I hope that everyone is having a safe and enjoyable summer. We’ve had our share of heat, droughts, and daily thunderstorms. I won’t complain because I’ll be wishing for this weather in the middle of January.
There have been a lot of community events this summer including the Farmer’s Markets, concerts on the green, and cultural arts festivals. The largest and most recent community event in Westfield was the 14 year-old Babe Ruth World Series.
Congratulations to the Westfield Team, their coaches, and parents for making the city proud. The team played their best and clearly showed that they could compete with the best teams in the country.
Teams and families from as far away as Oregon, California, Arkansas and Florida descended upon the city and competed in the series. The World Series concluded this past Thursday with the championship being won by the team from Tri-Valley, CA. Congratulations to all of the teams.
The World Series had hundreds of volunteers donating thousands of hours of time during the past week. This doesn’t even touch upon the thousands of hours spent planning an event of this magnitude. It was a good feeling to see so many residents, including many City Councilors and elected official, offering up a part of their summer to showcase Westfield.
With thanks to Pete Cowles, the enthusiasm spread well beyond Westfield to across the globe.
Pete was the technical mastermind behind broadcasting live games through public access cable Ch 15, live streaming on the internet, and with audio on WSKB 89.5 FM. There were challenges throughout the series including weather delays, postponements, and adding venues. Pete and his 25+ person technical team, all volunteers, met the challenges and even added Westfield State University as a broadcast location. Why broadcast beyond Billy Bullens Field and add to the complexity? The town of Mountain Home, Arkansas, with a population of about 12,000 people wanted to cheer their team on. Pete figured out a way to stream to the local Arkansas radio station and broadcast over the air to the town. This technical wizardry allowed thousands of family members and fans that could not afford to travel to Westfield to be able to view or hear the games. In total, there were over 38,000 views of the streaming broadcasts.
While most past World Series locations subcontracted this task to network television stations, at a cost of about $30,000.00, Pete found a way to make this all happen with donated equipment and his technical expertise. It took about a week to set up the equipment at Billy Bullens Field and another month of testing to be sure everything was right.
If you watched or listened to any of the games, I’ll think you will agree that the announcers, directors, and camera crew, all volunteers, were top notch and rivaled any professional baseball broadcasts. I was fortunate enough to work as camera person with directors Pete and Nic as they seamlessly controlled around my crooked camera shots and erratic camera movements.
On Thursday August 18, the Legislative and Ordinance Subcommittee met regarding the Barnes Regional Airport Noise Compatibility Program (NCP) Update. The NCP addresses the noise issues of the F-15 aircraft and the neighborhoods near the airport, mainly in Ward 6. The NCP is updated every five years and accounts for changes in aircraft, the number of take offs and landings, and routes of the aircraft.
Part of the NCP includes a contour map that effectively outlines areas which are eligible for either home buyouts or noise abatement actions. In the past, homes in the noisiest areas would have the choice to be compensated for their homes, have noise abatement modifications (soundproofing), or do nothing at all. The second noisiest areas could have noise abatement modifications, or do nothing at all. The new contour map was developed with newer technology which accounted for the property elevations.
The changes in the contour map were upsetting to many residents in Ward 6. Some residents were expecting that their properties were going to be bought out based on the previous contour map. They may now be out of the buyout area. Other neighborhoods have a home that is eligible for a buyout because of the high noise levels yet have a next door neighbor that could receive no noise abatement to their home because the contour map deems that the noise levels are below the threshold. The new contour map can break up a neighborhood by allowing demolition of some homes while leaving others standing.
After much discussion at the meeting, it was determined that draft NCP was before the City Council for informational purposes only. During the informational presentation it was brought to my attention that the Westfield Airport Commission recommended a change to the NCP that would eliminate noise abatement modifications to homes in an effort to help the city with cost reductions and the thought that many homes could be ineligible anyway. It’s good to have an Airport Commission that considers the good of the airport and the budget constraints of the city. In that same regard, the Airport Commission is open to further discussions on this matter and I will take them up on the offer.
The Airport Noise Compatibility is guided by the FAA and can be very difficult to follow. If there are any questions, I’ll be happy to help or point a resident in the right direction to receive that help.
Thank you for taking time to read this. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] or 413-568-7747.
