WESTFIELD – The City Council approved the controversial transfer of municipal land at Ponders Hollow Road from the Fire Department to the Park & Recreation Department by the slimmest margin Thursday night.
The vote, approving the transferring the care, custody, management and control of the nearly 4.8 acres of land on Ponders Hollow Road, was 9-4. Nine affirmative votes were needed to approve the order transferring the land and several councilors voted to support the transfer only after receiving an opinion from the Law Department.
Holyoke resident Tom Smith, whose mother resides across Cross Street from the proposed school site, spoke at the Aug. 20 during the public participation segment of the City Council session, raising questions about procedure and the council’s process in transferring the Ponder Hollow Property from the Fire Department to the Park & Recreation.
The land transfer is being made to satisfy a requirement of the federal National Park Service that the city transfer property of equal or greater value to the 1.3 acres at Cross Street which were transferred to the School Department for incorporation into the school project.
Smith said the city needs a recommendation from the Planning Board prior to taking final action on the transfer under city ordinance and state law.
The problem, several councilors said, including At-large Councilor Matthew T. VanHeynigen who served on the Planning Board prior to his election to the council, is that there is not a plan for the Planning Board to review.
Ward 1 Councilor Christopher Keefe made the motion to defer the vote and seek a legal opinion on the procedure of transferring the property from one city department to another.
City Solicitor Susan Phillips issued an opinion that the procedure requiring Planning Board review was not related to the transfer of the land, but would come into play if plans to develop the land were formally proposed.
Thursday night Keefe thanked Phillips for expeditiously responding to the City Council request for an opinion to clarify the vote.
Smith, again speaking during public participation, said that he and his brother, Dan, would continue to use litigation to force the city to comply with federal, state and city laws regarding construction of the proposed Ashley Street School on city property directly across from their mother’s home.
At-large City Councilor David A. Flaherty said that the National Park Service is also “investigating” the assessed value of the Ponders Hollow Road property. The property being substituted for the Cross Street property, under the National Park Service regulations, must have a real estate value equal to or greater than the Cross Street land which was transferred from the Park & Recreation Department to the School Department for the school project.
“This transference requires a lot of approvals we have not done,” Flaherty said.
Voting in support of the land transfer were: At-large Councilors James R. Adams; Brent B. Bean II; Brian Sullivan; and Matthew VanHeynigan; as well as Keefe; Ward 2 Councilor Ralph Figy; Ward 3 Councilor Brian Hoose; Ward 5 Councilor Robert A. Paul Sr.; and Ward 6 Councilor Christopher Crean.
Voting against the order were At-large Councilors Dan Allie; Flaherty; Cindy Harris and Ward 4 Councilor Mary O’Connell.
