WESTFIELD – The City Council session slated for this evening has been postponed until Monday due to a lack of a quorum because of scheduling and personal conflicts.
Council President Brian Sullivan said that he surveyed individual council members and determined that there was a very strong possibility of failing to have seven City Council members, the required quorum, present tonight.
“There was potentially going to be only five definite councilors present,” Sullivan said, “so there was a strong possibility that we weren’t going to have a quorum.”
Sullivan said the meeting during school vacation week always results in scheduling conflicts and this year was not an exception with two councilors, At-large Councilor David A. Flaherty and Ward 6 Councilor Christopher Crean, out of town on family vacations.
What was different this year is that several of the City Council members are also ill.
“I thought it would be best to delay it rather than have people who are sick trying to make the meeting,” Sullivan said. “I felt it makes more sense to wait until Monday when everybody is back from school vacation and the ill councilors are better.”
Sullivan said that Richard E. Onofrey Jr., chairman of the Finance Committee would not be present because of the death of his father, Richard E. Onofrey Sr., on Monday, with calling hours and the funeral slated for this weekend. (Calling hours are scheduled for Friday evening from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Firtion-Adams Funeral Home at 76 Broad St., and the funeral at 9 a.m., Saturday.) The Finance Committee is slated to present 14 items at the next council meeting.
Sullivan said that several councilors had scheduling conflicts. Sullivan said that he planned to attend an invitational hockey tournament being held on Cape Cod. The Westfield High School hockey team was scheduled to play on both Wednesday and Thursday.
Sullivan said that At-large Councilor Brent B. Bean II, an administrator at Westfield State University also had a potential conflict.
Sullivan said that he notified City Councilors by email yesterday afternoon and the postponement was posted on the city website.
The agenda posted for Monday. Feb. 25 at 7p.m. is identical to that of the cancelled meeting.
