Westfield City Hall
WESTFIELD – Register of Deeds Donald E. Ashe and Westfield Mayor Brian P. Sullivan have announced that the Westfield Satellite Recording Office will open full-time, Monday to Friday beginning on June 18. Recording hours will be 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Currently, the office is open Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays. The decision was made due to MGM Springfield’s announcement that the casino, across the street from the Registry of Deeds office in Springfield, will open on August 24.
“We anticipate an influx of activity in the area, which will make traffic flow and parking more difficult. The Registry of Deeds is committed to providing excellent customer service. Many of our customers already enjoy the convenience of limited business hours in Westfield City Hall. Mayor Sullivan and I want to give them the best possible experience by expanding this option to full-time,” said Register Ashe.
“A change in the weekly service hours of the Westfield Satellite Office will provide an alternative to the busy Springfield location, and I look forward to working with Register of Deeds Donald E. Ashe to accommodate constituents who may want to use Westfield City Hall as their Registry of Deeds,” said Mayor Sullivan in the announcement.
“Just with the construction of the MGM Casino, the traffic is terrible,” Donna Brown, Assistant Register of Deeds said on Monday. “It’s been an issue in Westfield, anyway; people would love us to be open every day,” she added.
Brown, who lives in Westfield, said the Hampden County Registry of Deeds serves all of the cities and towns in the county, from Ware to Chester. “Anyone from any town can go to Westfield,” Brown said. She said people from Palmer, for example, can hop on the Turnpike, and may find it easier to go to Westfield than trying to navigate downtown Springfield. She said they are expecting that more people from out of town will go to the Westfield office. “Especially for right now, with the opening of the MGM casino,” she said.
According to Westfield City Planner Jay Vinskey, any special permit or variances from the Planning Board, City Council or Zoning Board of Appeals need to be recorded at the Registry of Deeds. Subdivision plans, or property lines changing also need to be recorded there. He agreed that opening the office five days a week would be more convenient.
“Once we sign off on certain things, we send people to them,” said City Clerk Karen Fanion, who said the Registry also does title searches and real estate transactions.
Brown said the Registry of Deeds does offer electronic filing; however, with some transactions there are subtle changes that have to be done, and others have to have the original signed documents. Brown said attorneys, title companies, and realtors use the office, and there are closings that take place in the office as well.
Brown said the office in Westfield, which opened in 2006, is a collaboration between the Mayor and the Registry of Deeds. “The City of Westfield has been so gracious to everyone in opening up City Hall to them. Mayor Sullivan has been wonderful,” Brown said. She said the satellite office is greatly appreciated by most of the attorneys. She said there is also a lot of business in Westfield, both residential and commercial.
Brown said right not there is just one person in the office. “Depending on the traffic, if we have to put two people there, we will,” she said.
The Hampden Registry of Deeds satellite office is located on the first floor of the Westfield City Hall at 59 Court Street (413) 568-2290. Free parking is provided, as well as convenient access with less traffic.
