WESTFIELD – After several months of going through the proper channels, Indian Motorcycles has been given the green light.
At a meeting of the Westfield License Committee last night, Dennis Bolduc, owner of Bolduc Mechanical Services in Chester, saw his application unanimously approved for a class one license to sell new and used bikes at his new Indian Motorcycle dealership on Southampton Road.
“I’m really excited to be in Westfield,” Bolduc said on his way out of the South Middle School auditorium. “A lot of people have stopped by and there has been a great amount of support.”
Bolduc informed the committee that he is in the process of building the dealership on Southampton Road, and is looking forward to a January 1, 2014 opening.
The City Council approved the franchise’s application in September under six conditions voiced by City Planner Jay Vinskey in an effort to put members of the Barnes Aquifer Protection Advisory Committee at ease, as the proposed location of the dealership sits atop the aquifer.
These conditions include limiting possible contamination of the underlying aquifer from fuel and oil leaks and deicing materials, as well as urging the franchise to use a minimum of the deicing materials as possible, and to consider environmentally compatible alternatives to rock salt.
Bolduc and his wife Florence saw last night’s approval as the final step toward bringing a franchise for the legendary motorbike, which began in Springfield over 100 years ago, back to it’s rightful home in the Pioneer Valley.
“We’re happy to give residents of Westfield a choice when it comes to motorcycles,” Bolduc said, a sentiment which members of the committee echoed.
“I’m a motorcycle rider, have been for years and years, and I think it’s great,” said License Committee Chairman Christopher Mowatt after the meeting. “Having an alternative is always great. Indian Motorcycles has sort of been a slippery slope, and it’s not because of anything else beyond the fact that it’s just really hard to get a motorcycle established. (Dennis Bolduc) is going forward with it and he believes in it, and if you believe in it, you can sell it.”
