TRACY CESAN
I’d like to report on the project on College Highway and the traffic as a result. I can empathize with residents and visitor’s frustration. But hang on, the project is in its final stages and we will soon have a beautiful center of town. Updates to share with you; As of July 9thconstruction has been started from the Valvoline Service Station to Tannery Road. I know it is tough to travel through but please try to keep in mind the local businesses on these roads still need your patronage and support. There has been a delay in the completion of this project because WMECO has been spreading their services across the country. Apparently WMECO sent some crews to our neighbors in the south to help with the power outages. We have recently been there and know the frustrations of having no power in extreme weather conditions. From what I have been told WMECO is planning on being back in Southwick by the end of this week.
The College Highway project brings me to the topic of the newly installed sidewalks. It has been discussed at the last two Selectmen’s meetings about how to handle the snow removal from the sidewalks. Selectmen Fox has raised some concern that it will be too hard for business owners to remove the snow on their own without large industrial equipment. Mr. Fox stated that the high embankments of ice and snow might be too heavy and weigh a significant amount, resulting in difficulty for the business owner to comply with snow removal laws (perhaps suggesting the town take on this snow removal).This is certainly a valid concern of Mr. Fox. The other side of the coin is should the snow removal for a business become a cost to the town of Southwick residents? After all, every homeowner is responsible for the sidewalk in front of his/her home, including in front of their own driveways that the town plows parallel to and which has a similar cause and effect of high embankments. There are many senior citizens who can’t clear their sidewalks for one reason or another but we don’t have the town cover their costs for snow removal. Maintaining consistency across the board when it comes to enforcing laws in this town is an important practice. Can the town use town resources ($) to bail out for profit businesses, yet leave homeowners to clean their own sidewalks? I look at this issue as a fairness issue. Many of you can’t attend the Selectmen’s meetings, and decisions, such as this one are made before many of you know it is even a “hot topic”. The Select Board has requested that the DPW look into how other surrounding towns handle sidewalks on major roads, so by no means is anyone rushing to a decision. Jeff Neece (DPW Director) has shared with the Select Board that most surrounding towns place the responsibility on the business owner; Agawam was used as an example. It appears that that there might be a one year trial basis at having the business owners plow the sidewalks in front of their businesses on a wait and see approach, but nothing has been voted on or decided, so I thought I would bring the issue to you. Both sides of the sidewalk issue are presented here and I am looking for feedback; please feel free to submit comments and suggestions to [email protected].
The Senior Center construction is on its way. Permits have been pulled and the company awarded the contract, Evergreen Construction seems to be eager to begin. The contract was awarded to Evergreen Construction Corporation in the amount of $646,009.00; the majority of that supported by a grant. The senior center dining room has been temporally stationed in the kitchen in the “cellar” of town hall. Everything seems to be starting smoothly. I am looking forward to watching the development of the center and perhaps can include some photos of its progress in my next article.
I try to listen to hot topics around town and I have heard many discussions about the “sewer project”, when is it coming, what is it going to cost and how long until it is operational? Most everyone in town is well aware of the Phase II Sewer project. Phase I is complete and is operational and has been for some time. The Town of Southwick would like to move forward and start the process of Phase II. Phase II will add more homes and business into the sewer system. Currently, we have a pipe which runs from Southwick north into Westfield. The current pipe is not large enough to accommodate Phase II and, on a side note, it also belongs to Westfield. The next step in preparation for Phase II is to install an interceptor (pipe) which is larger in diameter than the one currently used. Both the Sewer Implementation Committee and the Board of Selectmen are in favor of moving forward with this interceptor. The cost of this interceptor is $ 2,138,000.00 and would be funded with a grant of $621,000.00 and a 2.75 percent interest loan for the rest. Please note that once homes are hooked up to the new sewer system there will be a betterment attached to those individual homes/businesses to pay for the sewer project and services. In other words: you use it you pay for it. In my opinion this is an important project for the Town of Southwick and it is much needed for our population and environment. Also note that the interceptor is just a preparation which will support the sewer project (Phase II). I will keep you posted as this project develops.
The Southwick Friends of the Trails is a newly formed team of dedicated individuals out to support the Rails to Trails in our town. On June 30, I had the pleasure of judging an event which consisted of a group of our young children parading on their patriotic, decorated bikes in the spirit of the 4th of July. The kids had a wonderful time and it was a family created event supported by residents of Southwick. This is a perfect example of positive community involvement. I want to thank the Friends of The Trails for putting on such a great event and I look forward to your future ideas in promoting and sponsoring Southwick Trails. I urge you to contact the Park and Rec to see how you can become a part of this team in support of our recreational parks. The e-mail for the Southwick Park and Rec is [email protected]
Once again any questions or feedback as to what I have written here, or if you have an idea you would like me to focus on, or a project you would like to hear more about please contact me at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Tracy Cesan
Southwick Selectmen
www.tracycesan.org
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not the staff, editor, or publisher of the Westfield News.
