Westfield

City reaches settlement regarding balustrade replacement

WESTFIELD—Mayor Brian Sullivan announced that a “pre-suit settlement” was reached with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and private contractors related to the balustrade replacement project around three local parks in the Great River Bridge area.

The settlement reached was for $180,000 and will be paid by MassDOT and their private contractors, which will cover 64 percent of the reconstruction and design costs. The balustrades were replaced earlier this year around the Women’s Temperance, Half Mile and Kane-Wojtkiewicz parks, after they were deemed to be unsafe. The effort to initially install the balustrades were part of the Great River Bridge Project.

According to Sullivan, the balustrades were replaced after “a couple of sections” became damaged and the city looked into the matter in February 2016.

“We actually looked at repairing what we could and it was about the same amount of money and it was going to be very, very difficult to do,” Sullivan said. “So, we went the route of replacing them.”

Sullivan said that it was an option for the city to seek a lawsuit but that option could have cost the city. With this option, Sullivan said that the city “probably saved, just in time and finances,” the remaining 36 percent. In addition, Sullivan said that the city and MassDOT negotiated “very amicably” on the issue. 

When reached for statement, MassDOT spokesman Patrick Marvin said the following via email: “MassDOT is pleased to have had the opportunity to work with the City on this issue, and bring all parties involved together for a closure to this matter, which leaves the park in a better condition for all to enjoy.”

According to Meghan Bristol, Assistant City Solicitor for Westfield, the city’s legal department investigated the matter thoroughly and said that the settlement was the best course of action for the city.

The settlement will include $25,000 from MassDOT, while the remainder will come from private companies that were contracted for the project through MassDOT, according to Bristol. The deadline for the payment is Oct. 2, and

The balustrade replacement project first began in December 2016, when Sullivan announced the city’s intent on replacing them, with the project going on to bid in February 2017. The project to replace the balustrades was finished in July 2017.

The replacement project cost the city about $210,000, as previously reported in The Westfield News, with funding at the time coming from a bond that was previously passed for park improvements, including the Bullens Field and bleacher repairs ahead of last year’s Babe Ruth World Series.

The balustrades were originally installed in the Great River Bridge Project, which was completed in 2012. According to Sullivan, that project cost about $80 million. From the city’s website, the project was a “joint partnership between local, state, and federal funding provided the opportunity to construct this important link through the heart of downtown Westfield.”

The money is expected to be available in the FY 2018, according to Sullivan, with it going into the city’s free cash fund.

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