WESTFIELD – When compared to other similarly sized municipalities in western Massachusetts, the city of Westfield has a much higher median age than Chicopee, Holyoke, and Pittsfield, which poses a challenge to Mayor Daniel M. Knapik in his next term – convincing Westfield’s aging population that continued investment in the city is not only a necessary investment, but an essential imperative.
At the Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce’s first Mayor’s Coffee Hour of the year at Armbrook Village on North Road, Knapik painted a picture befitting of the location of the coffee hour, touching base on how Westfield’s elderly will impact the direction of the city over the next few years.
“There are more of these types of projects being built,” Knapik said in reference to Armbrook, an assisted living village of independent apartments. “In Westfield, I believe it is now 8,000-9,000 (people) over the age 60 in a city of 41,000.”
To put it in perspective for the gathering, Knapik referenced the city’s student population as a contrast, which swells to only around 6,000 at any one time.
“None of us are getting any younger, so facilities like this play a vital role in the next phase of our lives,” he said.
Knapik went on to touch upon the central theme of the morning: growth, at the state, regional, and local level.
“It’s heartening to see that, for the first time since 1960, Massachusetts’ growth year over year was at or above the national growth,” he said. “We have been in a very slow growth situation. In my lifetime, we’ve lost three or four congressmen.”
While adding that the Commonwealth’s predicament is not unique, and that other Northeastern states like New York have experienced a mass exodus of seniors in recent years, Knapik said to be ahead of the national average is positive, but that population numbers in the Pioneer Valley remain at the low end of the spectrum, statewide.
“Our numbers are still poor, and they’ll continue to stay poor,” he said, adding that the majority of the state’s growth is occurring in greater Boston, where higher paying jobs are more plentiful.
“(Eastern Mass. employers) are driven by biotech, software, and the computer industry, and are growing like gangbusters,” Knapik said, before mentioning Gulfstream, the aerospace giant who established a new service hangar at Barnes Regional Airport last year. Knapik accompanied Gulfstream representatives to a November ceremony in Boston which commemorated the hiring of several hundred employers.
“It’s been great for Westfield,” Knapik said of Gulfstream’s impact. “But there were companies getting recognition awards at that ceremony that plan to hire thousands and thousands of workers over the next decade. That just doesn’t happen in western Massachusetts.”
When asked about how he will continue to improve the quality of life for the city’s elderly population while simultaneously continuing to attract new residents and businesses, Knapik pointed out the planned senior center, which is currently in the design stage.
“About $300,000 has already been allocated,” he said Tuesday morning, adding that more funds will be allocated accordingly. “It’s been a priority for the past four years.”
Community Development Director Peter Miller added that the project will go out to bid in the spring, with construction beginning in the summer or fall.
“Holyoke and Agawam have similar facilities that are open, and Chicopee has one under construction,” said Miller. “The Mayor is excited about pushing it forward, but the challenge is going to be getting people to understand why it’s important.”
On the overall city front, Knapik said that the city is one of, if not the only, city west of Worcester that has seen positive growth over the past few census cycles.
“With demographics there’s nothing you can do,” he said of the aging of the city’s population. “Your competition for incoming citizens is with your neighboring communities, and I want to continue to make Westfield attractive.”
Knapik mentioned the quality of the city’s neighborhoods, the value of it’s housing stock, and it’s overall size landwise as factors which will continue to seal the deal for incoming families.
“The housing in Westfield, you get a much better value than you would in communities like Longmeadow or Wilbraham. Having land benefits you,” he said before touching on the city’s improving school system as a catalyst for continued growth. “Having good schools, the best possible education, attracts families.”
“We continue to have positive growth of large populations from surrounding communities,” he said. “Cities like Holyoke spend twice as much on police as we do, which isn’t to say we don’t have concerns about crime. It just isn’t the issue here it is elsewhere.”
“We’re also making significant progress with our downtown, and we’re going to continue to make Westfield attractive to newcomers,” he said.
