Mayor Brian P. Sullivan answers questions Monday during a Chamber-sponsored event at The Genesis House.
WESTFIELD – The Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce hosted the monthly Mayor’s Coffee Hour on Monday at the Genesis Health Care Center. Mayor Brian P. Sullivan spoke to the gathering of residents and business members from the community, touching on several recent events in the city; ongoing projects, such as the Turnpike Industrial Park and Elm Street Redevelopment, and ending with a discussion on where the city stands with water and well rehabilitation.
Sullivan began by thanking Karen Leigh of the Conservation Commission, the Department of Public Works, the Police Department and the 120 volunteers who participated in the Earth Day cleanup. He called it a success, but asked, “How do we get better at not getting trash there in the first place.”
Sullivan admitted some of it was due to winter melt and windblown collection, at places like Route 20 in front of Wal-Mart. He said the city is considering doing another clean-up day in six months, adding that it could be done every month.
The Mayor also spoke about a recent tour of the Westfield Athenaeum rehabilitation project, which he said is 80% done. “It’s phenomenal,” he said, adding, “What started as a little project has gotten to be a larger project.” He said Jayne Mulligan of the Friends of the Athenaeum and the crew did a “fantastic job.”
Sullivan also thanked Columbia Manufacturing who is donating furniture to the library. “We can’t finish a project like that without outside help,” he said.
Mayor Sullivan announced that he and Kathy Sitler of the Opioid Tax Force will be working on a video project and program intended for middle schools. Sullivan said the pair previously collaborated on a distracted driving video when they both worked for the district attorney’s office. “Solving it will take a long time. This has affected many people in the community,” he said.
He also talked about a recent takeback for pills event sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) a couple of weeks ago. “Pounds and pounds of pills were turned in from medicine cabinets at home, Sullivan said, calling it “scary.” He said the Opioid Task Force will sponsor a program with emergency medical staff throughout the city that will also be going to the high schools and middle schools.
Sullivan talked about media specialist Pete Cowles’ work on the new community television studio at Westfield Technical Academy, which will also become part of the curriculum at the school. He said $50,000 of equipment was just purchased for the studio out of PEG (Public, Education and Government) funds, adding that one of the first projects at the studio will be the “Mayor’s TV show.”
Last week, Sullivan and City Advancement Office Joe Mitchell were in Worcester with Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Jay Ash at an urban development conference. Mitchell called the Baker administration and Ash very supportive of economic developments underway in the city.
Mitchell gave a keynote address at the conference, speaking about site readiness at the Turnpike Industrial Road project. The land for the project, 66 acres between Turnpike Industrial and Cabot roads first purchased by the city in 1989 for a dump, is now going through the permitting, conservation restriction and planning process.
Mitchell said environmental permitting with MEPA (Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act) was completed last week, which included comments and concerns from residents. Mitchell said the Chamber “stepped up,” submitting comments in favor of the project.
“We need that help to explain the positives. The idea is to create new jobs, and bring revenue into the city. We expect $1.3 million in new dollars a year. That fills a lot of potholes.” Mitchell
The Mayor said the plan is to get water, sewer, and Wi-Fi ready on the property, and also look at extending the railroad stop behind the former Old Colony Envelope, making it attractive for potential businesses.
Mitchell also spoke about downtown redevelopment. He said the Westfield Redevelopment Authority has just received a technical assistance grant of $50,000 from the state, which they will spend on urban planners and architects to do a full market study, parking study, and analysis of costs of the Elm Street Redevelopment Plan.
Mitchell said where they had originally envisioned one single large building and parking garage in back, they are taking a second look with the consultants. He said the original plan “may have been aggressive,” and that cities in general are getting away from parking garages.
“We’re very lucky to lock in this grant,” Mitchell said, saying that Jay Ash and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito were very supportive, both having come from positions in local government. Mitchell also said the city was “on the hunt” for larger grants, including a Transformative District Initiative (TDI) grant, which they did not receive.
“We are getting calls every day from companies wanting to come in,” said Mayor Sullivan, adding that offices and manufacturing in particular are very interested in the proximity to I-91, the railway, and Barnes Airport. “We are attractive to a lot of companies,” he said.
Regarding the water and the vote taken last week at the City Council, Sullivan said it was unfortunate that it has turned into a Mayor’s office versus councilors’ situation. “That is not at all what it is to me,” Sullivan said. “I have the professionals in the room. We came out with a plan. Unfortunately, it didn’t get passed. We’ not giving up, we can’t give up. We haven’t fixed the water yet,” the Mayor said.
Sullivan added that any time the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) or federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suggested a new level; the city took wells offline that were close. He said Wells 1 and 2 were just tested, and Well 2 was “non-detect,” and Well 1, lower than the last time it was tested.
Sullivan also said regarding plans for the permanent filtration structures, “At no time did I think residents of Westfield should be paying for this.”
Sullivan also said he did not understand the alternative plan to spend millions on a connection to Holyoke and not fixing Westfield. As for a new well, Sullivan said the city would need eleven acres of land for it, for protection purposes. He also said the EPA is going in a less stringent direction, and it’s unlikely that the contaminants in the water will be put on the CERCLA list.
“I’m trying. It’s disheartening to not get it over the line,” Sullivan said about the water bond.
Chamber Executive Director Kate Phelon asked if the bond were approved, how long is it for, and whether a $47 million lawsuit settlement would go towards the bond.
Sullivan said he is asking for a $13 million bond on top of a $5 million bond which the City Council passed last year. He said the bond would show that the city has the ability to pay back $13 million over 30 years. “It is not a paycheck. We can pay for that over time,” he said.
He also said that if the city starts projects, and get a settlement from the lawsuits, “we won’t even use that bond. I can only say what I’d do if I were sitting in that office when that happens.” Sullivan said the city has filed a Tort Claim for $46.8 million against the Department of Defense, and $47 million against fire-fighting foam manufacturers.
“Unfortunately, they’re watching us, and I think it’s harmful,” Sullivan said about the opposition to the bond. He said in response to another question that the Mayor can go back with the same request any time, while the City Council has to wait two years if a motion fails.
“Nothing’s changed on my side. We’re trying. We have a problem. I live on the north side, and I use tap water,” Sullivan said. He said systems engineer Heather Miller, who lives on Holyoke Rd, also drinks the tap water. “Any water going through the pipes is clean,” the Mayor said, adding, “We’ll get there.”
