As always, the council calendar is full with proposed ordinance changes, new commission appointees, and budgetary matters. Last Thursday we held a public hearing to gather input on the upcoming vote on the tax shift – what percentage the City will tax residents and businesses. Thank you to those folks who did come to our meeting to voice their opinions. Councilors Keefe and Flaherty are advocating for no tax increases and maybe even a tax cut. The City Council unanimously cut the budget in June anticipating that we’d be able to offer homeowners and businesses a break. I encourage people to watch Councilor Chris Keefe’s statement on the video archive (it is at CityofWestfield.org under City Council and under videos of City Council meetings). The council has continued the public hearing until at least December 6 in the hopes of gathering more input on projected tax revenue and other data from the Mayor.
Recently I noticed an interesting listing on MLS (I am a Realtor as many of you know) and it was for 40 acres of land on City View Road in our city. Knowing the history of the parcel I was puzzled and contacted the listing agent as well as the Law Department. This parcel should not be listed as a for sale property. For those of you living in the City View Road area rest assured that no private sale will go through on this property as the City actually owns a major portion of this parcel.
For folks living in the Fowler Road neighborhood you will be happy to learn that the funding for removal of the property located at 165 Fowler Road has been approved (by a 12-1 vote) and that unsightly and unsafe building will soon be torn down. This building was an attractive nuisance and always a concern, especially when you think of the City’s liability if someone were to be injured or even killed on the site. Thank you to the Building (Jonathon Flagg) and the Law Departments (Attorney Phillips) for pushing this along.
The issue of the double yellow lines painted in error on Honey Pot is still with us. At this point the lanes are beyond narrow, going down to 8 or 9 feet at some point. I am concerned about the decreased width once the snow comes. I have asked that this matter be placed on the agenda for the Traffic Commission’s December 17 meeting. Also sent to the Traffic Commission is a request to make the City View Blvd and City View Road intersection a four way stop sign intersection.
The Personnel Action Committee of the City Council has decided to remove from consideration the candidate proposed by the Mayor for replacement for George Martin. As I mentioned previously there is a City Charter recommendation hold that the Commission include one woman and this requirement has not been met. In addition, it is a charter recommendation that the commission includes a banker, engineer, and attorney, none of whom are on the Conservation Comm currently.
We had a similar situation with the License Commission. The STATE requirement according to Mass General Law reads as follows: Chapter 138, section 4.
In each city which is not exempt by the provisions of section ten there shall be a licensing board…
One member shall be appointed from each of the two leading political parties and the third member may also be appointed from each of the said parties.
The Law Department has responded with the following (excerpted) opinion: “While it is concerning that this section of Ch. 138 was not followed, it is unknown at this time what, if any action can be taken to become compliant. The current members were offered for appointment by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council after a review of the credentials by the Personnel Action Committee.” This opinion from our Solicitor’s Office reinforces our responsibility as City Councilors to verify each and every “offer of appointment” by the Mayor and make sure that the individual’s appointment will comply with all City and State law. On the very day of the City Solicitor’s decision one member of the License Commission changed their political affiliation so we now have a legitimate License Commission. I am still concerned for decisions made while the board was not in compliance but at least we are legal going into the future.
This past week John D. Leary spoke at the Westfield Athenaeum on his book, “General William Shepard: An American Patriot.” It is a fascinating subject and kudos to Jack for tackling this biography of one Westfield’s heroes. The book is available for purchase at Amazon.Com or at the Athenaeum.
Congratulations to the Westfield Spanish American Association (WSAA) on the celebration of twenty years. This group has certainly come a long way since it’s founding and the ceremony last Sunday on the steps of City Hall was very moving, especially the singing of the Puerto Rican National Anthem, La Borinqueña and the unofficial national anthem, Que Bonita Bandera. (What a beautiful flag) by my good friend, Agma Sweeney. The WSAA mission statement reads:
Best wishes to all for a Very Happy Thanksgiving,
Mary O’Connell
Ward Four City Council
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not the staff, editor, or publisher of this publication.
