WESTFIELD – The City Council approved the first reading of a home rule petition to the state Legislature to decree Papermill Road as a city public way on a 3-0 recommendation from the Legislative & Ordinance Committee last night.
The second reading and final passage at the council’s March20 session will allow city officials to submit the road acceptance to the Legislature.
Matthew VanHeynigen, a member of the L&O Committee, requested the City Council to accept two motions, one of which includes the minutes of the Jan. 16, 2014 public hearing on a layout order for Papermill Road as official records.
Eleven residents and five council members spoke in support of the petition to seek legislative acceptance of the roadway. Nobody spoke in opposition, a fact cited by Ward 4 Councilor Mary O’Connell.
“I’m not a fan of home rule petitions, but not one person spoke against this at the public hearing,” O’Connell said, “so I will support the Ward 6 councilor.”
Crean said that the Legislature’s approval of the home rule petition to accept Papermill Road as a public way is the only viable path to improving the heavily-traveled road.
Crean has been seeking a way to accept the road as a city street to enable the city to used state or federal funds for reconstruction of the roadway. Currently, as an unaccepted road, repairs and improvements can only be done with city funds which has delayed the improvement project because of the high cost.
The Law Department recommended the course of action initiated last night to seek legislative approval for the “special procedure” to establish city ownership of the right of way for the street, making it eligible for state road-improvement funding under Chapter 90.
Crean and the city’s Law Department held a community meeting two years ago at the Paper Mill Elementary School asking residents to voluntarily surrender their ownership right to the land under the road.
Crean said that the vast majority of resident agreed and signed documents, but several did not support that process which needed 100 percent support from the property owners abutting the roadway.
“It’s all a matter for formality,” Crean said yesterday prior to the council session, “to show the Legislature that we have done our due diligence and that the city is in favor of accepting this as a city street.”
