Friguglietti as a second alternate.
On to the city council portion, one report from a city officer is expected, as director of the Department of Public Works Dave Billips is expected to give a bi-monthly report on activities related to the efforts of the water department regarding treatment projects, as well as on sewer system upgrades in the city. The update, according to city council president Brent Bean, may include costs associated with the projects.
In “Petitions, Remonstrances and Other Papers,” a “Junk Collector’s and a Junk Dealer’s license” is being sought by Black Hole Guitars on North Road.
When the meeting moves onto “Reports of Committees,” a bulk of the city council’s agenda is within this portion of the meeting, particularly from the legislative and ordinance committee.
From at-large councilor Dan Allie, a motion was made to restore parking spaces on Elm Street that were formerly a temporary bus stop. According to Bean, the parking spaces were already there since the Olver Transit Pavilion was created, but the motion is to remove the temporary status.
Regarding a bond for the traffic and light improvements on Springfield Road, Bean said that this item is expected to be “staying in committee” as discussions continue on the project.
“One of the purposes is we are talking about $2.7 million for the entire bond and we are looking to just have better control in place when it comes to spending the money,” Bean said.
Another request was made to allow for the city to rescind on bond orders within the city that were passed but “have either been cancelled or completed and those amounts remain unborrowed,” according to the agenda.
Bean called it a house-cleaning measure and stated that this would not cost the city money.
Then, a resolution is on the docket to authorize Mayor Sullivan to lease six city vehicles for five years.
“This is something we do on a regular basis,” Bean said. “The vehicles are used for various departments throughout the city.”
Westfield City Council President Brent B. Bean, II. (WNG File Photo)
The council is also expected to act upon a draft ordinance that would allow the duties of the parking clerk to be overseen by the community development director, who is currently Peter Miller.
“It’s an efficiency piece,” Bean said. “Not a lot of department heads in the city and Peter Miller has been overseeing the parking clerk temporarily.”
Then, council is expected to act upon a recommendation submitted by city planner Jay Vinskey related to the purchase of “Chapter 61A land on Furrowtown Road,” which the city has first right of refusal of.
“We are hopefully going to find a way to exercise our right,” Bean said. “It’s close to 33 acres out there of open space.”
According to Bean, there is no set plan yet as to what the land would be used for if it is acquired.
Another piece of land that is under Chapter 61A is on Montgomery Road, and this land is being suggested by Vinskey to not be purchased by the city.
Both suggestions by Vinskey came out of committee previously with positive recommendations to follow them.
An application for a zoning change on 95 Main St. and 4 Taylor Ave., in relation to a Dunkin’ Donuts being proposed at the location, will also be coming out of the legislative and ordinance committee with a positive recommendation. The zoning change would allow the area to become business A, which would allow additional uses at the site.
“Right now they can’t have sit-down restaurant there,” Bean said.
The change is expected to go through a first reading, Bean said, and a second reading of the proposal at a later meeting will be held and voted on, as well.
This measure was also in the zoning, planning and development committee.
Regarding a resolution to authorize “an intergovernmental agreement between the City of Westfield and the Springfield Water and Sewer Commission for space at Provin Mountain and Reservoir facility” for telecommunications equipment, Bean said that it also came out with a positive recommendation from the committee.
The project will cost about $60,000, according to a September 6 article in The Westfield News, and would be coming out of a bond that was approved by city council in 2016. The measure though, could save the city “tens of thousands of dollars,” according to Billips in the article.
From the personnel action committee, the city council will be acting upon a reappointment of Attorny John E. Garber, who is a part-time assistant city solicitor. Garber is currently in the position.
In “Unfinished Business,” the city council will be having a second reading and final vote related to parking lots on School Street that will be city-operated.
“We paved it, we are using it as a parking lot, it’s finalizing it as a parking lot,” Bean said.
There is also a continued public hearing related to a “contractor’s yard and trailer drop and office use and associated improvements” on the agenda for 103 Servistar Industrial Way. The hearing was on the council’s previous agenda but continued without the hearing taking place.
In the final portion of the agenda, “Motions, Orders or Resolutions,” the council has four items in front of them.
The first is to address budgeting due to the difference in fiscal years and calendar years related to the city council’s raise for annual compensation. The motion would reduce the annual compensation by $1,000 for the period of January 2018 to June 2018, which is the second half of FY 2017.
Then, two motions by ward two councilor Ralph Figy are expected to come before the council. The first one is to allow for a “Glow-Walk on the Rail Trail” on Thursday, Oct. 5, to be hosted by Friends of the Columbia Greenway.
Figy’s second motion is to rescind “No Parking” spaces on Main Street, in front of the former senior center.
Finally, a motion by both Bean and Figy was also made related to clothing drop boxes and newspaper vending machines, according to the agenda. Bean said that the motion is to try and improve visual aesthetic along Main Street and other portions of the city, due to inappropriately used drop boxes and “half-empty” newspaper vending machines.
“It’s just time to be more mindful of how these things look,” Bean said. “If they’re not being used we need to collect them and get rid of them.”
