Good evening. I'd like to call the special City Council meeting of July 6th, 2026 to order. Roll call, please. Bean? Here. Beltrandi? Here. Burns? Here. Fannian? Here. Figgy? He will not be with us. Harris? Here. Knoppik? Here. Matthews-Kane? Here. Mello? Here. Morganelli? Here. Oniske? Here. Adams? Here. Ally? Here. Thank you. Please rise for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Thank you. There are no minutes, so we will move to public participation. Anyone wishing to address the city council may do so by stepping forward, state your name and address for the city clerk. We do this in three-minute increments, which may be extended for a total of 30 minutes. Mr. Labree, would you like to address the council first? In the interest of explaining. Thank you. Rich Labree, 47 Big Wood Drive here in Westfield. First, I'd like to thank you all for supporting the moratorium on its first reading. Supporting the data center moratorium in Westfield, Mass is a necessary and responsible step to protect municipal
resources, the local environment, and taxpayers. A temporary pause allows the city to establish ironclad zoning protections and performance guarantees before large-scale energy-intensive technology campuses alter the community landscape. Here's an outline of some of the key arguments supporting the moratorium. Protection of natural resources and public health, environmental reviews. Large-scale server farms demand massive amounts of electricity and, depending on the cooling mechanisms, vital water resources. The moratorium gives Westfield's Natural Resources
Committee time to consult with environmental experts from UMass Amherst to analyze air quality, drinking water, and habitat impacts. The closed loop system in place at the Mount Pleasant data center in Racine, Wisconsin, actually uses 2.8 million gallons of water per year, which will go to 8.4 million gallons when fully built out. 70% of their water is discharged. Questions remain with regard to the condition of that water discharge. The closed loop system contains glycol, among other chemicals,
which may remain in that water, along with other contaminants. Reclaimed water, which many communities use, then would contain these contaminants. Proactive siting. Without a formalized zoning definition or designated districts, data centers could inadvertently be built too close to residential neighborhoods. Safeguarding taxpayer and utility rates. Avoiding rate hikes. High energy demand could strain the local electric infrastructure. State Senator John Vilas has continually warned that the burden of increased energy or water consumption must absolutely not fall on the backs of Westfield
residents. Evaluating guarantees. A pause provides the city council and the mayor's office the leverage needed to negotiate airtight provisions with developers to ensure the full financial burden of any utility upgrades or expansion rests on the developer, not the municipality. In addition, require guarantees of performance, that all statements and promises made are in fact kept by posting a 100% performance bond, and prohibit the legal entity from receiving any city approvals or permits from selling, transferring,
or assigning such without city council approval. State level precedent. In November of 2024, Massachusetts implemented a sales tax exemption for qualifying data centers for up to 20 years. Officials made the move to attract more facilities like the state's first ever hyperscale AI data center, a multi-billion dollar campus planned for Westfield. Statewide guardrails. The moratorium perfectly aligns with actions taken at the state level. Governor Maura Healey recently paused state tax exemptions
applications for data centers in order to enact stronger guardrails protecting ratepayers, the environment, and public health. It is especially important that Massachusetts holds businesses using this exemption to the highest standards because they are being subsidized by taxpayers' dollars. Creating permanent and resilient zoning, filing regulatory gaps, the 12-month pause overwhelmingly backed by the planning board and city council first reading, equips the city with the time it needs to draft deliberate, well-researched zoning laws that stand the
test of time. With the exemption involved, taxpayers will help subsidize the Westfield project and others like it. While Massachusetts has only roughly 50 data centers, a small number compared to Virginia's 600-plus, one can see what's happening in other states to help gauge the environmental impacts that could occur here in the Westfield data center area and other future similar developments. Maine has recently passed a statewide moratorium on large-scale data center development. Texas is halting any new data center development.
By the way, Texas currently has twice the number of data centers as all of China. China is now constructing its new data centers underwater, using the ocean for its cooling system, and Russia is building theirs in the far north. Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are planning on building theirs in space. If Massachusetts is serious about controlling rising energy bills, preventing air and water pollution, and meeting its state-mandated targets to slash climate-warming emissions, it must provide more stringent protections and safeguards that address data center energy and
resource usage. Conservation Law Foundation developer, and I'll quote, "Developers are not required to disclose all of their impacts, and state agencies and governments are not fully aware of the magnitude of such impacts. We need an independent assessment of data centers to understand the environmental, health, and energy impacts of proposed projects before construction." In order for this data center to be built, Westfield Gas and Electric must construct a substation for their electrical use. Westfield Gas and Electric must first get approval from ISO New
England. ISO has nothing on their queue for the next five years- Councilor ... for this project. Excuse me. Thank you, Mr. President. I'd like to ask for a show of hands for everyone that is planning on speaking tonight before I motion to extend. Anyone wishing to speak tonight, just let us know. Looks like you got two, three, probably 10. Motion to extend for two more minutes, please. Second. Motion made and second. All in favor? Aye. Please. Thank you. I don't need two more minutes, but thank you anyways. In order for the data center to be built, Westfield Gas and Electric needs to provide a substation. ISO, at least as of this week, has
nothing in their queue for the next five years for such a substation. Therefore, this moratorium will not cause any irreparable harm to Service Star since they can't move without that substation anyways. Data centers play a role in the economic future, but if our communities are asked to host the industry, we need governments to require accountability to best practices to protect people and the environment. In order for the city of Westfield to have the time necessary to perform its due diligence on these matters, we request that the council vote to approve the moratorium as written.
Thank you. Thank you very much. Anyone else like to address the council? Jessica Britton, 36 Casimir Street. I would just like to say that I support the moratorium. I hope all of you now see the constituents have showed up three nights in a row in regards to discussing the moratorium, and we are all in favor of it. So hopefully tonight, you've seen the crowd that we brought in. You know that there's more watching on that TV right now, and everybody is hoping you guys do the right thing and pass it tonight. Thank you.
Thank you. Can we hold the applause until the end? I'm sorry? No. You're-- Come on up. All right. Mike Roeder from 1046 Western Avenue. First of all, this is the second reading, I understand. I hope you all support this moratorium. I think it's necessary. But I want to tell you why I think it's necessary. What provoked me to be here tonight was an article that I urge all of you to read from the Springfield Republican on January 1st of 226. If you haven't read it, you got to read this. This was a comprehensive, thorough evaluation
of what the current people here want to get from an extension, Service Star. They had their chances back in October of '21 when they were sent their permits for this program, and they refused delivery. And I just want to tell you some of the other things that they didn't do in the last five years. And yet they're back here looking for an extension for a permit. The deadline is October, as most of you know. If I may, they never accepted the initial permits mailed to them by the City of Westfield.
They never did one property purchase in five years. They were going to purchase 16 lots from owners around the site. They never applied for a formal consideration by ISO New England. Never did it. They never did anything to justify coming back here, in my view. But I understand from the legislature that the law entitles them to do that. I hope that you will do one thing for me thoroughly, because it didn't happen in '21, because we all thought '21, there was a great idea, and Senator Villars and
Representative Pease got into it on it, and they supported it. But we know now a lot of stuff we didn't know then, and it's not good. So vet them. Bring them in here. I know you're part-time guys. I understand it. I know there's no money for it. I understand that. We have to make sure that we provide the funds to bring the two guys that were part of the three-guy team in '21, are back. One of them, Fonfara, who was a state senator in Connecticut, when he was interviewed by The Republican in 2023, said nothing
had been done because they had no money, and he was no longer involved. He dropped out, but the other two are back. Somehow, they managed, in the '21 to '24 timeframe, to spend $700,000, $677,000 on this, whatever they did. ServiceStar spent... I'll tell you the exact figures. It's all in this article. ServiceStar spent, from '22 to '24, 180 grand. DBS Energy, which is Bartone's company, spent 145,000.
And West Mass Development, you've probably heard of them, there's a local guy that formed it. They were hired as a consultant for this thing. Nothing happened, but they still managed to spend $352,000. You know what? If you don't do anything else- Councilor ... and you get these guys- Excuse me. Thank you, Mr.- I'm almost done. I know. I don't want to do it. Thank you, Mr. President. If you do nothing else- Motion to extend for three minutes, please. Can I have another minute? Second. Motion to extend for three minutes. Second. Motion made and second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Sir. If you do nothing else, bring these two guys in here and ask them, where did that money come from,
and where did it go? Where did it go? Because I'll tell you right now, I didn't realize it then, but when I read this article, I realized that proposal from '21 not only looked bad, it smelled bad. And this thing here, I just want us to do that because I don't think it can hurt us. If we tend to look at the past with these two guys, and maybe have a good indication what we face in the next two or three or four years. Can you imagine five more years of this baloney? That's why I get upset when I read this stuff, because it smells like politics as
usual, but I know that this mayor and I know that this council are going to do the right thing because they've been doing the right thing for the last three or four years, which I didn't see in my day back in '13 and 2015. I see it today, and I'm not trying to blame anybody, but do the right thing on this, if nothing else. Get those guys in here and somehow find out where in the hell all that money came from and why they didn't do anything for the past four years. Thanks. Thank you. Anyone else? Anyone else like to address the council? Donna Lisi, 287 Shaker Road, Westfield.
I'm not going to repeat what the people that just came up here and said because I couldn't- Thank you ... but it was so great to hear. So skipping ahead, I'd like to thank the council members who voted in favor of the moratorium on June 18th. And lastly, on behalf of all of us, I believe, I would like to thank Councilor Mello for her dedication, research, and presentation, clearly demonstrating the environmental issues already impacting the health of Westfield residents. Based on her findings, the additional research presented to the
council by concerned citizens, and the testimony of residents who live near these data centers, it is clear that housing one here would detrimentally impact our community. With this in mind, I hope you all unanimously vote for the moratorium. And I also want to say that in 2021, when this thing first came out, I don't think the room was filled like this, but this is public sentiment we're all seeing here tonight, and we know what it means. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else like to address before we move on?
Sir, please. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Andy Montanero, 57 Big Wood Drive. Thank you for allowing me to speak this evening. I have two points that I'd like to make in concern to the moratorium and beyond. With regard to the first issue I have, regarding non-disclosure agreements, I'd like to ask, first of all, are there any NDAs currently in force or anticipated in the future in respect to this moratorium? We can't answer you, sir. We can't answer. They can't answer this question because there is. That's what I'm under... Is that the answer?
We can't answer the question, sir. This is public participation. So I have a problem with this, okay? There's things going on that we cannot publicly understand that is happening with regard to the data center. The second part of that non-disclosure issue is I'm asking the council, the mayor, and all of the city agencies to formally commit to full disclosure about all the obligations, the promises, and the commitments that the city will make in reference to the data centers. We have an obligation to transparency in our community,
and I see no reason why we cannot obligate ourselves to formally disclose what's happening in this respect, what's happening in this issue. So I'm asking that there be proposed an amendment to this moratorium to prohibit non-disclosure agreements throughout the entire process as a commitment to transparent governance. I'm asking for that amendment to this proposal. The second issue is regarding the proposal.
I believe that the reason we are having the moratorium is to examine environmental effects and resource usage, and expecting the community-- Excuse me. I've seen a wide divergence on the proposed usage of water for data centers of this size. The variance depends in large degree on the cooling system that's in use, and I've seen a number of different systems proposed with a number of different water usage amounts. I am requesting that the options being considered be
publicized, along with the water-use estimates for each type of system that is being looked at, and I am recommending that the type of system used be the least amount of water that is available with current technologies, and it be required. Thank you. A motion to extend for one minute. I think he just finished. I'm finished. Oh, you're finished? I retract the motion, then. Anyone else like to address the council? Good evening. Thank you for allowing this public address. I'd like to draw an analogy-
Can we just name and address for the city clerk, please? Oh, Anne Ripley, 15 Victoria Circle, Westfield. Thank you. I'd like to draw an analogy of something that happened several years ago that involved the residents of Westfield and our city government, and that is when the city decided that they thought a galvanizing plant on Route Road was going to be a great idea. Now, a lot of people, and many people that I see here, were around at that time. Some maybe don't remember it. The company that was involved sold the city a bill of
goods that they were ready to take and run with until a few residents got involved to really take a look at this. That's what started the movement back then, and that's what should be happening now and is happening now. Right now, it appears that no due diligence has been done in the way that it was way back when, and it wasn't until that time when they found out that the company that proposed coming in on Route Road to pollute our city and everything else had one of the worst records around, and that was proven to be a fact, and that, thankfully,
was a bullet we dodged. This is like a bazooka we're getting ready to dodge. You can't go back on this. If you can't get people to return your phone calls now, what's it going to be like when something happens? What's their contingency plans when something goes wrong? Who do they contact? Who here is going to be responsible for that in a few years when that happens? These are questions that have to be addressed. The residents of this city are the ones that have to live with this, not just the homeowners, but even the people that rent, because
when their city utilities go up, everything else is going to go up. And we're finding it hard right now to pay our bills for our utilities. Water, gas, and electric, you name it. None of those ever go down. And if you're going to get sold a bill of goods on this without doing your due diligence, because this city doesn't have a good record for due diligence, then we're in a lot of trouble. And I have one question. You don't have to answer it now, but my question is, who do the aggrieved citizens, residents in this
city sue when it comes to that? Thank you. Hi, I'm Kathy Labrie, 47 Big Wood Drive, Westfield, Mass. I live here. This is my home. I voted for you when you ran for mayor. I coached you in Little League. We do Sunday school and go to church together. I know you. This is our home. I'm begging you from the bottom of my heart. My children live here. My grandchildren live here. What are you going to do when your children and grandchildren look at you and say, "How come we don't have any water?
How come I can't go out and play?" I'm begging you, please, don't be fooled by the gold that they're dangling in front of you. This isn't good. Look at what's happening around the world. Please think of your children and your grandchildren. This is my home. This is your home. So please do the right thing. I'm begging you. I'll get on my knees if I have to. I just care about Westfield. We built baseball fields, my husband and I, Little League fields, soccer.
We have a history here. We fought to keep St. Mary's open. I love Westfield, and I want to keep it for my children. And if our water's polluted and the air's not good, what kind of life are they going to have? So please look in your heart and do the right thing. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else like to address the council? Rich Labrie, 47 Bigwood Drive again. Just for the record, I've asked the law department if there was a non-disclosure
statement signed on behalf of the data centers in the city. I've received no response yet, but I'm still within the 10 days of asking for it. I've also asked if there is a non-disclosure agreement, for a copy of it. And I reminded them that under Massachusetts General Law, any non-disclosure statement signed by a public official, whether elected or appointed, is in fact a public document, and there are only very certain exceptions for what can and what can't be redacted from that document. Thank you. Thank you. So, if there's nobody else that wants to address the council, Councilor Mello is
going to make a motion to move this item to number one so we can vote on it first to get all you people out of here. Anybody else want to speak before she makes a motion? Go ahead. I have a lot to say, but time is limited. Can you just state your- I'm Suzanne Paquette. I live at 15 Summer Street. I guess we'll start with the environmental impacts. All right. Over 230 environmental groups are asking Congress for a pause on data centers. The problem is we're vulnerable until the states establish regulations because the federal administration has gutted the
EPA and OSHA, and the EPA refuses to set guidelines. It's the Wild West when it comes to data centers. There's a big push for AI, and AI is driving these hyperscale data centers. They're not ready. They're mainly used for AI, or so we're told. But AI isn't ready. Financially, it's being pushed, and borrowed money is propping the whole thing up, and it costs a lot to train AI. Anyway, they're robbing Peter to pay Paul, and the bubble is about to pop. Oracle, which is a massive company behind most
data centers, invested 300 billion to help AI develop its data centers. Meanwhile, come to find out that OpenAI has lost 39 billion recently. Musk stocks launched, then lost 23% of its value. Anthropic in 2025 lost 11 billion. So they're pushing this out and hoping that everyone's going to want AI. Meanwhile, they're trying to replace people with AI, and they're failing. Ford just rehired,
how many engineers? A bunch of engineers that they hired that they replaced with AI because their QC costs, they were losing billions of dollars. So they're pushing this out. It's half-baked. If you use any AI at all, there's a little disclaimer at the bottom saying that AI makes mistakes and you have to check. So they're rolling out thousands and thousands of these AI centers. They're stealing all the water on the earth, and there isn't the demand yet. And if OpenAI can't pay its bill to Oracle, they're going to be sitting on a lot of empty data centers,
and we're hosed because that $300 billion investment is going to be due. And who's going to pay for it? Oracle's stock crashed 40% in one month. The finances are drying up. Sit with that for a minute. The cart is firmly before the horse. Motion to extend for a minute, please. Second. Motion made and seconded. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Continue, please. Okay. All right. Where was I? All right, I want to especially mention this closed-loop system because what that means is they're closed loop-
... system. They're selling us a crock because their closed-loop system actually uses more water. It takes more energy to cool down their data systems, their data centers, because it costs more energy to cool, and it takes more water to make that energy. Depending on whether that energy comes from coal, nuclear, or renewables, the hidden indirect use of that water can be up to 12 times higher than they're disclosing.
So it's just used earlier in the process instead of being used at the AI center. So we really have to look at where our energy that they're using comes from. They're going to use a lot more energy, and it's going to use a lot more water upstream, forgive the pun. So that has to be considered because that's hush-hush and in the background. So total water usage has to be looked at without these hidden things. Your time's up if you- Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else? Come on up. Judy. Hi, I'm Judy Lamott, 251 Seaview Road here in Westfield.
I want to say thank you to Kristen for all of her hard work, and thank you to all of you for voting for the moratorium the last time. And I'm hoping that you will vote again for the moratorium. Thank you very much. Thank you. I'm a little bit nervous. My name is Rochelle Randall. I'm actually a resident of Southwick, and I hold a unique perspective since I don't live here. I'm sorry. Sorry to everybody that's here. But I would like it to be considered what this would affect your neighboring towns, like how it would affect them. For instance, Saugus right now is having a collective issue with
water. People that are in condominiums are being charged astronomical costs just to run minimal water usage in their apartments and condos. If you look 11 miles from where Saugus is, there are 29 data centers. I can only assume that that is the reason that they're having a water crisis. Also, electrical costs. You guys have your own electricity, but we run on Eversource, and right now, for instance, my Eversource bill is the cost of my mortgage.
I can only imagine that that's going to increase with the more that these data centers are put in. I have a house that I own. I wanted to raise my family there, and I really don't want to uproot everything that I've built so far because one of these things are installed, and it makes everything completely unlivable. So I really urge you guys to go with the moratorium. We did in our town. And I think that it would probably be best just to stall it and just look at the facts because we're seeing it in just our own state how
detrimental these things are. So that's what I had to say. Don't want to be long-winded, but thank you. Thank you. Anyone else? Before I move on, I'd like to thank everybody for coming here tonight and the last time that you were here. It's very impressive. Councilor Melo. Thank you, Mr. President. Motion to suspend the rules to take item 14 out of order. Second. Motion made and seconded. All in favor? Aye. Opposed. Councilor Melo. Thank you, Mr. President. Item 14 is second reading and final passage of an ordinance amending the code of ordinances to the Westfield Annex B zoning adopted
September 3rd, 1987, relative to a moratorium on data centers. Second. So moved. Second. Motion made and seconded. Any further discussion, council? I don't think there's anything we could say that was better than what they had to say for themselves. I agree with you. Anyone else have a comment? Roll call, Madam City Clerk. Bean? Yes. Beltrandi? Yes. Burns? Yes. Fannian? Yes. Harris? Yes. Kneppek? Yes. Matthews-Kane? Yes. Melo? Yes. Morganelli? Yes. Oneski? Yes. Adams? Yes. Ali? Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you. Councilor Oneski. Motion for a five-minute recess. Second. Motion made and seconded. All in favor? Aye.
Opposed. Everybody, if you'd like to go. Thank you very much. To the meeting. Second. Motion made and seconded. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion to return to regular order. Second. Motion made and seconded. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Now back in regular order. Item one, communications from the mayor. Councilor Ondinski. Thank you, Mr. President. Motion to suspend the rules for immediate consideration. Second. Motion made and seconded. All in favor? Aye. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Now under suspension. Council. Would you please ask Madam City Clerk to read item one, please?
Yes. Madam City Clerk. One, submitting a resolution to accept a grant in the amount of $1,095,283.01 from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security Fiscal Year 2027 State 911 Department Support and Incentive Grant program to the Westfield Regional Public Safety Communication Center to purchase four Avtec Scout radio consoles and replacement parts, the annual audio recording contract for public safety phones and radio traffic, and six mobile data terminals for police cruisers, and to defray the costs of salaries and overtime for certified telecommunicator personnel.
Thank you, Mr. President. This is a motion for immediate approval of this item. This is one of the items on the agenda where Westfield is receiving money from the state for a regionalization of the Public Safety Communication Center. So without this being regionalized for a dispatch center, this money wouldn't be coming in. The money's going to be used for the communication center portion of the annual maintenance contract for four Avtec Scout radio consoles that are physically in the center, as well as the cost for
various replacement parts, the annual contract for the audio recording system for public safety and phones and radio traffic, six mobile data terminals, four for Westfield Police Department cruisers, and two for Southwick Police Department cruisers. And the remaining of the awarded fund Funds will defray the costs and salaries of overtime for certified telecommunicator personnel in the amount of $1,058,235.18. Motion for approval. Second. She made it second. Any further discussion on the resolution?
Would you read it, sir, by title only? Yes. If I may, Mr. President. A resolution to file and accept a grant from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security FY 2027 State 911 Department Support and Incentive Grant Program. Thank you. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Thank you. Item two while still under suspension, Councilor. Thank you. Would you please ask Madam City Clerk to read item two and move for immediate consideration of this grant? Madam City Clerk. Two, submitting a resolution to accept a grant in the amount of $68,439.41 from the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security Fiscal Year 2027 State 911 Department Training Grant Program to the Westfield Regional Public Safety Communications Center to cover fees associated with attendance at approved live or online training courses, the annual maintenance fee of CritiCall, a skill and ability testing software, as well as the licensing cost for the Emergency Fire Dispatch protocol card sets. Thank you, Mr. President. And this, again, is due to regionalization, where it lets us apply and receive this grant funding. This particular grant covers fees
associated with attendance at approved live or online 911 training courses. These fees require certifications and recertifications for employees and membership fees, salary and overtime costs for personnel to attend the required training courses, salary and overtime costs for three credentialed TERT members in the department to attend training associated with the TERT program, funding for mileage reimbursement for travel to such courses, and costs for annual maintenance of CritiCall, the skill and ability
testing software, as well as for licensing of the Emergency Fire Dispatch protocol card sets. Yeah, and I'll read the resolution by title only. Resolution to file and accept a grant from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security FY 2027 State 911 Department Training Grant Program. Thank you. Roll call, Madam City Clerk. Bean? Yes. Belchande? Yes. Burns? Yes. Fannion? Yes. Harris? Yes. Knoppik? Yes. Matthews-Kane? Yes. Mello? Yes. Morganelli? Yes. Oneski? Yes. Adams? Yes. Ali? Yes. Thank you. Madam City Clerk, we're going to go back to item one and do a roll call.
Sure. Bean? Yes. Belchande? Yes. Burns? Yes. Fannion? Yes. Harris? Yes. Knoppik? Yes. Matthews-Kane? Yes. Mello? Yes. Morganelli? Yes. Oneski? Yes. Adams? Yes. Ali? Yes. Thank you. Item three, Councilor Oneski. Yes. Thank you, Mr. President. Would you please ask Madam City Clerk to read item three and move for immediate acceptance of this grant? Madam City Clerk. Three, submitting a resolution to accept a grant in the amount of $499,229 from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security Fiscal Year 2027 State 911 Department Development Grant Program to the Westfield Regional Public Safety Communication Center to be used to cover half of Southwick's annual
assessment fee, 10 months of South Hadley's assessment fee, and technological integrations into the regional system as well as the new computer-aided dispatch and records management system. Thank you, Mr. President. Yeah, this fee is to cover the expenses for Town of Southwick and transition work to get Town of South Hadley integrated into our system which we voted on several months ago. It can be specifically used to cover half of Southwick's $100,000 annual assessment fee and 10 months of South
Hadley's assessment fee and a new CAD/RMS system for public safety and for South Hadley's technological integrations. And the resolution by title only- Yes, sir ... is a resolution to file and accept a grant from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security FY 2027 State 911 Department Development Grant Program. Thank you. Did we have a second on that? I think everybody wanted to second it, but I didn't hear anybody. Second. Second. Okay, we got a second. Roll call, Madam City Clerk.
Bean? Yes. Belchande? Yes. Burns? Yes. Fannion? Yes. Harris? Yes. Knoppik? Yes. Matthews-Kane? Yes. Mello? Yes. Morganelli? Yes. Oneski? Yes. Adams? Yes. Ali? Yes. Thank you. Item four, Councilor Oneski. Thank you, Mr. President. Would you please ask Madam City Clerk to read item four and move for immediate acceptance of this grant? Second. Madam City Clerk. Four, submitting a resolution to accept a grant in the amount of $3,988 from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security Fiscal Year 2027 State 911 Department Development Grant Program to the Westfield Regional Public Safety Communication Center to purchase
the current medical protocol system card sets and the annual maintenance fee of the quality assurance software. Thank you. Councilor, would you read it by title? Yes. Thank you, Mr. President. Well, this is where exactly what Madam City Clerk read. It covers the emergency medical dispatch for funding to reimburse costs incurred by the department in the total amount of $3,988 for the current medical protocol system card sets and the annual maintenance fee of the quality assurance software. And by title only, it's a resolution to
file and accept a grant from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security FY 2027 State 911 Department Emergency Medical Dispatch Program. Thank you. Roll call, Madam City Clerk. Bean? Yes. Belchande? Yes. Burns? Yes. Fannion? Yes. Harris? Yes. Knoppik? Yes. Matthews-Kane? Yes. Mello? Yes. Morganelli? Yes. Oneski? Yes. Adams? Yes. Ali? Yes. Thank you. Item five, Councilor Morganelli. Thank you, Mr. President. Please ask Madam City Clerk to read item five and refer to Personnel Action Committee. Second. Motion made and seconded. Madam City Clerk? Five, submitting the reappointment of Jacqueline McDowell of 38 Lindbergh
Boulevard as a member of the Cultural Council for a term to expire in November of Oh, no good. Thank you. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Now in the hands of PAC. Petitions, remonstrances, and other papers. Item six is a public hearing for an order of taking for Michael Drive by way of eminent domain. Public hearing is open. Councilor Fanning. Thank you, Mr. President. As the Ward One city councilor, I have met with the residents of Michael Drive, as well as Victoria Circle and Woodsong, which are the other two public hearings. I have met with them several times. We have talked about getting their road accepted as a public way. Every time we met, everyone was always in favor of having their road accepted as a
public way. As the process changed, we met again, so I could explain to them the eminent domain taking process. Again, all residents were in favor of this process. I have received several emails and voice messages today that I will submit to the city clerk of people that were in favor that were unable to make the public hearing tonight. And for Michael Drive, it has been approved by the planning board, the engineer, and the Board of Public Works. Perfect. Anything from the council? Anything from the public? Anyone here like to speak in favor? Yes. Please step forward. Can I just step up here? Please. Just give your name and address for the city clerk, if you would.
Denise Durkee, Woodsong Road. I've been here for several years or whatever, and our taxes keep going up. We got sewer that is sinking right by my house. There's another one on Woodsong Road also, and nobody's doing nothing about it. Every time taxes come in, 100 bucks. Next quarter, 100 bucks. You guys keep raising. You don't pay for our sewer. We got septic tanks. All of a sudden, you guys build all these houses, fix a road, and that's it. You sell them all, and you guys want to forget about us. We pay enough taxes here. They should fix our roads, just like everybody else in the city. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else like to speak on Victoria, or Michael, rather?
I'm Gail Sayre. I live at 22 Michael Drive. This has been a great job for Karen to take care of for us because in what world, if residents own the street, but yet in the street, you've got the city sewers, you've got the gas lines, you've got the water, the storm drains, and yet the city doesn't own the street. It just doesn't make any sense. The city should take the streets and be responsible for all of it. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else? Yeah, Rene Laboulette, 7 Victoria Circle. I appreciate Karen's efforts in getting the streets recognized by
the city. As was said previously, it doesn't make any sense that we have active sewer lines going through the streets, but yet it's not a city road. I don't think it was probably until about two or three years ago that we even knew that it wasn't accepted by the city, so it was a big surprise to all of the residents up in that area before that anyway. So, we would appreciate that you guys accept our roads. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else? No. Seeing none, Councilor Fanning. Motion to close the public hearing. Second. Motion made and second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? That hearing is now closed. Councilor? Motion for an order of taking of real estate for a public way for Michael
Drive. Second. Motion made and seconded. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Councilor? Motion for first reading and be passed to second reading for the next meeting- Second ... for an order of taking of real estate for a public way. Second. Motion made and seconded. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Now on for second reading. Item seven- Oh, one more ... public hearing for an order of taking for Victoria Circle- Excuse me, yeah ... by right of eminent domain. Sorry, I have one more. Do you want to take it? I have a motion for an order laying out Michael Drive, so-called, as a city way for first reading. Second. Okay. And it's on for second reading now? Yes. So, motion for a second reading and final passage at the next meeting. Second. We already voted on that. Seven is a public hearing for an order of taking for Victoria Circle by right of
eminent domain. Public hearing is now open. Councilor Fanning. Thank you, Mr. President. Again, the same discussion as we had for Michael Drive. This is again Victoria Circle. Again, we've met with the residents, and you heard from some of the residents from Victoria Circle already. So yes, we took all these streets together as a neighborhood. Anything from the council? Anything from the public? Hi. Anne Ripley, 15 Victoria Circle. I just wanted to say that when our development was created, we had no idea our roads were private. It was only by accident that it was discovered when we were bringing up another issue about tractor trailers
coming through our neighborhood and trying to put up signs in the roadways. We discovered, "Oh, they're not public ways. We can't do that." So otherwise, if we had known years ago, it would've been taken care of years ago. Thank you. You're welcome. Anyone else? Councilor Fanning. Motion to close the public hearing. Second. Motion made and second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? That hearing is now closed. Councilor Fanning. Motion for an order entitled, an order of taking real estate for a public way for Victoria Circle and for first reading by title only. Second. Motion made and seconded. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Councilor?
Motion for the order to be given second reading and final passage at the next meeting. Second. Motion made and seconded. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Now on for second reading. That public hearing is closed. And also- We need to do the layout order, Mr. President. Okay, go ahead. And also motion for first reading for an order laying out Victoria Circle, so-called, as a city way. Second. Motion made and seconded. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? And motion to have second reading and final passage at the next meeting. Second. Motion made and seconded. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Now on for second reading. Next public hearing is an order of taking for Woodsong Road by way of eminent domain.
Councilor Fannian. Thank you, Mr. President. Again, we have met with the residents of Woodsong Road. Again, we've had discussions on having this accepted as a public way. And again, I have signatures and letters that I'm going to give to the city clerk in support. Great. Anything from the council? Anything from the public? Councilor Fannian. Motion to close the public hearing. Second. Motion made and seconded. Motion to give first reading of an order entitled, "An Order of Taking of Real Estate for a Public Way for Woodsong Road." Second. Motion made and seconded. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion for second reading and final passage at the next meeting. Second. Motion made and seconded. All in favor?
Aye. Opposed? Now on for second reading. Reports of committees- Oh, motion- Set a good layout order. I thought we just did it. Go ahead. Motion for an order laying out Woodsong Road as a city street, so-called, for first reading. Second. Motion made and seconded. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion for second reading and final passage at the next meeting. Second. Motion made and seconded. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Now on for second reading. Reports of committees, finance- Mr. President, if I might, just a point of clarification. Sure. I might be a little slow tonight, but did we do the layout order for Michael Drive? Yes. Oh, we did? Yes. Okay. So I am a little slow tonight. You did both. You did tell me. I just want to make sure we don't screw anything up tonight,
that's all. Finance Committee, Councilor Knapic. Thank you, Mr. President. The Finance Committee met this evening, as a matter of fact, and recommends to the council an appropriation of $100,000 to increase to the reserve for unforeseen salary account in preparation for collective bargaining agreements that are currently under negotiation for FY27. Second. Motion made and seconded. Further discussion, council? Thank you. This was an item that came to us at the Wednesday budget workshop meeting. It was the reason for why free cash went from $1.9 million to $2 million. Because the meeting was held the next night, we didn't have
a chance to pass it that night along with the budget. So this is a little catch-up, but that will fully make the order for the budget complete. Thank you. Anything further from the council? Roll call, ma'am. Bean? Yes. Belshandy? Yes. Burns? Yes. Fannian? Yes. Harris? Yes. Knapic? Yes. Matheson? Yes. Mello? Yes. Morganelli? Yes. Oneski? Yes. Adams? Yes. Ally? Yes. Thank you. Legislative and ordinance, item 10, Councilor Oneski. Thank you, Mr. President. L&O met on June 30th, and upon a 3-0 vote, recommended a resolution to allow the Department of Public Health to establish a revolving account titled Solid
Waste Bags for the Pay As You Throw program. Second. Motion made and seconded. Council. Thank you, Mr. President. What we're doing here is opening an account for the September 1st start of charging to throw your trash away at the transfer station. So the way it works, you've probably heard of it, is you could buy a roll of five 15-gallon trash bags, orange color, for $7.50, or a roll of five
33-gallon trash bags for $15. So right now, if you go to the transfer station, you back up, you throw your junk in the dumpster. Starting September 1st, it was going to be July 1st, but starting September 1st now, you pay per bag, and you need to use the particular bags that I just talked about. So what we're really doing here is not really arguing the cost of the bags or anything like that. It's just to set up this account so that when the bags sell,
the city can put the money in this account, and it just keeps rotating. So we'll buy more bags with it and so forth and so on. So this account or this resolution is simply to establish that account. Thank you. Would you like to read it by title only, sir? Yes. Thank you, Mr. President. An order establishing a revolving account titled Solid Waste Bags. Thank you. We're going to do a roll call on this one. Bean? Yes. Belshandy? Yes. Burns? Yes. Fannian? Yes. Harris? Yes. Knapic? Yes. Matheson? Yes. Mello? Yes. Morganelli? Yes. Oneski? Yes. Adams? Yes. Ally? Yes. Thank you. Item 11, Councilor Oneski. Thank you, Mr. President. L&O met on June 30th, upon a
3-0 vote, voted to leave in committee an ordinance amendment to Chapter 18, Section 18-124, definitions residential complex, delete more than four separate dwelling units, and replace with four units or less. Second. Motion made and seconded. Anything further, council? No. Anything from the council? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Personnel Action Committee, item 12, Councilor Adams. Yeah, PAC has met and gives their approval to appoint Jesus Torres Jr., 41 Orange Street, as a member of the Commissions for the Citizens with Disabilities for a term to expire February of
2029, replacing Mickey Monjo Dyer Second. Motion made and seconded. Further discussion, Councilor? Yeah, most people know Jesus as Junior. His family was one of the first Puerto Rican families, I believe, that came to Westfield in the '50s. Junior started with Columbia, went to H.B. Smith, the fire department, the Krensky school bus. And unfortunately, he had to leave the fire department. He worked, I think, 10 years there. He had some physical issues, and then he went to the Krenskys and had more physical issues, and unfortunately now is a double amputee.
But Junior wants to give something back as that family always has, and wanted to be a member of this commission. He wanted to give it a try. So, I appreciated your vote for Junior. And most people know his brother, the late Jose, and the family has been civil servants to this community for many years. Anything further from the Council? Roll call, Madam City Clerk. Bean? Yes. Veltrandi? Yes. Burns? Yes. Fanion? Yes. Harris? Yes. Knoppik? Yes. Matthews-Kane? Yes. Mello? Yes. Morganelli? Yes. Oneski? Yes. Adams? Yes. Ali? Yes. Thank you. Item 13, Councilor Morganelli. Thank you, Mr. President. The Personnel Action Committee has met on
July 1st, and by a vote of two zero, voted to for the positive recommendation for Kyle Thoreau of 136 Western Avenue as a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission for a term to expire in February 2029, replacing Peter Lurgio. Second. Motion made and seconded. Further discussion, Councilor? Thank you, Mr. President. Yes, the mayor has requested this appointment. I spoke with the mayor, and he thinks Kyle is a great fit for the position. Kyle has military experience in the United States Marine Corps
Reserve. He's done a lot of his work for his career is in sales. Most recently, works for Atricure as a hybrid sales manager, and he's gotten quite a few accolades from over the years for his sales and managerial experience. Really a pleasure to meet him. Councilor Adams and I, we got to talk with him on July 1st, and he's dedicated to Westfield with his children and coaching sports, and he really wants to serve on the Park and Rec Commission. He's really looking forward to getting in
there and learning more about it and serving the city. Thank you. Anything further from the Council? Councilor Knoppik. Thank you, Mr. President. I've known Kyle for a number of years, and I've known him as a parent, a friend, and as a coach, and I can't think of a better person to fill that spot. He's just an all-around quality resident in the city of Westfield, and the fact that he's also a Marine, can't go wrong there either. Councilor Adams. Yeah, I'd just like a moment to thank Pete Lurgio also for the time he spent. Pete now was a vice principal here at South Middle, now is up in Great Barrington. Still living in Westfield, but feels he's spending most of his time up
there. All his kids went through the community here and all of the sports, so he has been a bright spot for that, and I think Kyle will be a good fit for his replacement. Anything further? Roll call, Madam City Clerk. Bean? Yes. Veltrandi? Yes. Burns? Yes. Fanion? Yes. Harris? Yes. Knoppik? Yes. Matthews-Kane? Yes. Mello? Yes. Morganelli? Yes. Oneski? Yes. Adams? Yes. Ali? Yes. Unfinished business, item 15. Councilor Onenski. Thank you, Mr. President. Motion for second reading and final passage of an order titled, "An Order Designating the Voting Places Within and for the Voting Precincts in Which They are Located for the 2026
Elections." Second. Motion made and seconded. Anything further, Councilor? No. Roll call, please, Madam City Clerk. Bean? Yes. Veltrandi? Yes. Burns? Yes. Fanion? Yes. Harris? Yes. Knoppik? Yes. Matthews-Kane? Yes. Mello? Yes. Morganelli? Yes. Oneski? Yes. Adams? Yes. Ali? Yes. Item 16. Councilor. Thank you, Mr. President. Making a motion for second reading and final passage of an order titled, "An Order Designating the Early Voting Dates, Times, and Locations for the State Primary and General Election." Second. Motion made and seconded. Anything further, Councilor? No, sir. Anything from the Council? Roll call, Madam City Clerk.
Bean? Yes. Veltrandi? Yes. Burns? Yes. Fanion? Yes. Harris? Yes. Knoppik? Yes. Matthews-Kane? Yes. Mello? Yes. Morganelli? Yes. Oneski? Yes. Adams? Yes. Ali? Yes. Thank you. Item 17. Councilor Onenski. Thank you, Mr. President. Motion for second reading and final passage of an order titled, "An Order Calling the 2026 State Primary on September 1st, 2026." Second. Motion made and seconded. Any further discussion, Councilor? No. Anything from the Council? Roll call, Madam City Clerk. Bean? Yes. Veltrandi? Yes. Burns? Yes. Fanion? Yes. Harris? Yes. Knoppik? Yes. Matthews-Kane? Yes. Mello? Yes. Morganelli? Yes. Oneski?
Yes. Adams? Yes. Ali? Yes. Thank you. Any announcements? Councilor Harris. Motion to adjourn. Second. Second. Motion made and seconded. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? We are now adjourned. Thank you.