JIM WIGGS
WESTFIELD – The motto of the Boy Scouts of America is to “be prepared”, an adage which Westfield’s Emergency Management Director Jim Wiggs also takes to heart.
As the city was ringing in the New Year though, the rumor mill was churning around town, with Wiggs’ name being thrown around as a possible candidate to succeed Westfield Mayor Daniel M. Knapik at the conclusion of his term this fall.
On Thursday, Wiggs formally extinguished those rumors and confirmed he will not be running for City Hall’s corner office later this year.
“I had thought about possibly running, but when I sat back and thought about all of the things that come with the position, I don’t think I’m interested to the point that I’d want to pursue that opportunity,” said Wiggs. “I have a strong passion about politics and the position of the city and my community but I don’t think it’s enough.”
With his decision now made and that political elephant having now exited the room, Wiggs, 55, can now focus on his duties in his current capacity, a position he has held since 2008.
“We just recently received a $28,435 Emergency Management Performance grant distributed by the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). We’re in the process of looking at what we can use that money for,” he said, adding that he is collaborating with the Department of Public Health to try to expand the city’s emergency holdings that can benefit multiple departments.
“We’re going to continue to seek other grants and funding year over year and continue to work to ensure that anything we need to develop, we can fund it,” said Wiggs, stating that he has been using funds to buy items such as sleeping cots so the city isn’t as reliant on neighboring communities or the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
He has also used funds in recent years to purchase a generator used by the Department of Public Health, that is used in case of an emergency to keep medicines and innoculations properly stored.
“Those types of things I’m going to do to make sure our city is in position to be self-sufficient within the first 48 to 72 hours in the event we can’t get outside assistance,” Wiggs said, referencing natural disasters like tornadoes and ice storms that have ravaged the region in recent years.
Wiggs referenced the recent grant received by the city as being slated for the Fiscal Year’s 2013 and 2014, money that will have to go further now that the Pioneer Valley chapter of the American Red Cross has closed the Westfield branch and consolidated to a regional office in Springfield.
“The Pioneer Valley regional consolidation has greatly impacted the Red Cross’ ability to properly service communities,” he said. “I think politics comes into play when you regionalize and bigger communities, when they ask, they usually get stuff first.”
Wiggs did not say that the city would suffer from a smaller Red Cross presence in Westfield, as he has attempted to form stronger bonds with other organizations such as The Salvation Army and The Medical Reserve Corps in the event of a major emergency when Red Cross services would be most in need.
