WESTFIELD – The City Council’s Legislative & Ordinance Committee will recommend approval of a resolution to allow Mayor Daniel M. Knapik to execute a memorandum of understanding with the Westfield Business Improvement District.
City Advancement Officer Jeff Daley discussed the proposed resolution with members of the L&O Thursday night, including the funding vehicle used by the city for programs supporting the downtown business district.
Initially, the city provided $50,000 to the BID for managed programs, but, Daley said, that funding has increased as the number of programs have increased and is now at $90,000 a year.
“We have increased the city’s payment to invest in those programs, using block grant funds,” Daley said.
The Community Development Block Grant funds are also contributed in lieu of payments for city-owned property along Elm Street. The bid revenue is based upon assessments to property owners in the CORE district.
Ward 4 Councilor Mary O’Connell said she would like the City Council to have the opportunity to vote on the BID funding to ensure that the funds are made available regardless of who holds the mayoral office. Both O’Connell and L&O Chairman James E. Brown Jr., serve on the BID board of directors.
O’Connell said she would rather that the funding be added as a line item to the city’s annual budget, with the appropriation coming from the general fund.
Brown said that while the council has to approve the mayor’s annual budget, a future mayor could cut that line item. The council can cut the mayor’s proposed budget, but cannot add funding. Brown also said that the council has the opportunity to amend the BID memorandum of understanding when it votes on the resolution and could insert specific funding levels.
Daley said the the mayor has control of the CDBG allocations.
“Those CDBG monies are under the control of the mayor, which is a requirement of state and federal law,” Daley said.
Brown said that the BID has “asked that we move this forward” because they need the city’s funding to continue business improvement programs already in place.
The L&O also voted to give a positive recommendation to the council for two orders of taking and one order of a permanent easement needed to reconstruct Airport Industrial Park Road.
Daley said that the city has to control those properties to gain release of a $2 million state grant to reconstruct that road.
“The city needs to own outright or have a permanent easement to qualify for release of the $2 million grant,” Daley said.
“I have talked personally with all of the property owners who are excited about this project,” he said.
The project will improve that area, and drainage associated with the project will eliminate flooding at one business located at the corner of North and Airport Industrial Park roads.
The Council’s Finance Committee is slated to meet Tuesday, June 19, 2012, to discuss the funding associated with the property takings. The properties were appraised and the value of the portion being taken by the city given a value by Crowley & Associated, a Springfield real estate and appraisal firm.
The value of the three properties is appraised at $78,500.
“These takings open the door to a $2 million state (economic development) grant,” Daley said. “Everything is ready to go and we will engage the second phase after we get that state grant funding.”
The city has been qualified for the grant of $2 million through the Executive Office of Development & Housing to reconstruct the exterior access road, Airport Industrial Park Road. That project is being funded through the Massworks Infrastructure Program. Daley said that project is still in the engineering stage, but that he anticipates the design and permitting stage will be completed this summer, with reconstruction projected to begin by early fall and be completed next spring.
The road project, to be completed with a $2 million state economic development grant, will service a proposed industrial park on land currently owned by the Airport Commission. The current access road between North Road and Elise Street, where there are a number of industrial and aviation-related tenants including Gulfstream, is a hodge-podge of street fragments, including two segments of Apremont Way, and a segment of Old Stage Way.
