Alice Wielgus expresses her concern over the city taking her land by eminent domain during the public comment section of last night’s Westfield City Council meeting. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
WESTFIELD – Alice Wielgus told the City Council that she doesn’t want the city to take her land, speaking during the public participation period at the opening of the City Council meeting last night.
“I don’t want the city to take my farmland on Main Street by eminent domain,” Wielgus, who spoke directly to the City Council for the first time during the months long debate, said. “It’s been in my family for 70 years.”
“I object to the city taking my land by eminent domain,” Wielgus, of Holyoke Road, said.
Jean Carpenter of Barbara Street, who was identified by several council members as being Wielgus’ sister, said the city is seeking to take the farmland to build an elementary school at the intersection of Ashley and Cross streets.
“We all have priorities, wants, desires,” Carpenter said. “The city has a desire to build a huge school on a small plot of land. It’s like putting a tree in a flower pot, in a neighborhood surrounded by senior citizens.”
“Kids scream and yell. The seniors who live there want peace and quite,” Carpenter said. “The solution to this problem is to reduce the size of the Ashley Street school by a third.”
Carpenter said the reduction is size would negate need to take land from the Cross Street playground and eliminate the need to take the Wielgus property. Carpenter also suggested building an addition at Highland School, and demolishing the Franklin Avenue school, then building a new school in the area of the city’s greatest student population.
The Wielgus land taking is directly linked to the Ashley Street elementary school construction project as a result of a Article 97 suit filed by Cross Street residents.
Article 97 provides legal protections to deter development that would consume park land. Article 97 proscribes a remedy to park and playground land takings called a conversion process in which new land is developed to replace the park or playground land taken for a project, the school construction.
The City Council conducted a hearing on the farmland taking proposal, which is still in the Council’s Legislative & Ordinance Committee, at it’s June 19 session as required by Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 79, section 5B.
Wielgus attended that hearing accompanied by her attorney, Stephen Spelman of Springfield, who declined the opportunity to speak during the hearing which was abruptly closed.
L&O Chairman Brian Sullivan said last night following adjournment of the council that he does not plan to call for a committee meeting until the second week of August. The City Council is now on its summer recess and will not meet again, except in an emergency, until its Aug. 21 session.
Sullivan said that he plans to meet with the Personnel Action Committee in a joint committee session the week before the next council session to discuss the proposal of creating a new Building & Ground Maintenance Department. The PAC is currently assessing a job description for the head of that department.
Sullivan said that he has not decided when to schedule a meeting to discuss the eminent domain taking of the Wielgus property. The Finance Committee, by an 8-4 vote, approved the $260,000 funding for that taking and referred the issue to the L&O at the May 15 City Council meeting.
