Hello: I went to pay my city taxes last week before the due date and parked right up near the sidewalk. It was lucky,I thought, to have found a parking space so close to the sidewalk as I recently had a knee replacement in mid-December and have to be very careful. My husband has been taking excellent care of our sidewalk and driveway. I notice in the police log that people get citations for not shoveling. Well I think a citation should be given to the City Hall. As I tried to get out of the driver’s side it was sheer ice. Two ladies coming out of the door helped me get onto the sidewalk with my cane (thankfully!). As I stepped through the door I told a man that someone ought to get right out there with sand or something to make it more walking-friendly. He told me he would. After waiting for the elevator I went upstairs to pay the taxes and met the same man who told me that he told someone to do it right away. It took a while to pay the taxes then go back down in the elevator, but when I went back outside NO sand had been put down on the ice!!! I held onto the hood of my car and very painstakingly managed to get into the drivers seat with my cane. I stayed and sat a few minutes to see if anyone would come out to add sand…NOPE!!! City Hall should be ASHAMED!!!
For the DPW… I think this question has been asked before, but do not believe it has been answered. Why, after the snow has stopped, must a contracted driver, or even a city employee, continue to plow streets that have had no additional snow accumulation; or just driving around . I think this is a waste of taxpayers money. To me, this is milking the system/padding their pockets. This is something that should be addressed AND stopped!! Providing any additional details with respect to the vehicle descriptions, dates, times and locations would be helpful for the City to look into these alleged abuses. Residents are encouraged to notify the Department of Public Works at 572-6226 so that such accusations can be investigated and addressed accordingly.
I would like to thank the mayor and the city council for taking away from all the senior citizens the only raise we have received in many years by raising our taxes. with the stroke of a pen you wiped out that raise completely. Now if you don’t want seniors living in this community why don’t you just say so because you are forcing us out of our homes. Those of us living on fixed incomes can’t afford these constant increases. When we met with the last mayor in his office he looked us straight in the eye and said if you don’t like it move. Now if this is what you Mr. mayor and you as city councilors want at least be honest and say so.
This is addressed to the DPW: why aren’t your workers filling in the potholes that are around the city? What’s the reason for not doing anything? … This is to the Westfield Police Chief: how come none of your officers are enforcing the speed limit when the school lights are flashing? People are flying by these blinking yellow lights at about 40MPH, both on Franklin St and Southampton Road School. Somebody’s kid is going to get run over and killed if this is not going to be enforced. Those flashing lights are for the safety of the children, so can someone please stop these people from violating the law? According to the Westfield DPW, “crews have been out routinely filling pot holes using cold patch asphalt. We have over 250 linear miles of roads here in Westfield, and many potholes need to be repeatedly patched over the course of the winter season, so it is a constant struggle keeping the roads navigable this time of year. If there are specific potholes that need attention, please notify us of their locations, and we’ll have them addressed. The phone number is 413-572-6226, or residents can report a concern on the City website.”
