Good evening, seven o'clock. Call the city council meeting July 7th. Um, we went programing, exercise requirements, best practices, the actual construction, some of that parents, those moments. My imagination today, that weapon no longer exists. Development has I then I've to understand the policies, many municipalities as you, Um, in Westfield. And this just happen to kind come into fruition and we were lucky enough to be asked to move into a spot.
Okay, thank you. Um, I know this is going to be a shared space. Can you kind of describe how the setup will work? Uh, we're gonna be in the front of the, uh, building or in the space. We have an office in about 700 square feet of retail space. There is a, uh, photography business and a videography business already there, but they are not utilizing the full space anymore. So they are planning on kind of using a smaller office space in the back of the, uh, the retail spot. Thank you. Councilor's Present. So would
this be like, um, like Monday through Saturday? Correct. Something along those lines. Okay. Councilor Miller. Thank you, Mr. President. Um, and I believe the counselor and crossed the way, uh, had additional questions as well. Um, I sent an email earlier. My general questions are, will you be storing any kind of chemicals? Um, and if so, how much and how will you store them? I don't foresee any like crazy chemicals. Anything more like house cleaning, just uh, you know, keeping up teeth in. They'll be stored in the office. Thank you. Alright, Council,
Me, uh, Matthews Kane and then Counselor Allen. Um, can you elaborate a little bit on what exactly you'll be selling within the business? Um, it's gonna be antique, vintage, artisan. Um, we re I like to, I've been collecting for years, uh, runs in my family. Um, and we just want a place where we can stay green, someone, you know, put stuff back out that hasn't been seen, people aren't using that type of thing. Unique, eclectic kind of stuff. Yes. Bob, how do you source your inventory? Say that again. Can you source it?
State sales, tag sales, uh, auctions, that type of thing. Okay. Um, will you be buying from the public and if so, how do you plan to follow the regulations? I don't, that's not something I normally do. I don't, you know, so, um, but I do understand that that's a possibility now that if we open a brick and mortar, that sometimes people come to you with their items and we would follow state regulations as prescribed. Okay. Councillor Hallie, did you have something? Yeah, it sort of what she was elaborating. So are these like pieces of artwork and that sort of thing? Artwork, Glass, um, Jewelry?
Uh, would it be like any kind of like furniture Well or smaller pieces? Smaller pieces. We're not like big pieces, But yes. Furniture as well. Because you would be in that 700 square feet right now? Correct. Okay. Alright. Thank you. Councilor Sullivan? No. Out, no outside storage or outside display? It's all here. It will all be stored in, in house. All the living room. Anything further? Councilor Harris? I have no question. It's just a comment. This is an upstanding and well-respected family. I know the be family extremely well and I also wanna know Karen, and um, they'll do nothing to harm the city
and everything will be good about it. Thank you. Councillor Melo. Thank You Mr. President. Um, and the opportunity to speak with some of the abutters today, my parents and their neighbors. Um, they are excited about the changes they have seen in the mill, the new businesses that have been opening, um, the places they can walk to, uh, and they wish you both well. Anything further from the council? Is there anyone in the audience here that would like to ask a question of fact to the applicant? Any question of fact? Anyone in here like to speak in favor
of this application? In favor? Anyone would like to speak in opposition? Seeing no one Councilor Matthews Kane. I'd like to make a motion for the city clerk to read the item and refer to, oh no, to close the public hearing and refer to license Second. Motion made it second. And any further discussion? Second. Alright, Seeing none. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed? Thank you sir. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you. And public hearing is now closed. Next item is item seven, public hearing on application for junk dealer and junk collector license for bomb eclectic 77 Mill Street, suite 11 submitted
by Karen Spaghetti owner public hearing is now open floor is yours. Hello, I'm Karen Ti Um, there's gonna be a lot of redundancy. Jeff and I are partnering. We're separate financially. We have our own DBAs, but we partner on the bench. We're sharing the space. So you'll probably be hearing a lot of the same answers. Um, I guess the only thing that I would stray from is I do make, um, out of either dead stock items or reclaimed repurposed jewelry, I make jewelry and I make lampshades.
So I do a little more of the creative and of what we're gonna be having in our shop. So Councilor Matthews came. And just first for the public record, can you give us your address? Oh yes. Uh, 89 Court Street in Westfield. Okay, thank you. Um, where will you be sourcing your inventory from? The same, I'm a hunter, so anywhere, like sometimes off the side of the road, honestly. But, um, estate, sales, online auctions, auctions, tax sales. Um, sometimes I get the wonderful gift of people who know that I love things, they just bestow it upon me. So really, if anyone has the bug for this,
you find it everywhere and anywhere. Will you be buying anything in the store? Like will you be buying from the public at all? I don't, I've never done that. Okay. So that is not part of my business plan. Okay. I do know other people who have these shops and they've told me people will come to you. And I know that that requires a whole world of laws to abide by. So right now I would not be doing that until I understand what those things are. Um, so that I make sure I'm adhering to them. Okay. You good. Um, and where, where do you plan to store your inventory? On premises? On the premises, it's a small space.
I think it's just under 900 total. But we have a little office space. It's not little, I mean it's fine, but we'll have some shelving and back there. And then we have access to a storage room as well. Mm-hmm. Um, but it will all be on premises. Okay. Counselor Alley. I Thank you Mr. President. So just to be clear, 'cause, so the first business had 700 square feet. So is your space in addition, like, No, I guess are You sharing the same 700 square feet? No, the, if we take away the little cutout, it's like a partition walled office that's probably about 200 square feet, give or take.
It's office and storage space, but it's all within the same room. It's a partition wall. So the actual floor space where we'll have our items displayed and for sale is probably about 700 square feet. So that's where that came from. Okay. Councilor Harris. Thank you Mr. President again. I'm just gonna reiterate as in number six. So this is upstanding family and, um, both well respected and everything I said about, uh, Jeff Beatty applies to Karen. Thank you. Councilor Ello. Thank you, Mr. President. Um, will you Have different chemicals then, Mr. Beatty? And, uh, how would you store them?
Um, no, just regular household items. Deck, maybe Lysol wipes. Um, the only thing that I can say is sometimes I use an Odis oil to polish furniture, but that's lead certified. So there's nothing, you know, toxic about it, but no. And when I make jewelry, no soldering, no anything. I'm just using little jump rings and pliers and piecing things together. So. Thank You. Anything further from the council? Anyone in the audience like to ask a question of the applicant Question? Anyone like to speak in favor of this application? In favor?
It's anybody like, like to speak in opposition? Is it too late? No one in opposition Council. Matthew. Can I speaking Jeff? Is that too late for that? Wait. Councilor Matthews Cain, I'd like to make a motion to close a public hearing and refer to license. Second. Second. Motion made it second. Any further discussion? Seeing none. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? Hearing is now closed. Thank you. Thank You. Alright. Reports of committees, legislative and ordinance committee. Item eight. Councilor Adams. Yes, Illinois was met and give favorable approval to a $45 million bond
to construct a new police station. Second. Second. Motion made it seconded. Further discussion. Councillor Adams? Yeah, I think it was president. Uh, where do we begin? Um, probably three years ago. Um, first of all, I just need to thank the mayor of Tammy, Rebecca, chief. There's a lot of people that put a lot of time into this police station. Uh, Tammy's on her third different building from a, a school to a to a this place to a police station, which are two, three totally different buildings, but, uh, she's the one that runs the ship here. And thank you for what you do, Tammy. 'cause I'm not sure who he would
turn to if you weren't there. So thank you for what you do. Um, there was a lot of time put into, um, this whole project. I think the biggest thing we had a, I guess not a problem with, but was finding a site. Um, we went back and forth on four or five, six different sites. I will say that we did our due diligence for the city, the taxpayers in this town to find the site that fit the best of the police station. There is no perfect piece of property to put the police station in my opinion, but this is the best. Uh, we looked at everything. We put two rf, QS or RFPs, whatever you call 'em, for anybody wanting to sell a piece of property.
Um, so we spent our time and did what we could. And I think although the church piece isn't absolutely perfect, if you had to put a, to draw a.in the center of this town, that's where it sits. That is the center of this town. So I know, you know, the police are out in their vehicles. Um, however, public access, the best place to put a police station is out in the middle of a field. So if anybody tries to attack you, you'll have plenty of time to, to be able to stop that attack. But it doesn't give the people that want to get to the police station the ability to do that.
So there's a lot of give and takes that we had to take here. Um, but I certainly am confident that this is the best place to put it. And there's a lot of people that, um, had a lot of input in this, which it should be. Um, we spent 7, 8, 9 trips, I think. Um, I was fortunate to go with the chief and, uh, captain Dickinson. Um, the only problem with those trips is that there are two people that wanna drive one car, not a good site. Um, captain Dickinson is not a good backseat driver. Um, but I had no idea until we started this process,
until I went into the first police station. What we don't have, we are very, I guess, and you, everybody that's sitting here probably wouldn't realize it either until they've visited a police station. Like once we visited, I truly, this, these police stations will make those, the men and women that put that uniform on better because it gives you everything that they need to do their job the right way. Um, they're doing a great job as it is, but this station will make it better. You know, just be able to sit at a large screen and watch a drone go into a site, you know, to,
to have a bad situation and have a lot of people watching things to be able to put a command center together. We can't really do that. Where we are, as chief said, the woman that we have coming in, it's not fair to them that they're in a closet somewhere that isn't fair handicap. This will all do. I don't wanna repeat everything that everybody said, but this does what it needs to do. You know, the men and women that put that uniform on, you know, and have that badge, they're, they can be a target every day. This, this whole society has gone kind of in a crazy way. We wanna make sure that they can go home to their children at night.
This building may not a hundred percent do that, but I think the training that it can give them and the deescalation gives everybody them and the person that is causing the problem, the best outcome. And this station is gonna do that. I'm gonna talk a little bit about the financial piece and hopefully if anybody has any questions between me, councilor Ky and Councillor Burns, we can answer it. Talking to, to Nate Barnes, we have a $200 million capacity. That means we can borrow up to $200 million in the city and that's a formula. And the councilor to my Wright can probably talk more about that.
However, we still have to figure out how to pay for that. We can borrow 200 million, but it doesn't mean we have, we know how, how, how to pay for it. Right now. We hold a debt serve, meaning we, on the Brooks, we keep it between seven and $7.3 million a year that we pay for and we can afford to pay for out of our budget. The police station's probably gonna bring that up to 8.3 to 8.5, which is another million dollars or so on that. However, we have between eight and a half, eight and a half, eight and a half million dollars from debt
decline that we have the ability to borrow from to keep that payment down. The mayor is confident that he can build this into his budget and that we are able to pay for it probably seven out of the eight departments that we spoke to. I asked the question, every d every chief, how are you paying for this? Most of 'em are a debt override or a debt occlusion. The seven outta the eight said, we have to go to the people and ask them. That's pretty fortunate. You know, I didn't realize that till now that we in Westfield don't have to do that. We have the ability to pay this off without having to go
to the people and ask them to pay more taxes. So I was, I was pretty shocked when I heard that number, um, that everybody pretty much has to go for the full amount or a portion of that amount to have to go to the people to ask for that money. 'cause they couldn't afford to pay for it. So I thought, you know, we were pretty fortunate in Westfield that we didn't have to do that. Um, so I think that we are doing the right thing for the taxpayers of the city. Um, we've probably come up with a, a number that is probably lower than it probably should be. The 45 million. I think we could go a little bit higher,
but I think the mayor is content with that number. And I think to be fair to the people in this city, that's a good number too. And still provide our men and women the best possible police station that we can, that we can provide for them. So I'll let the other two counselors speak if they want to say something and I'll be happy to answer any questions that anybody might have. Councilor Bean. Thank you Mr. President. Uh, I just wanted to take a moment. You know, I've been on this council for over two decades now and I think we've been talking about a project like this since I've been on the council. The building obviously is in major need of
absolute replacement, but, um, and just, you know, the size and the, the capacity of what it is at this given moment. But I just wanted to say thanks to the officers and the staff members. 'cause we all knew what that building was and to really put up with what they were putting up with for the last 10 to 15 years, if I'm not mistaken. And we're trying to make sure that we were repairing it, but it was good money after bad, uh, to do so. So I, I just wanted to take a moment and just say thank you to them, uh, really with their patience.
Um, and you know, it's something that I think the city, it's, it's long overdue, um, obviously location to, to Councilor Adams point is, is where it's very difficult to find. Uh, we tried to make sure it was somewhat in the center of town to a certain extent. Uh, but I, I just, it didn't go unnoticed, um, um, that the staff and, and the officers that were dealing with it on a day-to-day basis because it was, it is, um, uh, not a suitable place for them. So I think it'll also help with recruitment, um, I believe,
which will be, uh, another add on to that. So I just wanted to say thank you at the moment. Council Sullivan? Yes, uh, I will be a strong yes on this and, and echo, uh, all the thanks that have been given out. So I won't bother repeating all of those. I mean, I think this building was pretty much obsolete in the seventies right when it opened. Um, and, uh, we can argue whether or not it was appropriately designed even back then. So this is a long time in coming. Obviously policing is significantly different today than it was in the seventies, not the least of which is we now have women on the police force. Um, and so the accommodations don't even, uh,
properly address that in the current condition. So this is desperately needed for a whole host of reasons. So I'll be a strong yes. I also wanted to add my thanks to the counselor, to my left counselor. Adams has probably singularly, uh, been the most supportive and moved this project, uh, in the council here. He obviously is gonna have a lot of work to do over the next two years supervising, um, the construction of this project. So I just wanted to, uh, thank him for all of his work time and effort. Councilor, all thank you, Mr. President. Um, first of all, I, I'm, I'm glad that we're able to do this. Um, I'd like to thank some of the offices.
I've met many of you in the Home Depot trying to put that building back together over different situations and ask them what they're doing there and, and be like, but thank you for all that you guys did on your own. Um, and finally, welcome to the neighborhood. So Anything further, Councilor me. Thank you, Mr. President. Um, I'm gonna put you all outta your misery, right? Uh, so I have had the opportunity to sit waiting in the police station, um, to get help for my parents on more than one occasion in 2008,
and then for my niece in what, 2014? 2015. And I'm allergic to mold. And so I know as much as anybody in this room that that building is unsuitable as much as anybody in this room. I know that building is unsuitable. And so I am not against this. I don't particularly like the way it lands when you say we don't have to raise taxes to do this right after we raise taxes, 6.5%. That hits a little funny for me, but I understand that we have obligations to meet. Um, I am concerned about that property.
I would like to hear more, um, from the time bond folks about, uh, you know, the vapor. And I would like to make sure that we're not putting people in danger, uh, when we set up the building, right? When the building architecture is made, I wanna make sure that it's not the women's locker room that ends up below grade. I wanna make sure that it's not, um, people who are being held or, uh, even for their own safety, uh, below grade I, if something goes wrong, let that be the file room. Okay? So I would very much, I am in support.
I want us to be careful that is a place with a contamination legacy. I don't wanna go from one contaminant to another and put our service members in more danger. Um, so let's just be really careful and I appreciate full transparency with the experts that need to give us that protection. Thank you. Councilor Burns. Yeah, thank you Mr. P, first of all, as Councilor Sullivan. I'm a solid yes on this. Um, as, um, when I first came on to council eight years ago, I was invited by, uh, uh, chief Camarata to come down and Captain Mcca.
And, you know, I hadn't been there in a while, but, um, to my surprise that Oh, terribly it Was pretty bad. No, no, it was. Um, and then I was invited by Captain Valier and I mean, uh, chief Valier and now chief, uh, ak. Nothing's changed. It's still the way it was probably back in the seventies, like Brent said, when my dad was a cop there. It was our, it was outdated back in the seventies and definitely outdated in the, in the, uh, eighties and nineties when my brother was on the police department. So my heart is near and near to the police department, and I wanna make sure on my watch here anyways, did I
secure your watch? Um, so again, I'll be a solid guess on this. Thank you. Anything further, councilor? Yep. Yep. Just I want to just comment on, um, councilor Mills. Councilor Mell. I wouldn't do the, I wouldn't put our police officers in a place that I didn't think was safe either. That is gonna go on a slab, there'll be nothing underground. Everything will be above ground. And I am 100% that that belly or whatever they call it, which is gonna cost us some money, is gonna protect everyone there. And we're not gonna go back 20 years later and say, we got a problem. Um, Jeff, who is the expert, has done many of these
and says, he's got it. It's not gonna be a problem. We're not going a foot underground just, just for that slab, that thick cement slab, and then that belly that's gonna protect everyone. Thank you. Thank you. Anything further? This is the first reading, um, councilor, we do like to read. Do the first reading by title only, And then yes. First reading by title only on a bond order for construction of a new police station. Be ordained by the city council of the city of Westfield. As follows, that there will be raised and appropriated the sum of $45 million to pay costs for construction, a new police station, including the payment of all the costs, incidental
and related thereto. And that would meet inappropriate city treasurer and approval of the mayor, be it hereby to authorized to borrow the amount under, pursuant to GL 44 7 and eight, or pursuant to any other enabling authority and to issue bonds or notes of the city thereof. Second. Second. Motion. Motion. Made it seconded. That was the whole title. Nothing further. Roll call. Momentum City Clerk Harris. Yes. Matthews. Kane. Yes. Mellow? Yes. Ky? Yes. Sullivan? Yes. Adams? Yes. Allie? Yes. Bean? Yes. Dr. Randy? Yes. Burns?
Yes. Fanon? Yes. Congratulations. You deserve it. Motion for second reading and final passage at a zoom meeting, which is dated 21st. June 21st. June 21st. July 20. July 21st. Yes. July 21st. Motion made it second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Now on for second reading. Item nine. Counselor Adams, YO is met and gives favorable the approval to a change in age in the fire department. Uh, from 31 of 31 to 39, but it's not in written as 39
Second motion. Made it seconded. Further discussion counselor. Yeah, That's basically the same thing the police department has asked for. Um, their age at this point is 31. As as the police is. And I think the police have put in for 39 also. Um, this basically gives the fire department, uh, a little bit more leverage in hiring. Uh, somebody could be in a second career. Um, there are some cities around us that there is no age limit. Uh, the fire department, uh, deputy Bishop said they feel a 39, um, eight. They don't wanna go over 39, but they're, I think Springfield is mother, you could be 55 years old and be hired as a fireman.
Uh, they feel that the 39 number is a good number. Yeah. Um, there's some other things coming, but uh, at this point, uh, they just want to raise that to 39 before we go hybrid. I don't want get in that direction yet, but that's kind. Awesome. Yeah. Okay. Anything further on the resolution? Counsel? Just A quick question to the counselor from my left. It, so 39, obviously you guys had talked that out, but why not go to 55 and then just manage it within those, that period. You know what I mean? Like why? I mean, we try, it's already hard enough to recruit Right? And to fill their ranks. So why not just leave it at 55
and if they pass a physical and do all the things they need to do and pass the academy, The present. Uh, that was a question that we asked Deputy Bishop and they thought 39 was a fair number, you know, that they wanted. So I didn't go any further with it, but that was what they requested. Yeah. And I would Councilor Melo. Oh, Thank you Mr. P to the counselor across the waste point. It might be an actuarial decision. Yeah, I would, Councilor Ali and I, I would tend to to think that, you know, uh, wouldn't you get past the age of 39? I mean, that, that's a young man's, um, job.
I mean, most of 'em are EMTs and that sort of thing, but this is physically demanding and you kinda open yourself up, you know? Um, some of us passed the age of 39, and so as physical as you can be, I think it, I think that makes a lot of sense, both in the terms of learning the, the learning that goes into it, as well as physically being able to do a job for a period of time. So that seems to be a pretty good idea. I mean, overall 55 would be kind of pushing, I think. Anything further. Would you like to read the resolution, sir? Yeah. Resolution setting forth the petition to the Senate
and House of Representatives of the General Court for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to authorize the city of Westgate to establish an age limit for original appointments to the position of firefighter. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? Item 10. Council ky. Thank you Mr. President Ano met on July 7th and upon a three zero vote recommended a resolution to accept the grant valued at $28,000 from the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission under the Commonwealth of Massachusetts district Local technical assistance program
to the Conservation Commission to update open space and recreation plan, which expires in August 20, 25. Second. Motion made and seconded. Further discussion. Counselor? Yes. Uh, thank you Mr. President. The city needs to have a plan, an open space and recreation plan, uh, required by the state. And it also allows us to, um, to get grants become eligible for grants. We need to have this. We have one in place currently, uh, which expires in August, 2025.
Um, what this grant is for is $28,000 for services from Pioneer Valley Planning Commission to help put this together. There is a Westfield Open Space Committee that meets about once a month. Uh, this will, uh, provide a survey for, for residents. Um, pioneer Valley Planning Commission organizes a meeting. Uh, we expect this will be done by December, 2025. Um, and it's gonna be valid for 10 years, not seven, as was stated. There's been a change since this was put out. Anything from the council? Would you like
to read the resolution, sir? If I may by title only please. A resolution accepting the grant from the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission for a revision of the 2018 to 2025 open space and recreation plan. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Item 11, councilor Ky. Thank you Mr. President. Ano met on July 7th and upon a three zero vote voted to recommend an order transfer and care custody management and control of certain parts of lands, known as the former St. Cashmere's Church located at 30 Parkside Avenue
and then adjacent lot on Kame Street from the Westfield Public School system to the city of Westfield. Second. Motion made it seconded. Further discussion, Counselor? Yes. Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, this was property was acquired um, in 2025. It was used, it was used as a school for a short period of time and is now, uh, storage. And in order to keep this off of the tax rolls or, or put, I should say, put it back on the tax rolls and keep tax money from going into it anymore.
Um, it's gonna go out for, for, for bid shortly. It was approved by the, um, DPW, which had control semit control of the parking lot. Uh, it was approved by the school committee to uh, get rid of the piece and yeah. Currently used for, for storage only. Sure. Alright. Council alley. Yeah, I just have one quick question. So this becomes a city property, but this doesn't have to do anything with the city properties committee, correct? In other words,
It doesn't look that way. No. No. Alright. No. Okay. Thank You. We got it. It was a resolution. So we uh, we took it. Alright, so this is an order anything? It's an order. I'm sorry? The, the parking lot's across the street from the church. I, this, we bought this back when I was mayor, but is the parking lot technically, could it be a building lot? There's Two, there's two parcels. There's, yeah, I I don't know. You, it's being sold as one. It's only being sold as one. Yes, It's used as one. I mean, the city can split it up. It can go to out to bid. And the, the, I would, I would recommend that it go out at least with the option to split it
because somebody may be interested in the building lots. It's not a gigantic parking lot, but I'm kind of guessing in that neighborhood. It's probably a building lot. Somebody might be interested in that. Who would have little to no interest in the church is all I'm saying. So just in terms of maximizing the dollar return, not you or just the city, when they decide to go out, leave that option in to bid one or the other, Or both. Okay. Currently it is under one deed. So in order for it to go out into two pieces, the city will need to split that. I bet you we could get a subdivision approval. We could do it.
I know we can't. Anything further. Councilor Adams? Yeah. And, and, uh, councilor my Wright, maybe you can answer the question. Um, I brought it up in committee that if, if we took that church, which I think we did, We purchased it purchased. Well, that's what I said. So, so that brought my question up too. If in the deed the church says you can only use this for certain properties. I believe they don't, they have that. Yeah. So there is a clause in there that was negotiated that they were, and there should be paperwork to the effect
that the city recognized that they, they left language in there that the property could not be used for purposes that were inconsistent with the Catholic church. Um, I had conversations with the bishop at the time and said, we're gonna ignore that language. He said, we're never gonna enforce it. Different bishops, by the way, different mayors now, so they can decide to do whatever they want. There's Several of each. Um, and the biggest thing was obviously we're buying it for school department use. Originally it wasn't just for storage and some of the, um, there, there were potential conflicts there.
So yes, that language I do believe survived in the deed. Um, but there should be documentation in the fact that that should not, uh, limit the city's ability to dispose of the property. So if I can follow Ms. President, so when I asked that she, uh, we were provided something that says taking, is that just in the wording? Uh, I, we negotiated a price. Now could it have been a friendly taking? I guess maybe I would've said we purchased it however. Okay. Because we negotiated. I remember that. So, all right. That, that's where I was a little confused and I think you just reiterated what I thought, but I just want be careful moving forward.
We make sure we are careful how if we do sell it, and we may have to follow some sort of Yeah, I don't think housing will be inconsistent with the Catholic church though. I was more worried about the curriculum and the public school system. Okay. Councilor Bean and then Councilor Ky. Yeah, I'll be brief. So I, I didn't support this 20 years ago, so I strongly recommend that this council gets this building back on the tax rolls. Um, we did purchase it, it was not a taking by any way, shape or form. I think it was like $235,000, give or take. So, um, you know, it was one of the most expensive buildings
for storage that we ever had in the city of Westfield. So I would strongly ask my colleagues to support this. I will absolutely support it. And I would also look for the, and this is totally off topic, but advise the school committee to also look to get Abner Gibbs back out on the market for housing as well. We don't need that building for storage. Councilor Mellon. Thank you, Mr. President. Um, I, I'm interested to know it from the law department whether or not that clause matters, because then are you gonna have to like screen your applicants if it's housing
and like who's living in sin? I mean, 'cause this I, I, I got issues with that. Like, can we just please make sure with the law department we're clear on that? 'cause Oh my God, I can't, I can't believe that I have to sit at a government table saying, do we need to make sure that it's okay with the Catholic church? I'm having a whole moment. I think we're all living in sin, so, Okay. So I, yeah, I, oh my God. Yeah. I, Okay. Thank You. Yeah, thank you Mr. President. I, I won't really talk about the sin part. I don't Well that too much.
But if it was a take, it is a take. Okay. I've got the paperwork, I got the, it Had to, it was a negotiated, I'm sure it was a negotiated taking. And it was my understanding from Attorney Reed at the meeting, if there is a, a taking, then the sin part of it goes away, if you will. So it's a confession, but it doesn't really matter at this point, Which may be why we did it that way. It could be 'cause that clause bothered me, whatever, 20 years ago. Yeah. We were all going back and Yeah. You know, memory, land, trying to figure it out ourselves.
But I mean, the fact is we wanna get rid of this piece of property, whether it has certain clauses, we get rid of it with a certain clauses. It's, let's just get rid of it. Thank you Councilor Melo. And then I move the question. Thank you, Mr. President. On a much more practical note. Um, can the neighbors on Csme Street if it moves into city properties now use CCL fix to get that property cleaned up? I don't know the answer to that. Okay, Sure. Why not? Okay. Thank you. Would You like to read the city property now? Council Linsky, would you like to read the order? Yes. By title only if I may.
An order transfer and cure custody management and control of certain parcels in the city of Westfield on Kasir Street and Parkside Avenue. Okay. Motion made it seconded. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Counselor. Motion for second reading and final passage at our next meeting. Second. Second. Motion made it seconded. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? Now on for second reading. Item 12. Councillor Burns. Yeah. Thank you Mr. President Allan o Met. And on a three zero vote, we voted to, uh, accept an ordinance amendment to chapter 17,
section 17 dash one 11. Place places where parking is prohibited, generally adding, or within 20 feet of either side of the marked crosswalk. Second Motion. Made it seconded. Further discussion, counsel? Yeah, This, uh, this was just a contin actually, this is just to, um, bring the ordinance up to compliance for the whole city. Um, it's not a state law. It's, it's a city ordinance, so it was just to bring it up to compliance. Okay. Anything further? Would you like to read the order counselor by title only?
Yep. In ordinance amending the code of ordinances. City of Westfield, Massachusetts adopted June 17th, 1993. Second. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? Counselor. Second. Motion for second reading and final passage at next our regular city council meeting. Second Motion made it seconded. Any discussion? Okay, Can we, if I, if I may, yes, I would just like to put it on for a special meeting. Yes. We can knock this thing off. Okay. Our Next meeting. So you've got that, Kate. Alright, all in favor? Aye. Post, uh, item 13. Councilor Burns.
Yeah. Thank you Mr. President. Um, again, Eleanor met and on a three zero vote, we voted to approve an ordinance, amendment to, to chapter, oh, wait a minute. An ordinance. We met at a three zero vote. An ordinance amendment to chapter 17, uh, 17 dash 42. No turn on red. Adding from Western Avenue into the main commuter lot in Westfield University. Actually it was a 3 0 0 negative vote. We voted not to recommend approval of this. Take a second. Second. Motion made it seconded. Further discussion. Council vers.
Yeah, I, I spoke with, um, actually again today I spoke with the, uh, public safety people up at Westfield University. It didn't come from them. This, um, and then, and Sergeant Mahe had recommended that we don't approve this. Um, also, uh, I haven't heard from any neighbors at all about any traffic problems or anything. And if we were to, in my opinion, it is such a small turn lane. If we were during peak hours of, um, college students, you know, trying to get into the lot there, it would, it would back up.
It would, it would actually back up traffic because there's only a three lane. Um, you could only probably fit three cars in that, in the turn lane. So again, uh, I haven't heard anything, so I was kind of surprised if this was, but again, it's a three zero denied. Councilor Harris. Thank you Mr. President. If the sergeant recommends voting against it and all three of these, I will be against it. 'cause traffic. I got a question. Council B, Just a quick one. So who did it come from in favor? Overall? It came from the traffic commission. Doesn't most stuff have to come
through this body then to the prep traffic commission? No. Or they can just start. I and we don't know where it came from And that's what I was thinking. I, I know maybe we can change our rules, whatever, but maybe it should come to us then to the drafting commission then back to us. I, I don't know because this caught me off guard. I didn't realize that this was This. Can I just follow me back? Yeah. So I mean, you guys know how I feel about signage and I feel like no one's paying attention to the amount of signage out there anyway. So, I mean, if we've got items in front of us, we, we really need to know where they're coming from too. Like my, my gut feeling is it,
and I could be wrong, it has to deal with the bike lanes that are being formed all over this town that I see very little activity on. Is that the case? I think Council, Thank you Mr. President. Uh, I don't know the the person or who originally came up with it, but the process is that the traffic commission will go to the, uh, city solicitor, assistant city solicitor and then it comes to us. So it doesn't come to us first and then to the traffic commission. I mean, we can, we can come up with something ourselves, but the process is, it goes, um, from the traffic commission
to the, uh, assistant city solicitor and then she puts it on the agenda and sends it to us. Councilor Matthews Kane then Councilor Sullivan. Thank you. When I was originally on council, I would make a motion in city council to send items to traffic and I was told to stop that and to send them directly to traffic. And who told you that? If I can ask? I I don't even remember. It wasn't me. And that's, so you just submitted directly. You reach out to Sergeant Mahias and you tell her you'd like it on? I did not submit this, but council, that's what I was told to do. So did the Traffic commission recommend
approval or they also denied it? Yes. Yes. The, oh, sorry. Yes. Council, the chair of the traffic commission, Sergeant Meez, uh, was negative on this. She did not want this. She did not approve of this. She was a no vote. But the final vote was what? Council Adams? Yeah, I I want to, let's make something clear here. First of all, the, the lane, the white lane going up Western Avenue is not a bike lane, it is a fog lane. There is nothing marks except for Chestnut Street to High Street that I could see that marks a bike lane.
That particular bike lane actually crosses the one that they're talking on the computer lane, if you want to call it a bike lane. It's a one, it's one, it's a lane. It is not a legal bike lane. And it may be a legal bike lane, but the state never did the right job. If that's the case, because it isn't marked and it's not, it's a fog lane. Anybody can actually park there. Um, so that particular lane that we're talking about, actually it doesn't go on the, if it went on the right side when you were gonna turn into the lot, I could see maybe it would work. But that lane actually goes to the left side of cars up
by the double yellow line. So having a no turn there isn't gonna stop a bike because a bike's not even to the right of that car. So I don't know how they came up with this. And I, and I guess maybe, you know, the counselor from the ward can, the only lane I see is from Nu Street to High Street and everywhere up, all that work we did from the state, that's not a bike lane along Western Avenue. So I don't know if that's was supposed to happen or somebody made a move. I, Councilor Melo. Thank you Mr. President. Um, perhaps the board counselor or someone else can answer this question.
Is there a left, uh, dedicated left arrow coming? Uh, what is that? Uh, east on Western Avenue headed toward the commuter lot. If you were gonna take a left, you're coming down from Bates, right? And you were gonna take a left into the commuter lot. Do you have a dedicated arrow? Because if you do, I can see why a no turn on red would be required. That's my, that, is there a dedicated arrow on the left? I don't know the answer to that. I don't know. I I don't either. I don't, I don't think there is. I don't think there is, but I dunno. The reason I like this put there is because Western Sergeant I Alright, anything further?
I just have a question clear. Because You couldn't independent Community you could Yeah, that's no Councillor Harris. No. I just wanna clarify the next three. I wanna vote that the sergeant voted for it 'cause she's with the police and she knows exactly what happens on the streets. So I just wanna be clear. If I vote the way she voted, am I voting yes or no? No. I can't help you there. I'm voting. So you're gonna be voting. No. Yes. Thank You. Thank you. You know, real quick, Mr. President, um, you know, normally Sergeant Mahe,
I mean if it's some, if it's in my ward, I get an email from her or a phone call. You know, I that this won call me by surprise. I have to apologize for that. But I did do my research. I did go up there and yeah, after did, after the, so Councilor Ley Thank You Mr. President. I thought when we at part one of the design phases, uh, for Western Ave and that whole thing, that one of the things that we did was we moved the bike over where it's actually on the sidewalk. That that's where it was supposed to go. Multi Correct. Multi-purpose. Multi-purpose. Right? So the bikes would be there. Is that how it actually ended?
Because I mean we at the design phase like three times, but that's what happened, right? So Councilor Adams is right. That's not, that is not a bike lane. The bike lane is separate and you're on the sidewalk. That is a multipurpose thing. Alright. So now you get to that lane, somebody it, so it was somebody scurrying, there was walking, right? There was a situation. I think there was described, there was somebody having discovery and you know, we were raised to look twice before you cross the street both ways, but alright. 'cause it's not a bike lane that, that was off.
Head to the sidewalk and be separate. 'cause I would be in support of this generally if you were trying to, you know, so right now there's only one lane there where you'd basically, um, be backing up traffic if it was students trying to pull in. But how many students actually parked there? It's right, It's, it's right into the commuter Lot. That's into the commuter lot, right? Yeah. And then the reason they put, I, the reason they put the light there was because of the, the street and people coming in. Students coming out of the uh, commuter lot. Yeah. Alleviate that traffic. So did the chair say like why she wasn't in favor
of it? Was it just A again, I explained To alleviate the traffic. Yeah, It's gonna be, it's gonna be back. Right. Which may make it worse, right? I guess. Right. It's gonna make it Worse. People be more impatient or whatever. Alright. Alright. You want read the ordinance? It's, wow. Read the ordinance. Yes. We have to vote on it first. Yeah, you can read it and then we can vote on it. Okay. An ordinance, a amend code of ordinances. City of Westfield, Massachusetts, adopted May 10th, 2021. Thank you. We'll do a roll call on this roll call. Madam City Clerk Harris?
No. Matthews Kane. Yes. Me. I'm sorry. Port motor. Yes. Can you clarify the vote? The yes. Is to agree with the committee? No. Is to agree with what the sergeant said Yes. Is to, oh no, you got Negative recommendation. No agree. A no Is then the motion? Yes. And If I may, we're we're voting on what's on this piece of paper right here? Yes. Correct. Not the recommendation of city ballot or of, uh, l and O. Correct. So we're voting a Yes would be supporting the ordinance, right? A no would be not supporting you? No. Okay. Okay, Go ahead.
No. On E No. Sullivan, no Adams, no. Allie, no Beam, no Beltran, no burns. No Fanon, no. Counselor. I need to for a second reading. There's no second reading. He said no. Done. Item 14. Council burns. Yeah. Thank you Mr. President. Uh, Allan all met and on a three zero vote, we, we approved an ordinance amending to chapter 17, section 17 dash one 15. Parking prohibited at all times on certain streets
by amending Lynden Avenue to include the entire north side adding Valley view drive both sides from City View Road to Hague Drive. Second motion made it seconded. Further discussion Counselor? Yeah, there was a, I I'll, these, I'll break these up. I actually, Lynden Avenue is just a continuation of what it is already towards, towards, uh, avenue Gibb School. Right. So it's just gonna be continued on the north side. And uh, I spoke with uh, counselor Figgy on this one. Of course he was, we were at the traffic bureau together. He's, he's entirely in favor of this.
Absolutely. It's right behind me. Thank you. I'm gonna, I'm gonna just ask a quick question, Mr. Yes. Counsel. So where, where is this coming from? This motion? This came from Councilor Fiy. Originally from Councilor Fiy. Yes. So these are people parking their car in front of their home, if I'm not mistaken, in one particular instance, been a truck for a while. Both sides. So now we are, it's public property and we're putting no parking signs up along those particular areas because some neighbors are complaining about the car being in the
Street. No, actually Sergeant Mejia was concerned about emergency vehicles. If they're parked on both sides of the street, the emergency vehicles connected down there. Either fire trucks, ambulances. But you can say that about any street in Westfield. I'm concerned that this is gonna, we already fight this fight as it is, especially up in Ward five. I mean there's people on Steiger Drive and Valley Drive and Cardinal Lane. And so in Ridgecrest for that matter, I, I'm, I'm definitely concerned about people coming now saying, well I've got, you know, residents parking in front
of their homes, which is by the way, public domain. And then we're gonna litter the street scape with no parking signs. I I I, I we're already inundated with this kind of stuff. Councilor Harris. And, and by the way, very little enforcement. Let's, let's start there. Councilor Harris. Thank you Mr. President. I, I will say this is right behind my house. It is a very small road. There is parking on one side, almost all the way down. The issue is when it's allowed parking on both sides.
We have a fireman who lives right on that street, right around the corner. And we cannot get the fire trucks down there. All the buses, because of the bridge had to take a detour down a side street down that road. And the buses can't get through if somebody's parked on both sides. That's just the context. Um, I've just giving you the context of it Again, I'll say you can say that about every street. I I don't know if you can say it about every street. I'm just saying that that's what Figy was thinking. Councilor Matthews, Cain and Adams. Thank you. I would like to second what Councilor Harris said
that in the downtown neighborhoods, some of these streets are incredibly narrow and there needs to only be parking on one side. And I don't think they should be all over the city. And I've successfully had it in a few places, but we'll actually measure the street and you can prove mathematically like things can't get through. Yeah. And on the second one, one of the challenges I think with these motions coming from traffic is full disclosure. They weren't submitted right after they were voted on by traffic. It's hard to remember the argument, but the one on Valley View Drive, I was there
for the meeting and there's like a car that's parked there and because there's a hill in that section, it's blocking the vision. And it's like that particular spot is being argued. It's dangerous 'cause it's a hill. So no one, when they're making these no parking in certain locations, they're saying the argument is that that specific location is particularly dangerous or blocking traffic. And that's always been the argument in front of traffic. I'm gonna support this. I hope the rest of you will consider it. Councilor Adams. Yeah. Um, councilor Bean. I, I I I agree with you in certain circumstances,
however, this one probably has come to light since the bridge has been out. That is everyone's shortcut and including mine. I'll be honest with you, I use that as a shortcut. But that street, when there's cars parked on both sides, I can barely get by. So if a firetruck can't get by, we have to do something. And I think it's fair to give the people, 'cause we asked Sergeant Mahias this, as long as we give people the opportunity to park in front of their house on the opposite side of the street, she thinks it's fair, but keeps it safe. If there's an emergency and it's come to light. 'cause the bridge has been down. That's why this is here. Yeah. Anything further?
Yeah, just council alley. Thank you Mr. President. And the other thing is that with a school bus, um, the amount of vehicle that's behind those rear wheels makes negotiating in any kind of turn that, that sends a way outs the way our buses are constructed. Um, so you can get in a situation where it is almost impossible to turn and do certain things. Um, but I agree with you in terms of the signage and a hundred percent. But, um, if people have looked at this situation and said, you know, uh, especially it's being used now as a,
as a cut through, um, uh, and just highlights a problem that existing. So I will support it. But I definitely appreciate what you're talking about on the amount of science. So they'll still be able to, they'll still be able to go on one side that'll be able to park on one side. Okay? One, one comment. But Valley View, I see both sides. We're talking about one side. I can see I'm not there yet. I know, but that's common. So, Well this is all one package. Yeah. Yeah. Well Can vote. It's one motion. It's all one motion. It's one motion. So they're all gonna go one way. That's it. We can't amend that. The motion
It comes to you as one. We can't amend it on the floor. It, we don't have the ordinance written. Take it or leave it. Vote 'em both. Fold 'em down. Load 'em up. Okay, so this is an ordinance amendment to chapter 17, section 17 dash one 15. Parking prohibited at all times on certain streets. Roll call. Madam City Clerk Harris. Yes. Matthews ca Yes. Mellow? Yes. Ky? Yes. Sullivan? Yes. Adams? Yes. Allie? Yes. Bean? No. Yes. Burns? Yes. Yes. Thank you. Motion for second reading.
Next city Council meeting. Second. Second At the next special meeting. Special? Yes. Thank You. Okay. Motion made it second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Now on for second reading. Item 15. Council burns. You Wanna do? So we're good with that. We don't have to explain. Peggy. Nope. No, it's all, it's all one. Makes it Easy on me. Thank you Councilor. I apologize. Item 15, counselor, when You get your answer, counselor, move on. Item 15, councilor Burns. I No, Matt. And on a negative three zero vote, we voted
to deny the Inordinance amending to chapter 17. Section 17 dash 42. No turn on red. Adding from Franklin Street onto Elm Street, southbound Second Motion made it seconded. Further discussion counsel, Again, this Sergeant Mejia came before us and she, she recommended that we don't approve this. She's, again, the traffic commission did approve it, but the, the chairman did not. Um, there is a big bright sign on there as you come to the intersection to turn onto el. Um, and it does say yield pedestrians.
And as we all know, there's a bunch of barrels down with the, what I forget. I think they call it traffic sec salad, is that what they call it? Or something like something they called it. But that's be, and there's a problem down there between summers and Maple. Um, that's where it backs up back there. And if they're gonna back, it could be back up two lanes all the way down to there and make it even worse than it is. That's basically what it was. And we we decided three to zero that we weren't gonna recommend this Councilor Matthews King. Thank you. I'd like to start with a question. What was the vote in the traffic commission?
She was, it was, I I we don't, did she say we request If, if I may? Yes. It was about three to one. She's Not sure. Not Everybody was there, so I don't know for certain, but Sar Meez believes it was three to one with her being the, uh, Negative vote. Okay. So she was the only no vote and the other three voted? Yes. So correct. This is in my ward, and I'd like to talk about this for a minute. I think there's an actual problem and a potential problem, and I think we're focused too much on the potential problem. So for me, the actual problem is, is that's the most
dangerous section in Westfield. And I wanna read something to you from the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission. They did a conducted a vulnerable road user crash cluster analysis in 2024 to identify locations with pedestrian and bicycle safety issues. There's a total of 117 VRU clusters, and that's in the whole Pioneer Valley that experienced five or more crashes during the 10 year period from 2014 to 2023. Five locations in Westfield were detected on this list. The worst one is Elm Street from Bartlett Street to Franklin Street. The second is the vicinity of the intersection
of Franklin Street, maple Street, and Summer Street. And the third is Elm Street and Arnold Street in the vicinity of the intersection with Thomas Street. So if you look at it, it's like a t Franklin Street is the bottom. Elm Street is the top. Those are the three most dangerous parts of Westfield. From 2014 to the 2023, there are 27 crashes with pedestrians bikes or wheelchair users in that section. So it's really dangerous. And the potential problem that we're worried about is that it's gonna back up if you're heading down Franklin and gonna take a right onto Elm, that that will back up.
Well, my experience as a driver, I go that way all the time. There's not a lot of people taking that right hand turn. And Mr. MCC Hatten said, there's actually a study that proves that that's correct. It's really minuscule the amount of people taking that right hand turn. I think we need to emphasize pedestrian safety. I think we should vote for it. Um, and I think we also have to think about the fact that we want a vibrant downtown. We want more businesses downtown. We want it to be a place where people go and walk around and, and if people feel dangerous, they're not gonna wanna go there.
So for those two reasons, I'm the word counselor. I hope you'll consider it. I also hope you'll consider that while Sergeant Mia did vote no, she was the only person on traffic who voted no. And I hope we can do this for the people. Thank you. Councillor Adams. Yeah, no, I certainly can understand where the word counselor's coming from. I did speak to the last traffic sergeant and he said we looked at this for a long time and he was the one that put up the sign. Um, he didn't think it was warranted. And, and nor did Sergeant Mejia. So I understand that the people in the traffic commission, but the only one in my opinion that has the skills
is Sergeant Bajitas. So I guess I have a hard time voting for this. I mean, I guess if she recommended it, I would certainly be behind it. It, but she has reasons not to do it. So I guess I'm caught in the middle. Um, the person who has the most skill in making this decision says no. I, I'm not sure I have more skill than she does, so I have a hard time. However, I agree with you, counselor. So I'm kind of stuck on this one. Counselor Harris, you've had Your hand up. Um, I'm just gonna repeat. Uh, 13, 14, 15. I said whatever the sergeant says because she is aware of everything on the streets in Westfield.
She's been around for a long time, and the police know everything about every intersection and I will vote the way she votes. So I've done it for 13 and 14. And again, I will do it for 15, although I appreciate your input. Counselor, Hang on a second. Councilor Matthews Kane, then Councilor Mellow. Then Councilor Burns. I would like to point out that the city engineer sits on the traffic commission. I'm not sure if she was there that day, but she knows a lot about the city streets. She's been working to make them safer. I hope we'll consider that there were other experts weighing in on that vote. Thank
You, Mr. President. Um, I'm gonna support the word counselor on this. I have, I come down Washington and Franklin to go down Elm to end up back, you know, and mostly a lot. I have never had to wait a long time turning right onto Elm Street from Franklin, ever. I have never had to wait a long time. There is never back up there. The, the problem I would think waiting to turn their, if you could turn right on red, the people coming down Elm are so fast that you're gonna get nailed. But where you'd have to edge out to look and edge out to look, that saying no turn on red there does
not bother me in any way. I am fine to support the word counselor on this and help reduce, um, pedestrian injury. Thank you. Councilor Burns. And then councilor. Yeah, I just Got a question from, um, council Matthews King. Now on that, you said on the most dangerous intersection for pedestrians or There, I mean, rear in collisions? No, excellent question. They're vulnerable road users. So it's basically people who are not in a car. Those crashes. How many accidents were There? There are from like that 2014 to 2023,
there were 27 in the T. And I can break it down for you. There were 10 from Elm Street, from Bartlett to Franklin. There were 10 near that crosswalk on Franklin there were nine. And Elm and Arnold, Elm Street and Arnold Street in the vicinity of the intersection with Thomas Street was eight. So like that kind of t like you can see them? Yeah. Yeah. You're next to me. So you can see the map. Yeah. See how it's like a t and the blues are the, where the crashes occurred, but they were only vulnerable road users.
They're not car crashes, they're cars hitting vulnerable road users. Hitting them. Yes. Thanks. Councilor B. Where, where did the Motion come from originally? The, the, the need for the, the no turn, I guess I, I should say. So as the word counselor, um, I had a constituent ask me to submit it to traffic. So is it, was it around the bike path issue or is it about pedestrian? Oh, it's much more about pedestrian. Well, it did, let me ask, lemme ask you this. Did it start with the bike group? The ask It started with a constituent who lived in my ward Who's not part of the bike group.
I think he's part of the bike group. Okay. Thank you. Council Oniskey. Thank you, Mr. President. Yeah, I mean, we do have, I lively pedestrian A group downtown. People walk, I think, but people also drive, I mean, a lot of people drive cars. I mean, you can't look away from that. And cars are backed up beyond CVS or whatever that is now on, on, uh, Franklin Ave, Franklin Street. When I, when I come here or when I go to a city council meeting at five o'clock, uh,
there have been no pedestrian accidents at that intersection. According to Sergeant Mahi, yes. Since that sign was put up, which said, uh, you know, don't turn red right on red. If there's pedestrians in the crosswalk, New York City, they have green lights and have to wait for pedestrians all the time. I mean, we can do the same here. We, we need to somehow keep traffic moving too with safety pedestrian in or pedestrian safety in mind. But, you know, people, people are driving cars too.
We need to account for that. Thank you Counselor. Um, one more time for you and then councilor And, and thank you for letting me. I, so there is definitely, if you're going down Franklin heading to Elm, the left hand lane is incredibly backed up. It's a traffic nightmare. It's, it's really, really bad. And I agree with you, but we're talking about the people in the right hand lane who are taking a right onto Elm. And again, I see very few people in that lane. There's a traffic study that proved that there's very few people in that lane. I really believe this will not cause a backup
and I'd be willing to revisit it if it were, but I, I think that's a potential problem that's not, and the real, uh, it's not gonna happen in my opinion. And there's a study to back it up. So, thank you Councilor Burnstein. I Wanna move the question. Sure. I just want to add to, um, there is a, um, a left hand, I mean a right hand arrow there. Yeah. As you approach the intersection, and as Sergeant Meia said, mass general law states that productions have the right of way. So if you hit somebody, whether it's red, white, or blue, whatever the light is, I mean, you're at fault. I mean, you should always be looking for pedestrians. So, thank you.
Alright. You want to read the ordinance amendment? Sure. By title only? Yes. An ordinance amending the code of ordinance, city of Westfield, Massachusetts, adopted May 10th, 2021. Do Okay. Roll call. Madam City Clerk Harris? No. Matthews Kane. Yes. Meow. Yes. Ky No. Sullivan? Yes. Adams? No. Allie? Yes. E? No. Rey, no Burns. No. Fanny? Yes. What do we got? Five. Yes. Six. No.
Okay. No need for second reading. Motion for second reading and No failed. Just failed it. Oh, failed. Okay. Nel action committee. Item 16. Councilor Harris, I'm many accused. Recused. Yes. Item 16 is the appointment of Lisa Sunland Burns 19. Kylie Lane is a member of the Cultural Council for a term to expire in June, 2028. And the Personal Action Committee met on oh 6 26, and we recommend that appointment Second. Motion made it seconded. Further discussion, counsel? Yes. Thank you. She believes in bringing our community
together with citywide programs for all ages. She's been involved with youth sports organizations, school organizations, nonprofits, and currently is a director of Westfield on Weekends, which serves all ages with various programs. She is also involved in Westfield's Homeless Cap Project and is a Massachusetts support group leader for the American Siro, Elia, and Ari Alliance project, which is two medical conditions. Professionally, she's a Compliance and Bank Secrecy Act officer, and has been a manager and customer service rep at financial institutions,
including Westfield Bank, United Bank, pioneer Valley Credit Union, and Southeastern Credit Union. With her involvement in the many cultural events of the wall organizations, her involvement in Westfield Youth Hockey, and having been a Westfield Public School Central Advisory Council member, plus her financial background, this makes her a great addition to our cultural council, which distributes grant money to many cultural and arts organizations and individuals of all age group. Her knowledge and care for others will help decide where that grant money is best distributed. Anything further? Seeing none. Roll call please. Medicine
Harris? Yes. Matthews Kane? Yes. Fellow Yes. On his key? Yes. Sullivan? Yes. Adams? Yes. Allie? Yes. Bean? Yes. Yes. Any? Yes? Somebody want to tell Councilor Burns? You can come back in unless we don't want him. Object. Second way. Item 17, Councillor Harris. Thank you Mr. President. The reappointment of Peter Miller is Community Development Director for a term to expire June, 2028. And the Personnel Action Committee absolutely recommends reappointment Second motion made it seconded. Further discussion, counsel? Yes. It's been the city's community development director over 10 years, has been involved in every aspect
of Westfield in the many various roles of this position, including administering federal grants programs, overseeing the community development and planning departments direct economic development activities, managing the municipal law, street parking lots and serves as a city parking clerk. Manages the activities of the Westfield Redevelopment Authority and many projects that the mayor assigns to this office. A letter from him to all counselors was submitted by Peter Express in his interest in being reappointed. The mayor is also supporting and requesting reappointment. Um, and again, the personal action, uh, supports him to continue on in this position. Westfield citizens in general also appreciate his caring
and kind manner as he volunteers for the many, uh, Westfield activities, particularly in the sports area. Thank you. Councilor Matthews King. Thank you, Mr. President. I just wanna say, um, as one of the downtown ward counselors, I work closely with him. I'm also on the off street parking, um, commission and as, as the liaison. And, um, I think he does an excellent job. I strongly support this. Yes. Anyone further? Roll call. Madam City Clerk Harris? Yes. Matthews Kane? Yes. Miller? Yes. On is he? Yes.
Sullivan? Yes. Adams? Yes. Allie? Yes. Bead? Yes. Dr. Andy? Absolutely. Burns. Yes. Daniel? Yes. Thank you. Item 18, councilor Harris. Thank you Mr. President. The appointment of Samuel Macun 2 88 North Road as a member of the Historical Commission for term to expire February, 2026. Fill in vacancy left by Cindy Gaylord, and we recommend that appointment. Second. Motion made it seconded. Further discussion. Thank you. He's a conductor for Amtrak, whose responsibilities also include customer safety and satisfaction on time performance, and conducts yearly safety
and operational training during last, this is how much he's dedicated to history. During the last weekends in the scorching hot temperatures, which we all remember in the heat wave of over a hundred, Sam was part of the historical reenactment of the Bunker Hill Battle produced in Gloucester, mass, um, with many others in historically accurate wool costumes and uniforms. It's a testament to his sincerity and the interest of history and his dedication, uh, to all in that group of their efforts of preserving real history and sharing it with others. Uh, television and other forms
of media covered this event in the past few months. He's participated in historical commission's events including being at the old burial ground in this very familiar with this commission's mission and members. And he wants to be part of this commission's important contribution to our city and share his commit commitment to preserving and sharing, uh, the city's history. Thank you. Yes. Counselor Burns. Yeah. Thank you Mr. President. Um, with the appointment, he's got big shoes to fill. Um, I'd like to thank, uh, Cindy Ard for all the years that she's put into this. She's, she's gonna be missed on that, on that committee.
Absolutely. Thank you. Councilor Melo. Thank you, Mr. President. Um, as liaison, I have to tell you guys that Sam has been at the historical commission meetings for months and months and months planning that reenactment in the old burial ground. They just had that he brought in Reenacters from across the state. They had made sure that they, you know, worked with law enforcement people to inspect the guns and make sure everything would go. They notified the residents that live nearby not to be afraid of the noise they were gonna make. I mean, he lived and breathed this stuff completely
as a volunteer without the appointment, while Cindy was still on the commission, that this is his special interest and we could not find a better choice. Councillor Sullivan? Yeah. I just want to echo thanks to Cindy. Um, you know, there's very few people that sit there and go, how are you gonna continue to do this work, um, when they depart? But she's one of those, she has, uh, given decades of service to the community. So thank you and welcome to the new appointee. Yes, councilor. All. Thank you, Mr. President. And I would like also like to echo. Um, Cindy's done an amazing job. Um, I know that we worked like, was it
with the Weyburn schoolhouse, which is the last remaining schoolhouse in its original position. Um, and for this, its original purpose that remains. And there was a push to do other things with it. Um, and this went on for years and stuff like that, to see that project get done, but also just to leave it there, which was an important historical aspect of that, you know, that you can't, when you move it, it won't, it's not the same. And so, um, but that whole commission's done an amazing job. And, and she's, she's led it. And, and it's a testament to her
because the people that stayed on it and kept doing stuff and love working with it, sometimes it was difficult. Um, and there's a lot of strong opinions on things, but she was always very easy to work with and, and took that into consideration, which doesn't always happen. So I appreciate it. Roll call. Madam City Court. Harris? Yes. Matthews. Kane? Yes. Meow. Yes. On? Yes. Sullivan? Yes. Adams? Yes. Allie? Yes. B? Yes. Spell Ram? Yes. Burns? Yes. Bannon? Yes. Thank You. License committee Item 19. Counselor Matthews Kane. Thank you Mr. President. On Monday, July 7th, the license committee met regarding
the application for the junk dealer and junk collector licenses for Turian Jewelers, LLC 81 Elm Street, submitted by Matthew Gern. And upon a three to zero vote, we granted the junk. We voted to approve the junk license and I move approval. Second. Well, she made it seconded. Any further discussion? Counselor? Uh, just at the public hearing, I'm sorry. At the committee meeting, we talked about how there was a public hearing. The hours of business will be Tuesday to Saturday, 10 to seven. He plans to buy and sell jewelry when he buys it. The jewelry, he'll follow the state regulations.
Um, and he provides a brief description of the item, makes a copy of the seller's license, reports the item to the police, and holds onto the item for 30 days before he sells, he's gonna have security measures such as a safe security cameras, motion sensors, and alarm system. I checked with Captain Dickinson of the Westfield Police and he says there's been no incidences over the past three years that his current location and both counselors Harris and Miller, spoke highly of the applicant. Perfect. Roll call. Madam City Clerk Harris. Yes. Matthews King. Yes. Yes. On King. Yes. Sullivan? Yes.
Adams? Yes. Yes. Dean? Yes. Mel. Randy? Yes. Yes. Tanya? Yes. Fanon? Yes. Thank you. Unfinished business item 20. Councilor Fanon. Thank you Mr. President. Motion for second reading and final passage of an ordinance entitled, um, an ordinance amending the Code of Ordinances, city of Westfield, appendix B, zoning adapted. September 3rd, 1980, south seven, relative to a zone change map for the Southwest portion of 1 46. Main Street from residence B and Rural Residential to Residency. Second. Motion made it seconded. Anything further? Counselor, roll call please.
Harris? Yes. Matthew ca? Yes. Miller? Yes. On ca? Yes. Sullivan? Yes. Adams? Yes. Allie? Yes. Be Yes. Bill? Yes. Burns? Yes. Fanon? Yes. Thank you. Item 21, councilor Fanon. Thank you Mr. President. Motion for second reading. Kyle final passage of an ordinance entitled An Ordinance Pending the Code of Ordinances, city of Westville, appendix Bay Zoning adapt to September 3rd, 1997 relative to expanding uses in the industrial a district Second Motion made it second at anything further. Counselor. Discussion, Roll call Madam Supreme Court. Harris? Yes. Matthews Kain. Yes. Fellow Yeski. Yes.
Sullivan? Yes. Adams? Yes. Allie? Yes. Yes. Bill? Yes. Yes. Fanny? Yes. Motions, orders or resolutions? Item 22. Councillor Sullivan. Motion To move from a table. A motion to revisit Ordinance number 1773. Chapter 13. Motion made it second. And all in favor? Aye. Opposed? Now off the table. Thank you Mr. President. I would move to, uh, send the, uh, ordinance number, um, 1773, chapter 13, article five, division two, wetlands Protection Ordinance, um, to the Legislative and Ordinance Committee. So,
Second, Motion made and seconded Further discussion. Council? Yes. So I do not make this motion lightly. Uh, understanding that a lot of people have done a lot of work on this, um, including the l and o committee, um, and the Conservation Commission, um, over a course of a couple of years. Um, and in fact, um, I voted for this when it came to the council. Um, and so I'm in a position of, quite frankly, um, not appropriately having done all of the background work that I believe, um, I should have done. So I'm just sitting here speaking simply for myself.
Um, and, um, what the ordinance does, um, in my opinion is, um, an overreach. Um, and I think it is important, um, as a community. Um, and there's been a lot of talk here tonight about not having to do overrides for budgets. Um, and that we have to be striking a balance, um, between growth, um, and the wetlands protections and ordinances, um, that we create, um, regulations for which are not, which are still in draft form. I appreciate the fact that there's still an
ongoing process for that. But the ordinance, um, gives the conservation commission, which is not unusual, but gives them the authority, um, to create those regulations and that enforce them. They do not come back to this body. Um, I appreciate, and one of the reasons that I don't make this lightly is that the commission, um, does a lot of really good work. Um, I believe the conservation Commission, along with the planning board and the ZBA, um, have much toucher, tougher jobs than quite frankly, even this body. And I've said so over decades, uh, because they were rarely telling people in front
of them things that they want to hear, whether it's applicants, um, or quite frankly, members of the general public. But there needs to be a balance between those regulations and enforcement and the city's ability to, to grow. Um, and as we've gone through the last couple of cycles of budgets, um, our new growth in the city of Westfield is anemic. Um, and you're gonna see played out next year that one of the downsides to that is the fact that there's a continuing cost shift to the residents of Westfield, um, when there is in fact no growth.
So just in the ordinance, um, you know, there, there was talk and, and actually the, the, uh, chief administrator talked about it tonight. Um, the intermittent streams creates a 200 foot buffer, which is four times the existing. And when there were statements made and, and in the last meeting, there were a number of, um, very smart, very dedicated, very passionate members, um, of that commission that spoke and said, it's not their job to balance growth with protecting the wetlands.
Their job is to protect the wetlands. And they are singularly focused on protecting the wetlands. Um, and there's also a representation that other communities do this. There is no, no city or town in Hamden County that has a 200 foot buffer. Yes, Amherst does. And depending on how you want to use the language, the town of Greenfield and Franklin County, there's no other Western Massachusetts community that does this. Yes, there are some on the other end of the state, but I'm gonna respectfully say that we are not Cambridge or Watertown or Lexington. Um, and so whether we like it
or not, the ordinance, um, can have a chilling effect on the opportunity for growth when developers, um, or residents. And we've received a petition, um, from a significant number of residents and business owners, many of whom have been here for generations, um, and are well respected in this community, who do not usually show up, quite honestly at city council meetings or boards and commissions, um, raising concerns of the fact that the balance has been lost. Now, some of it is with the regulations that are out there,
which I personally, um, believe in many cases are rather draconian. Um, and so therefore you lose that balance. Um, and I understand and appreciate, um, and respect the rights to protect the wetlands and to protect the environment. Um, but I also understand that when regulators and I have supervised regulators and one of my positions supervising DEP, when they come out with their first round of draft regulations, yes, they are certainly willing and required to run a process, but they've started from a pretty significant
position over here, which is significantly different than where we find ourselves today and is going to be impactful to future development. And while I appreciate the quality of life that the administrator talked about tonight, um, and that many of the commissioners talked about at the last meeting, which I was not here at, um, in terms of the quality of life, quality of life in Westfield, yes, it's outdoors, it's recreation, it is the environment, it is drinking water. It is also the cost of being able to live here. Um, and it is, it is much more than just protection of the wetlands.
So all I'm looking to do here, um, is to send it back. And I may be a vote of one, but to go to take it back and if nothing else, tie the ordinance to this body, seeing the balance of the final regulations as promulgated, um, by the Conservation Commission. Yeah. Council Mel. Thank you Mr. President. Um, I would like to add that we also need to send it to natural resources because it has to do with the preservation and protection of natural resources. Um, which I will move at the end of my statement.
Um, I would like to add that right now, um, there is a red line version of the Wetlands Protection Act on the state website. Um, there's a lot of new, uh, information in there that this ordinance does speak to, um, that needs to be considered, number one. Number two, um, and as the counselor across the way very well knows when regulations are promulgated, it does not go back to the legislative body that when, when we made PAS MCLs, it did not go to the legislative body.
In fact, in order to properly promulgate those regulations, it could not go to the legislative body. And so I want us to be very careful about what we think needs to happen is my number two and number three, we need to talk about growth that doesn't exploit every resource and human we have here. We need to talk about how to take our challenges and create economic development opportunities with them instead of destroying every good thing we have. So I, I would like us to begin to open the conversation about how
to have new growth in ways that actually repair our natural resources and protect our citizens. Um, but that's a separate question. Uh, so I would like to make a motion to amend the original motion to also include natural resources so that the, um, natural resource protection end of this can also be included. And I just wanna remind everybody that on this particular one, I was the only no vote, just saying second. I have no problem seconding that motion. Second. Second. Um, not because you are a no vote, but Are you gonna make an a different amendment or
No? 'cause we have the vote on this motion for us. Yeah. Okay. Can I just have, just Order, I know we've tried to get away from dual committees and I totally respect what you mean. I, I or I I have no problem. But is there a pecking order here on like, are both committees gonna, you know, act on this motion and then it comes to the floor? Or is there 'cause No, no, no committee is higher than the next in our world. So Councilor Ms. Yeah, thank you Mr. President. Uh, you're right. We shouldn't have two people doing two things at the same time.
I mean, it just doesn't make sense. So, you know, I will ask, uh, chair meow the natural resources to take it first and then kick it back and send it to l and o. Happy To. And I, I would also ask that this be put on the Conservation Commission's agenda to have them look at this again. Thank you Councilor Adams, Mr. President, just, I don't know if, if it's worth putting a special committee together, because I'll be honest with you, I know nothing about a lot of this stuff. And I was in one meeting when we voted upon this
and I voted for it because I had no idea. I heard from one side and one side only. Um, this is kind of an important, this is an important thing. And I think just like the church property, there was a way to put that piece of property on that that made it safe. And I think there's a way to do a lot of this building to, to do that regrowth and to make everything safe. But I'm no expert. I know nothing about, and I, you know, I'm an l and o and I, this isn't something for 16 years I've had anything to do with. So would it be fair to, and this is, this would be your call, Mr. President has put some sort of working committee together
with, with maybe the experts that know a little bit more about it than no offense to me, Billy and Mike, that don't know much about it. No offense. So let's just clarify where we're at. You want to have it go to natural resources first and then back to L and o. Yeah. And l and O may recommend exactly with, uh, councilor Adams that said have an ad hoc committee. Alright. Council Sullivan, this is your motion. I, I have no problem with the special committee. I would, I would and I will volunteer to be on it.
And I would ask that counselor Meow also be on it, be on that. Who else joins It is what it is, but, so it's not, it's not what I was looking for, but I understand, I understand the predicament and the process. Councilor Bean. So Just so we're, we're saddled right now with what we changed the current regulations to. Right. We're not known for our speediness on passing things, especially if there's an ad hoc committee in place. I mean, we could, this could be three, six months down the road. Although an important issue, a lot
of this stuff has already been talked about. So I I time is, you know, because we just, you know, and and I, we talk about development all the time, right? Economic development and with those new buffer zones, it did eat up a lot of different properties. So, uh, or pieces of property. So I, I'm just mindful of that. Um, and again, I, I'll, I'll concur what Councilor Adam says. I, you know, I'm no expert in Councilor Burns and Councilor Sullivan. Yeah, thank you Ms. I mean, would it be worthwhile on the table? This or we can't? Well, No, I think, I Think the Idea is with respect to the prison,
have him set up an ad hoc committee. He's done it before. He's done a very good job with that. The problem with ad hoc committees is then it's gotta come back to us again and go through the whole process. I, I just don't think that, you know, like Council Bean said, it's just gonna drag out. Councilor Sullivan. No, I just wanted to be clear. The only, this only deals with the ordinance. Mm-hmm. The regulations are still in draft form and at the Conservation Commission of which they are running a process. But again, from where those draft regulations start, I've got those same concerns.
So I just want to, in response to Councilor Beans, I just want to be clear what's out there. Only thing that we've passed is the ordinance, which is part of that ordinance gives the authority to create the regs to the con con. Right? So, just so we're clear On that, council burns. Yeah. When we're, um, this took us nine weeks, nine meetings to do this. And I'm not, no, I due respect, but, um, is it gonna take nine weeks again? I mean, are we gonna do the whole ordinance all over again? Or is there parts of like we do have a problem with the 200? Obviously. I, I think you're asking me.
I think that there's only a few things in the ordinance. I don't think it's a total redraft. That's fine. Now, counselor across the way, who's the no vote? May, but I don't, I'm speaking strictly for myself. And I will say that the, both the administrator and the conservation Commission have been clear that they're willing to have discussions. Right. Alright. So had a lengthy one. So let's Clarify what is coming. I would say that the motion would be, uh, an amendment to send it to natural resources period come out of natural resources.
You make the motion to send it to L and o and then we move on from there. Second. Alright, so motion is to send it to natural resources. Second. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? Okay. Uh, thank you. Item 23, councilor Fanon. Thank you Mr. President. Motion of Councilor Fanon to start the process of an eminent domain taking for the acceptance of Scenic Grove Drive, Michael Drive, Victoria Circle, and Woodstock Road to become public ways refer to legislative ordinance committee and the law department. Second Motion made it seconded.
Further discussion counselor? Yes. Um, as any award counselor knows, to get a street as a public way is a time consuming, daunting experience. Um, I've been working with the Scenic Road and pheasant, pheasant drive people for over a year. We have gotten to the point where we have the, um, release deeds are been assigned. We have two outstanding release deeds that are tied up in court, um, probate court. And those are not going to be settled anytime soon. I had a meeting a couple weeks ago with the residents of Scenic Road and Pheasant Drive.
I gave them two alternatives to get their street accepted as a city way, or at least have temporary repairs from the ordinance. That was just, um, amended. Their feeling was they wanted to become a public way. And in speaking with the law department, the law department, um, said that we could go through the eminent domain taking, it would be more costly for the city. It would only be $125 for the one order that to be filed for the registry of deeds. Whereas each, um, release deed has to be filed, which is $125 for each release de. So I did meet with them and they were all in favor of moving in this direction.
So in essence, it would be a friendly taking. And I will actually get signatures and petition to submit with that to show that, um, you know, they are in favor of this. And Michael Drive, Victoria Circle in Woodsong, I am setting up a meeting with them this summer. I talked to a couple representatives and it's their feeling to move in this direction. So, um, during the summer of the law department, we'll work on the orders and we'll move forward and, um, present this as a, Any further discussion on Go ahead, counselor. Just to my fellow ward counselor. Um, in my words, some of the streets
or that private can't be turned public 'cause they're not wide enough or would do all these streets qualify? Yes. Okay. Yes. So we have, we have reports from the engineer. Yeah. That they, they do qualify. Okay. Anything further? Seeing none. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Item 24, Councillor Bean. Uh, thank you Mr. President. Uh, motion by Councillor Bean and Figgy to change the start time Of, of city council meetings from 7:00 PM to 6:00 PM So second Motion made it seconded. Council, you have Suspending the motions and, uh, they're suspending the, uh, the meeting rules act on it today.
But it is an ordinance change. Yes. Uh, this is something we've talked about. Uh, last couple of years. We changed it. I dunno. Councilor Adams, when did we change the time? Last time, 10 years ago. 15 years ago? No, it was more than, yeah, It more than that. 15 years than that. It was at seven 30 originally. So, um, it, it's more of a convenience, I think for all of us, for the public. Uh, we had a, a, a couple of lengthy ones in the last couple of months and, uh, hopefully this will shrink that time a little bit for us. And, you know, after you get out outside at nine, 10 o'clock, to be honest, you know, we had those five public hearing class meeting
and you could see everybody's face kind of slowly melting a little, you know, L and l So yeah, It would go down Elon En law or just a Yeah, we'll grab a lot. Yeah. Is that, is that okay if we do it in my committee? We grab, it's my motion. You wanna get on it? More than happy. It's getting late. It's getting a little chippy around here. Yeah. Anything further? South Carolina 8 0 2. That's what Time would be if this Passes. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Opposed? Are you the only one I'd hope to bring on more at some point?
'cause I feel that this is not, it may be convenient for some, but this too difficult for public participation. Okay. We, we'll, we'll cross that bridge. Any announcements? Councillor Harris. Motion To adjourn. Second. Motion made it second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? We are now adjourned. Thank you everyone. Have a good night.