Here we go again. Can you believe it…another Pre Halloween Storm. Some called it the Frankenstorm, some called it another storm of the century, and even bigger than the Perfect Storm from 1991. When these predictions start hitting the airwaves, it has a tendency to send the public into a panic. And as I recall the afternoon from last year’s storm, I remember how cold it started to get and how ominous the sky looked as the day wore on. And as my wife went off to work…I thought it would be a good idea to go out and get some gas for the car and the snow blower and bring in some firewood as snow was in the forecast and I really wasn’t big on turning on the heat yet.
How fortuitous a decision that was…as later that night around 2 a.m. we lost power and heat. But I had gas, wood for heat and thankfully hot water. The city, we thought, prepared as best we could from the lessons learned from the January and February blizzards, the tornado and Hurricane Irene. But that event that night, as I said last year topped them all. But you should know we learned from each of those events and worked diligently to prepare for the “next one.” You should also know that cities and towns around us that went the FEMA route to clean up that storm, are just now getting their reimbursements.
Which means they had to either use city reserves or borrow money from banks to cover their costs. Estimates from some of the cities and towns range from 3-4 million to a high of 12 million in Longmeadow. Westfield…about 1 million dollars which we covered within our budget meaning we didn’t incur borrowing costs. Why the difference? We tackled the cleanup on our own. With almost 50 square miles and well over 135,000 yards of debris picked up we learned from the tornado that a locally led effort will save the taxpayers an enormous amount of money in the long run. It also ensured that your tax dollars were used to pay local contractors that hired city residents. And it also meant that our city was cleaned up much faster than those communities that went the FEMA contractor route.
Our total reimbursement from FEMA may reach over $680,000 and we expect the state to pick up the difference. After our cleanup, FEMA representatives measured our debris piles and confirmed what we thought. Had we gone the route with FEMA contractors our cost would have been between 4-5 million dollars. We had learned lessons from the tornado and we applied them effectively in last year’s edition of the Frankenstorm. Which leads me to this year’s Frankenstorm.
Last year you could sense some nervousness in our public but that was to be expected as it was a tough weather year. But no one expected the storm we got, and I recall the lines at the gas stations the next morning and the concern that crept into our city as gasoline and generators became scarce. People were walking to the store to get food. It was surreal.
Well, as we prepared for this latest storm, I saw the cars lining up at the gas stations again (this time before the storm), the signs of “No Gas” being posted, people talking about the generators they purchased and how “ready” for this one they were. We all seemed a bit calmer, as the Frankenstorm came up the coast. And as I ran into people around town or talked with TV and print reporters they all remarked how calm the city managers and staff were, including me. When asked to explain that, I simply said, “What could have been worse than October 2011?” But what people didn’t see, was the preparation that had gone on over the year. Both the G&E and the city stepped up tree removal efforts and that paid off big time this week as only a few hundred households temporarily lost power. Our facility generators were all in good shape across the city, some of our departments bought trailer-mounted units to supplement the building generators and maintenance of our flood control and storm water systems was stepped up. Additionally, with this storm, with the threat of a flood from the Westfield River taken off the table (as all our information indicated the river was very low and the rains would not cause a problem) is always a relief in Westfield. The G&E once again, started working the storm form the time the first winds picked up. They had their relief crews ready to go, and they worked through the night. On Tuesday morning, the outgoing night crews and the incoming day crews were served a hot breakfast at 7 a.m. by the Medical Reserve Corps volunteers manning their new food trailer I spoke of in the last article last month. I heard they had a great menu to choose from.
All our departments started with status conference calls led by Emergency Management Director Jim Wiggs starting on Friday. These calls continued a few times a day over the weekend and the last on concluded Tuesday at 9 a.m. During these calls city departments like fire, police, Council on Aging, health, building, purchasing, technology, Public Works, Emergency Dispatch, schools, Gas and Electric, and our partners, Noble Hospital, Westfield State, and the Medical Reserve Corps get updated information from FEMA and MEMA via Mr. Wiggs. We also provided each other with updates on our preparations and were able to focus our response to areas in need as the day and night wore on. This conference call system began in June 2011 with the tornado, was implemented again during Irene and Frankenstorm 1. We all have a good relationship with each department and the various agencies and it showed on these calls. Thank you once again to our team of emergency responders.
So yes, we felt prepared because we have been well practiced, we also know what we are capable of handling and we were confident that we could respond to anything Frankenstorm 2 had in store for us. http://www.cbs3springfield.com/story/19948770/westfield-sustains-several-dozen-power-outages
Please know that as you mayor, my number one priority is your safety, and you should know that your city works together to ensure that you are kept safe in times of trouble. And just like in Frankenstorm 1 the topic of trick-or-treating was not far from everyone’s mind. Well, I was glad to report, it was not postponed.
I wanted to take the opportunity to address three recent PulseLine inquiries. The first one concerns the Pochassic Street Bridge. The contractor is on site. It is a state project, not a city project. It had many hurdles to overcome over the spring and summer to get started. You were provided updated information as we knew it from MassDOT and reported in the “News.” I am disappointed that we lost a summer of work, but if you think somehow I could have changed that you’d be wrong. If you think that our state representative and senator could have changed that you’d be wrong. The first hurdle to overcome was between the MassDOT and the contractor. Once that was resolved, MassDOT and CSX (the railroad) had to reach an agreement to proceed. It didn’t help that the railroad changed engineering consultants over the summer, essentially causing problems with the negotiations.
The second one concerned the recent rally against Domestic Violence at Amelia Park. The caller complained that there were no elected officials there. I apologize for missing the event. That happened to be the same day as the ceremony at East Mountain Country Club, dedicating the monument in honor of Lt. Robert Danell and Capt. Fred Stevens, who both lost their lives in service to our country during an air show at Barnes on October 19, 1952. Representative Humason, Senator Knapik and I were all in attendance at that event. As they occurred at the same time, it was impossible for us to be at both locations. At times we are asked to attend events simultaneously and each of us works very hard to attend all the events that we are invited to. Unfortunately, sometimes due to scheduling conflicts or family obligations we are not able to attend some events. Certainly this was not a slight to the volunteers or the cause of preventing Domestic Violence. Domestic Violence is a horrible scourge in our society and we should all be committed to ending it now.
The third one was a reference by a caller to a 5 million dollar park for the Gas Light Project. Once again, the “News” has covered this story extensively. The 5 million dollar estimate is for the entire project and because it is a utility replacement project the cost of the reconstruction is paid for by the rate payers. Additionally, it is an estimate only. It will include the replacement of natural gas lines, water lines and sewer lines. As these utilities are all buried underneath roads, sidewalks and parking lots, the project will also include the reconstruction of the curbs, sidewalks, parking lots and roads. The roads and alleys involved in the project are within the area between Elm Street and Washington Street and Court Street and Franklin Street. The streets included are Summer, Spring, Church, Arnold, School and Central as well as the Reader and Franklin Parking lots and the alleys between all the buildings. This is a large project and it does include amenities that include a small park that will make this a more inviting location to live, work and shop and visit.
In the coming months I will be announcing a large and exciting redevelopment project for Elm Street. The start of this project has already begun with the ongoing demolition of the two buildings along Elm Street. There will be more demolition in the near future to make way for this project. The utility infrastructure in the Gas Light District is nearly 100 years old in some instances and simply is outdated and would not accommodate our plans for the future. All these downtown projects are investments in our city’s future. Exciting conversations from a decade ago are now becoming reality and the future is bright of our once bustling downtown. I would invite the caller to volunteer for one of the downtown focus groups that will be launched in the near future. I am sure he or she is anxious to get involved and make a positive difference for our city.
We have published another edition of “around the Whip City.” So please check that out at http://www.cityofwestfield.org/?p=3894 . Don’t forget to watch my TV show… “It’s Your City.” It is on Channel 15 on Sundays at 4 p.m., Wednesdays at 8 .m. and Thursdays at 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. It can also be seen anytime at. http://vimeo.com/channels/201443 . Our featured business is the Springfield Ski Club (http://skiblandford.org/)
And we have just released another installment of “Working in Westfield.” “Working” hosted by City Advancement Officer, Jeff Daley features Columbia Manufacturing. This long time business has a great Westfield Story to tell so you won’t want to miss it. (http://www.columbiamfginc.com/) “Working” airs on Channel 15 on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m., Thursdays at 9:30 p.m., and Sundays at 3:30 p.m. It can also be seen anytime at http://www.cityofwestfield.org/?page_id=6049.
And lastly, November 6, is Election Day…so make sure you vote. And if you are unsure of your polling location…contact the city clerk’s office:
(413)572-6235
Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday -Friday
[email protected]
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.
As always if you have any questions call or email me at 413.572.6201 or [email protected].
Respectfully,
Dan Knapik, Mayor
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not the staff, editor, or publisher of the Westfield News
