WESTFIELD – The Legislative & Ordinance Committee will give the full City Council a positive recommendation Thursday night to enter into a revised agreement with West Springfield for their use of the city’s Animal Shelter.
Assistant City Solicitor Shanna Reed said the proposed agreement is for three years and has three additional two year options the two municipalities can mutually exercise.
“West Springfield and Agawam were the original communities to enter into agreements five years ago to use the city’s shelter,” Reed said. “At that time those two communities shared An ACO (Animal Control Officer), but now both have their own.”
“There has been no increase during the past five years,” Reed said. “The annual assessment is based upon population.”
“West Springfield will have an annual assessment of $14,195 for the three-year term of the agreement and that assessment can be adjusted for the option year,” Reed said. “They were paying $10,500 annually during the agreement set to expire Dec. 31, 2015.”
“The City Council has done these agreements twice recently, with Easthampton and Southampton,” Reed said. “And the Agawam agreement will also expire on Dec. 31. Agawam is now reviewing a new agreement, so we may have to give them a temporary agreement for a month.”
The communities are also charged monthly for boarding animals brought from their community to the shelter, for shots and vaccinations and other veterinary care.
“The acting mayor (City Council President Brian Sullivan) has limited duties and we’d like to have this in place before the beginning of the 2016 calendar year,” Reed said.
The L&O members voted 3-0 to give the West Springfield animal shelter agreement a positive recommendation.
The committee also voted 3-0 to give a positive recommendation to the City Council to authorize a $20,000 funding agreement with the Westfield Redevelopment Authority (WRA).
City Advancement Officer Joseph Mitchell, who also serves as the executive director of the WRA, said the annual agreement is a formality, but that it is different this year because it is focused on several projects.
The Elm Street Urban Renewal Plan is a WRA priority, but also has other potential projects on which the funding could be used. Mitchell said that much of the WRA’s annual funding is used for legal and surveying work, such as researching deeds and establishing property lines for parcels being assembled for a specific project.
