L&O Committee met on Wednesday to review orders.
WESTFIELD – Two orders transferring custody of parcels of land on the north side; and an order approving the taking of easements for the Western Avenue reconstruction project were on the agenda of the Legislative & Ordinance sub-committee Wednesday in Council Chambers, chaired by Ward 2 Councilor Ralph J. Figy.
The first order transferred care, custody, management and control of a parcel from the Airport Commission to the Water Commission of 23 acres off of Owens District Road. Ward 6 Councilor William Onyski, liaison to the Airport Commission, said he had received a question regarding the year and a half process of transferring the land, referred to in the City Council meeting. “This is the ending point of the process,” Onyski said.
Onyski said the City began the transfer almost a full year and half ago, due to the process under the FAA, which oversees Westfield Barnes Airport. He said Wells 7 and 8 are located on the parcel, and the city cannot go forward with plans for a new filtration system for the wells until the transfer is complete.
Meghan Bristol, Assistant City Solicitor, said the Airport Commission never completed the process of the transfer of the land on the local level decades ago. Bristol said it took about a year, but the FAA was able to turn it around in a couple of days.
“The FAA has approved the transfer. The Council has before it the transfer from one city department to another,” Bristol said. She said the Airport Commission already voted to surplus the property at their meeting on March 15, and the transfer needs to happen regardless of plans for the parcels.
“By having wells on this land for more than forty years, the city has been out of compliance,” Bristol said. She said the FAA requested the final order by the end of April, but she informed them that it would have to go to the City Council at the beginning of May.
“If we’re out of compliance, that opens the door to a lot of things,” Onyski said. A motion was made to transfer the land, which passed 3-0, with Figy, Onyski and L&O member Nicholas J. Morganelli, Jr. voting in favor of the transfer.
Figy told Bristol that two meetings would be required to pass the order in the City Council, and asked if it would become an issue to wait until May 17. Bristol said she would let them know.
The second parcel, 4.5 acres on 1090 Southampton Road, was foreclosed by the city in November of 2016. Treasurer Meghan Kane said Council approval was needed to declare the land surplus, and to do a request for proposal (RFP) to dispose of it properly.
She said no taxes have been paid on the property since 1995, and the building on it will be removed and the property cleaned up.
Figy asked if the RFP gives the city more control as to its intended use.
Shanna Reed, First Assistant Solicitor, said the property has been in three different land courts, and the owners were given every opportunity to pay back taxes. She said a code enforcement issue came up and the owners were evicted. Reed said it took four and a half years to get the property, which is zoned Business B, back on the tax rolls.
Kane said the property has an assessed value of $125,000, and a market value to be determined. “Anything we get as far as the purchase price is icing on the cake. We need to get it back on the tax rolls,” she said.
Onyski said since 1995, based on average taxes, the city has already lost $50,000 on the property. “It’s more than that,” Kane said.
Figy commented that with the lost taxes plus all of the efforts, the city has a sizable investment in the property. A motion to transfer was approved 3-0.
City Engineer Mark Cressotti spoke about the orders of taking easements of real estate for roadway, traffic and related improvements for the Western Avenue reconstruction project. He said only two of the easements are permanent, and both are on Lloyd’s Hill and associated with overhead power lines. He said both properties skirt private property boundaries. The other easements are temporary until construction is completed.
Morganelli asked how many trees on the roadway would be removed for drainage.
Cressotti said between 26 and 36 trees, adding that it’s a long road. “We will be replacing every tree with two trees,” Cressotti said. He said the plans have been vetted through a series of public meetings.
Cressotti also said he had the Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR) walk through the project to see whether any trees should be saved, and the sidewalk or roadway moved. “In certain cases, we did that,” Cressotti said.
He said the majority of the project will actually narrow Western Avenue, from 32 to 30 feet. The roadway will be widened in four places, where there are plans for a median. He said in those places there will be some impacts to trees.
“These plans are online. If anybody has any questions, they can call me,” he said. He also said the city has informed residents of the appraised value of the easements. A motion was made and passed 3-0.
All three orders will go to the City Council on May 3 with positive recommendations from L&O.
