Kimberly Masiuk of Associated Builders and Matthew Huse, owner of Brockway Transport speak at Planning Board on Tuesday. (Photo by Amy Porter)
WESTFIELD – Brockway Transport, Inc. of Cottage Street in Springfield will be expanding its business and adding a warehouse, office space and truck repair facility on Medeiros Way following a unanimous vote by the Planning Board Tuesday. The warehouse use is by-right for the Industrial A zone; the special permit was triggered by the truck repair facility.
Project Engineer Kimberly Masiuk of Associated Builders, Inc. of South Hadley presented the application for Brockway Transport owner Matthew Huse, who was also present and spoke. Masiuk said a purchase and sale agreement is underway for the undeveloped, partially cleared lot which borders the Home Depot Distribution Center.
Masiuk said the company is looking to haul materials such as bottled water, food, and packaged salt. She said there will be no hazardous materials, for which Huse said his drivers are not certified. Huse said there would be a 14 to 21 day turnaround for the product coming in and being distributed.
The truck repair portion will be for preventive maintenance on the trucks, such as oil changes, brakes and tire changes, and will be done inside the facility. Huse said heavy maintenance and structural repair will continue to be done in his Springfield shop; a condition which was added to the special permit. There will be no wash facility at the site. Huse said he anticipated four trucks a month to receive maintenance.
Work for the proposed new facility includes construction of a 15,675 square-foot warehouse, office and truck repair facility with associated earthwork, paved parking and driveway, utility connections, a stormwater management system, site lighting and landscaping for Phase I of the project. Phase 2 includes construction of a 26,600 square-foot warehouse addition within five years. The footprint for the expansion is part of Phase 1 of the project.
In Phase 1 of the project, 10 tractor trailers a day would be using the facility. In the Phase 2 expansion, another 20 would be added, for a total of 30 trucks per day. Hours for the facility will be 4 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 4 a.m. to noon on Saturday, with a normal start time between 5 and 6 a.m.
Huse said the trucks would be going to the turnpike via Southampton Road, and would not be using local roads. Taking a left turn only from the facility to Southampton Road, and a right turn only into the facility, which is on the south side of Medeiros Way, were added to the conditions with no objections from the owner.
Much of the discussion, which lasted an hour and a half, centered on plans for the gravel lot. Masiuk said plans are to pave the office and warehouse lots, and dense graded crushed stone for the remainder where the trailers would be stored after unloading. She said the gravel is like shoulder stone used by the MassDOT, and is 96 percent impervious, compared to 98 percent for paving. Masiuk added that the Department of Public Works has been working closely with them on the plans.
Planning Board members Raymond St. Hilaire, Philip McEwan, Jane Magarian, and Cheryl Crowe all expressed concern about environmental impact of spillage from a gravel lot parking area, especially due to the proximity of Arm Brook. Masiuk said any runoff would go into catch basins where it would be filtered. Crowe suggested a shut off valve for security, which was added to the conditions.
“I’m not crazy about a giant parking lot with crushed rock,” McEwan said, noting the heavy use of the lot. Masiuk said the stone would require annual maintenance. After additional discussion, the Planning Board asked for a paved strip down the traveled center of the gravel lot, which was added to the conditions of the permit.
Opening up to questions from the public, Amy Beluzo of Montgomery Road asked about standards and procedures to prevent idling of trucks. Huse said all tractors shut down after five minutes of idling.
Beluzo also asked whether Brockway would be monitoring for air quality, and whether the 20 or 25 anticipated employees would be new or existing. Huse said no to air monitoring, and said the employees have all been with him for eight or nine years.
Nicholas Beluzo of Montgomery Road asked what the anticipated tax revenue would be for the business, which they did not know. “The key concern for me is environmental issues in Westfield. I’m beside myself, that we let our kids drink the water since they were born, then PFAS was found. What are we getting in taxes, (in exchange for the impact on) water and air quality?” Beluzo asked.
Ward 1 Councilor Mary Ann Babinski spoke first as a resident, and then as a councilor on behalf of another resident who sent an email with concerns about the impact from more truck traffic.
“One of the key concerns is the proximity to Arm Brook. This is in Zone 2, a little more than 300 feet away. Anything that gets in the ground can get into underground water and do some damage to the aquifer,” Babinski said, adding, “We have to be very careful. Materials will eventually make it into the groundwater.”
“This is a by right industrial use. What would you suggest we do,” Crowe asked Babinski, adding that by right use can’t be stopped.
“It can stop, we have the right to say no,” Babinski said, conceding that the change may have to come from zoning. “All of us need to sit down and change these things,” she said.
Robert Goyette said the City Council could consider an impact fee for trucks, to help cover the cost of damage to the infrastructure from the heavy traffic.
“We should get together. People should sit down and seriously talk about it. If we all agree we’re being overrun with trucks, then let’s do something about it,” Babinski said, before the public hearing was closed, and the special permit granted.
