The Westfield City Council voted unanimously on Thursday, Sept. 20 to rename Highland Sanctuary as Barbara Swords Park, in honor of her 22-years of service to the City Council. (WNG File photo)
WESTFIELD – A public hearing was held at the City Properties committee on Thursday on a motion by Mary O’Connell to rename Highland Sanctuary in honor of Barbara Swords, who served for 22 years on the Westfield City Council.
At the meeting, O’Connell deferred to Community Development Director Peter J. Miller to make the request, which he did by reading from a letter he wrote in support of the motion.
“I had the good fortune to serve with Mrs. Swords on the City Council from 2004 until her retirement in 2008. As a ward councilor, I looked up to her because I knew she was someone who had her priorities straight. First and foremost, Barbara was true to herself. Nobody was going to convince her to support something that went against her own core beliefs. Second, she understood her primary responsibility was to represent the interests of Ward 4; and third, she was able to disagree in a way that got her point across without ever isolating herself,” Miller wrote.
“It is particularly appropriate to dedicate Highland Park in her honor. As the land is permanently protected, it represents her dedication to conservation. Second, its location, just a stone’s throw from the homestead where she and her husband Richard, another former Councilor, raised their six children, is a place that meant so much to her.
“Barbara lived her life to make Westfield a better place. I ask the Committee and the full City Council to recognize her extra-ordinary contributions to Westfield and Ward 4 by renaming this land as Barbara Swords Park.
“I worked with Barbara for a long time. She’s the model we all strive to emulate,” O’Connell said. She said Dick Sword was also a city councilor and when he died, Barbara took over his seat.
Miller said when they were going through the process, he looked through the history of the land, and learned that Barbara was a founding member of the Winding River Land Conservancy.
Mary O’Connell and Peter J. Miller. (Photo by Amy Porter)
O’Connell said there is not another park in Westfield where there is another opportunity to name after a person, which she said was initially a concern of the Parks & Recreation Commission.
City Properties committee member Andrew K. Surprise asked whether there is any ordinance against it. Miller said it is spelled out in the charter, and one of the requirements is to have the ward councilor introduce the measure.
O’Connell said as the former Ward 4 Councilor she was able to introduce it, and also to fulfill the other requirement of at least 25 signatures of residents in support of the measure. She said the Parks & Recreation Commission voted unanimously in support of the renaming in May.
Following the presentation, the City Properties committee also voted unanimously in support.
During the City Council meeting which followed, Onyski informed them that there had been a public hearing on the renaming. “I would like to thank Councilor O’Conner and Peter Miller for spearheading this,” he said, before reading Miller’s letter to the council.
“I was honored to serve with her. She was a fierce advocate, especially. for water resources. I’d love to have seen something more prominent in the city to honor her. It’s well overdue,” said At-large Councilor Brent B. Bean, II.
“I think the letter from Peter said it all. She deserves this. I agree she deserves something more prominent,” said At-large Councilor Dave Flaherty.
“As a representative of Ward 1, we appreciate all the work and dedication that Barbara Swords gave to protect water resources,” said Councilor Mary Ann Babinski. She added that in 1998, Barbara Swords worked to get the area around Zone 2 protected. “I appreciated getting to know her before I became a councilor, and she was very gracious about coming to speak at some of our meetings. This is a long time coming,” Babinski added.
Surprise said that the family of Barbara Swords is happy with the location that was chosen, which is behind Highland Elementary School.
“One of the things that made it special is it was there by her house. They also didn’t want to change one already named after someone,” Onyski added.
“It gives me great pleasure to vote for this,” said Ward 4 Councilor Michael Burns. The City Council then voted unanimously to rename Highland Sanctuary as Barbara Swords Park.
