MARY L. O’CONNELL
Proposed New Elementary School: In September of 2011 the MSBA announced a grant for $23 million to Westfield for a proposed new elementary K -5 school. The proposed elementary school will have a total construction cost of $33 million with the City of Westfield’s share set at $10 million. (www.massschoolbuildings.org)
There are two avenues of thought regarding the proposed new elementary school project. The proponents of the new school argue that we need a new school and that the Cross Street site is the best place to put it but to do this, there are a number of hurdles that must be overcome. A superior court judge stopped construction determining that the City allowed building to proceed even though the project was not in compliance with governing laws. The supporters of the current project want to stay the course and proceed with this plan. The City has spent considerable dollars already and supporters argue that that these dollars will be lost if the current plan is scrapped.
The opponents of the new elementary school project argue that the City of Westfield does not need such a large elementary school and that the Cross Street location is not a suitable location for such a large capacity (approx. 600 students) school. They site indicators that show a declining student enrollment in our school system. They believe the neighborhood cannot support the traffic that will come with the school. They argue that throwing good money after bad is not in the City’s best interest. They want other sites to be considered.
This is an extremely emotional issue for many. Do we really need a new elementary school and if so is the suggested site really the best location to accommodate the proposed impact?
Residents can educate themselves and become familiar with the basic facts. One way to do this is to go on the Westfield School Department site and review the agenda and the minutes of the School Building Committee. There is a wealth of interesting data on this site. For instance, there are currently eight elementary schools in Westfield: Munger Hill, Paper Mill, Highland, Southampton Road, Juniper Park, Franklin Avenue, Ft Meadow, and Abner Gibbs. If the proposed new elementary school is constructed (either on Cross Street or on another site) the plan is to close Franklin, Ft. Meadow, Juniper Park, and Abner Gibbs schools.
Students within 1.5 miles of the proposed new school will be categorized as walkers. Those beyond the limit will be bussed to the proposed elementary school. The opponents of the proposed new school do not believe that estimates of four to six school buses a day will accommodate the number of students that would be attending the new school. They doubt that parents of students as young as six- to 12-years-old will allow their children to walk almost 1.5 miles to school. They suggest that these parents will drive their children. They also doubt that only four to six buses could transport all of the children currently attending the four closed schools to the new school. They are concerned about traffic and the impact of a new school on the quality of life in their neighborhood.
Park River Drive and Park River Circle: I met with Mark Cressotti, our city engineer, and Peter Miller, our community development director on May 8. We talked about the past problems and challenges and a little bit about the history of the streets. These streets were originally constructed under our condo plan and when the developer went bankrupt the owners of these properties and the City were left with problems. Basically, Mark indicated that the City will not do a large volume project as long as the streets are private. In addition, he is discouraging a vote by Council to accept them as public ways because of the sewer system which he feels is inadequate. I argued that the system has been in place and working for years but he would not budge on that. Peter Miller has met with the Mayor to try and determine his feelings on this project and what he is willing to do to help us. More information will follow on this subject.
So we have four points we are left to discuss:
#1 The immediate repair of the street – The Mayor has authorized some pothole repair but we all know that this is temporary.
#2 The acceptance of the street – I have little hope at the moment with the current Council that we will pass through Public Acceptance, the best possible option. There are elections in November 2015 that will possibly provide us with new Councilors but the will of the current Council does not seem to be to support Public Street Acceptance at this time.
#3 A betterment option – In light of all of this I broached the topic of a betterment. If the costs involved ONLY related to the street that would be one thing but Mark Cressotti wants to include the cost of a new sewer system. The 2012 study was put at $741,000. Mark is pursuing the details on the process for this
#4 Relief from the State-On the state level: The Commonwealth does address the issue of private street repair MGL Chapter 40 Section 6N. At first I was thinking that it might be a waste to contact Senator Humason or Representative Velis but now I am thinking that perhaps it might be a shot at changing the Mass State law. I did email both of them last week with no response yet but I will follow up this week.
Congratulations to all of our City’s graduates and best wishes for a happy and healthy Memorial Day weekend.
This is Memorial Day weekend and as always, we give thanks and pay homage to our veterans who have, through their personal sacrifice, guaranteed our rights in this free society today. Words cannot fully express our gratitude to these men and women.
Mary O’Connell,
Ward Four City Councilor
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not the staff, editor, or publisher of this publication.
