Hello,
I hope everyone managed to stay cool earlier this week; Westfield reached the upper 90’s, just shy of the 102° historical high. But now that the heatwave is behind us, we can look forward to spending Independence Day with friends and family. The weekend will be wet and cool, but I hope everyone takes a moment to celebrate the 245 birthday of the founding of our country!
Last Monday I attended the first Gateway Cities Caucus tour, which went through three communities in Eastern Massachusetts. Leaders from gateway communities discussed our shared priorities and issue areas. It was the first major in-person event with a large group of legislators together; it was great to finally talk directly with all the people I’ve been working with remotely thus far. Our conversations ranged from funding formulas for roads to healthcare equity. I look forward to hosting the caucus to the City of Westfield in the near future. Now that the pandemic is cooling down, I’m finding it much easier to really build up relationships with my legislative colleagues.
The house has taken up a few major topics in the past weeks. The State Legislature voted to oversee the 5 plus billion dollars received from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Hearings will take place to determine the best use of the funds throughout the state. We also voted on “An Act Financing Improvement to Municipal Roads and Bridges.” This is the annual Chapter 90 funding to cities and towns throughout the state.
With the state’s recent allocation of federal ARPA funds waiting to be distributed, I have reached out to the Mayor, City Council, and department heads about priorities for our city. There is a meeting scheduled for July 19 for me to provide my district’s priorities to House Leadership and hopefully our city will get some much-needed funding from the ARPA money to help with city infrastructure and other needs.
On June 21 I was honored to join the YMCA of Greater Westfield’s Board of Directors. It is a pleasure being involved in such an important organization within our community. One of the other organizations I meet regularly is Baystate. Last week I had a great conversation with the President of Baystate Noble and Greenfield, Ron Bryant, about healthcare within our community.
In local news, I attended the grand opening of the new crystal shop downtown, Crystals of Mind (83A Main St.). I wished them the best of luck in the future; it’s great to see new businesses come to our downtown. On June 26 it was fun to take part and donate to this year’s Hot Rods for Heroes at Strathmore Park in Russell. This event is sponsored by American Legion Post 356 to raise funds that provides scholarships, supports veterans’ organizations, Saint Jude Children’s Hospitals, Shriners Hospitals for children, and the Homeless Cat Project in Westfield. There were so many awesome classic cars and trucks, and the turnout was great.
We continue to help constituents with various issues. If you are having problems contacting or getting an answer from Departments or Agencies within the Commonwealth, please reach out to us and we will help to the best of our abilities to get a resolution.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Ethan or I at: [email protected] or [email protected] or by calling our office at 413-875-8787. We are located at 94 N Elm St Suite 301N in the Westwood Building.
Serving Westfield,
State Representative Kelly Pease
