Is it? Good evening. I'd like to call the February 5th City Council meeting to order. Mr. President, or, uh, if I may make a, uh, motion to elect Councilor Figgy as president pro tem. Second. Second. Second. Motion been made. And second. Any further discussion? Seeing none. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Thank you for your confidence. Good to be back. Pledge a roll. Call Madam City Court Bean here. Beltran. He will not be with us tonight. Burns. Here. Fanon. Here. Figgy. Yes. Harris. Here. Ick. Here. Matthews. Kane. Here. Meow. Here. Morgane. Here.
Oniskey. Here. Adams. Here. Allie? Here Please rise for the pledge of The flag of the United States of America. Interior Republic, which stands? One Nation Under God, Invis with liberty and justice for Council, Bre Bean. Reading of the record meeting January 15th. Thank you Mr. President. I'd like to, uh, accept the minutes without reading. So moved. Second. Second, second. Motion been made. And second, is there any additions or corrections? Seeing none. All in favor? A. Aye. Opposed? Motion passes. We now come to the part of the program
for public participation. You have three minutes per speaker. Um, total of, uh, we'll see how it goes. But if you are here to speak on a public hearing, this is not your time to speak. You'll have time during the public hearing. So would anybody like to address the city council? Nobody. Okay. Thank you. We'll close that. Communications for the mayor. Item number one, councilor Canal. Thank you Mr. President Pro Tem, if you could, uh, please have a motion to have, uh, Madam City Clerk read items one through 12
and refer those to finance please. Second. Motion made. And second. All in favor. A Madam City Clerk One Appropriation the amount of $637,791 from free cash to the school department. Fiscal year 26, land and Building capital projects account to replace and repair four restrooms at the Westfield Technical Academy. Two. Appropriation of the amount of $131,400 from free cash to the Parks and Recreation Boland's improvements. Account for renovations to the dugouts at Boland's Field. Three. Appropriation the amount of $55,704 from the Department of Public Works Sewer and Wastewater division. Undesignated Fund account to the fiscal year 26 vehicle
equipment account to purchase a new truck for the SCADA technician for appropriation in the amount of $15,865 from the Department of Public Works Sewer and Wastewater Division. Undesignated Fund account to the fiscal year 26 Capital Equipment account for the purchase of a new enclosed trailer for the SCADA technician. Five. Appropriation in the amount of $47,132 and 52 cents from the Department of Public Works Sewer Wastewater Division. Undesignated account to the fiscal year 26 purchase of service account to replenish funds used to replace a broken forklift. Six appropriation in the amount of $49,918 from free cash to the NEL Department purchase of service account
to digitize payroll documents for attention in accordance with state laws. Seven. Appropriation the amount of $6,211 and 30 cents from free cash to the fiscal year 25 Medicare Medicaid intergovernmental account to pay a prior year bill that was received in fiscal year 26 8. Appropriation the amount of $4,730 and 4 cents from free cash to the fiscal year 25 Medicare Medicaid intergovernmental account to pay an invoice that was misplaced when administration of the program was transferred from the school department to the City. Nine. Transferring the amount of $40,971 within the Westfield Regional Public Safety Communication Center from the full-time salaries account
to the Capital Project account to cover costs associated with the installation of the Southwick Fire Department station alerting system. 10. Transferring the amount of $20,000 from the Westfield Barnes Regional Airport Department, full-time hourly account employees account to the purchase of service account for maintenance and repairs to the HVAC system. 11. Transferring the amount of $1,201 and 20 cents within the police department from the fiscal year 26 out of grade account to the fiscal year 25 out of grade account to cover costs related to a shift change and curve between August, 2024 through June, 2025. That was properly not properly accounted for. 12 requesting approval of the funds required
to fulfill year one of the ratified successor agreement for the International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local S 5 74. Thank you Madam City Clerk. Now in the hands of finance. Thank you. Item number 13, uh, Mr. Tki. Thank you Mr. Press. Prote. Would you please ask Madam City Clerk to read items 13 through 16 and refer to l and o Second motion, then made. And second of Madam City Clerk 13, submitting a resolution to accept a grant in the amount of $5,000 from the Factory Mutual Insurance Company, FM Fire Service grant program to the fire department to be used to support pre-incident planning efforts to the department 14, submitting a resolution to accept a grant from the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Technology Services and Security for both the city of Westfield and Westville Public Schools for continuation of participation in the cybersecurity program offered to city and school employees. 15. Submitting a resolution to accept gift donations totaling $3,782 and 53 cents from the following donors to the Animal Control Department to enhance the quality of stay for the animals at the shelter. $2,713 and 48 cents from Rainbow Rescues, $500 from Martin Luber and Alicia Johnson. And $569 and 5 cents from Rocky's ACE Hardware 16 submitting a resolution to allow the Westfield Water Commission
to enter into an agreement with the Springfield Water and Sewer Commission to share water during emergency water supply conditions. Thank you. All in favor of sending this to Ano Aye. Post now in the hands of ano Council Morgan Alley, 1718 please. Thank you, Mr. President Prote. Please ask Madam City Clerk to read item 17 and 18 and refer to the public, I'm sorry, personnel Action Committee Second 17. Submitting the appointment of Christopher McCreary 70 Maple Terrace as a member of the Water Commission replacing Ronald Cole for a term to expire February 20, 29 18. Submitting the reappointment of Dylan Sweeney 76th Court
Street as a member of the planning Board for term to expire February, 2031. All in favor sending the PAC. Aye. Aye. Now in the hands of the PAC. Thank you Madam City Clerk. Job well done. Number 19. Councilor Bean, please. Uh, Thank you. I I I believe I just for a quick question. We're thinking city properties for the renaming? Yes. Is that fair? Yes. I don't know who the chair is of that. I just, do you want, okay, so I'll just, we'll put it in there. Is that okay? Okay. Alright. Um, thank you. Uh, Mr. President, please, uh, put, have Madam City Clerk read item 19 and refer to City Properties second,
Remain. Second in Madam City Clerk 19, community development director Peter Miller, submitting a request to name two municipal parking lots known as Reader one and Reader three. Thank you. All in favor of sending that city property. Say aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed? Now in the hands of city property. Mr. President? Yes. A a motion to suspend the rules to act on an item that's coming outta committee tonight that affects a number of folks in the audience before the public hearings. Second. Okay. It's, uh, item number 26. Item 26. A Motion to take item 26 out of order. Is there a second? Second Motion been made?
And second to take item 26 out of order. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Okay. Uh, thank you, uh, Mr. President Pro tem. Item number 26, the appropriation, the amount of $270,000 from free cash to the Department of Public Works highway purchase and service account for the milling and overlaying of Park River Drive and Park River Circle was heard in subcommittee last week and voted out of subcommittee, uh, in favor of financing that at three to zero. Second. Is there a second? Second. Second. By Councilor Harris. Discussion Councilor. BJ.
Just a couple things and then I'll, I'll, I'll push it over to Councilor Burns, the award for counselor. Uh, so the, the money that is being used is really for the paved milling and, you know, the, the asphalt for that particular area. We, we, we know this, um, particular street streets have been part of our fabric for quite some time now. And, um, I'll let, uh, councilor Burns speak to the details on how we got to where we, where We're right now. Thank you, counselor. You're welcome. Through the chair. Councilor Burns. Um, first of all, I'd like to welcome all my constituents for we Park River and Park Circle. It's been a long time here.
This has been going on for a long time. And this is a unique situation. Um, as, as they all know, we tried to accept the street, it was gonna be accepted. We tried to go with a a different direction. It wasn't when Jo when people came in, jobs changed, different engineers, different, it was different. I mean, this went on for like 10 years. At least 10 years. Um, my take on this is when I, when I was first running for, um, the office, actually, I went down Park River and, uh, knocked on the door.
I met Scott Thomas. Wonderful guy. You know, my husband. Your husband, hero veteran. Miss him. Um, well anyways, I I, it started at that point with me before I was even elected. And, uh, like I said, this is a unique situation. Every member of Park River, park Circle, they POed up money and had a, um, sewer system put in themselves. They used to be, um, hooked into the, uh, condo and next door. And that wasn't working. 'cause every time the power went down in the city, which was a lot in in Ward four, um,
it would back up into the condos and it'd be a problem. So one thing led to another and they decided to do that. And they, they were told if, if they do that, the street will be accepted. Well, we got a new engineer and the street wasn't gonna be accepted. So thanks to counselor, um, Fanon, counselor Linsky, we, we had a, um, there was an ordinance in there. It's actually section 16 dash 17 Temporary repair private ways we decided to go with that. We changed in, in that ordinance. We changed it from 50 years to 30 years,
which fell under the criteria. It was almost 50 years. Anyways. But anyways, that's where we stand on this. Um, I know it's, uh, $270,000, but there's 29 homes down there. And for over 30 years they've been part of Westfield. They've been, uh, they pay for their water sewage, they get their trash picked up. And also, uh, I don't know if gas is down there, maybe have gas down there, I'm not sure. But anyways, it would be appreciated for this boat. And, um, like I said, this is the first one under this ordinance, and as far as I'm concerned, it's the best one.
So I, I want to thank you again for your patience. Park River, park, tur, and, uh, leave it at that. Thank you. Councillor Adams. Yeah. Um, first of all, I would like to thank Councilor Burns because I've been kind of helping as much as I could with Councilor Burns on this. And he has put in hours and hours and hours to try to get this neighborhood paved. Now, the neighborhood, it isn't their fault that the paving is kind of falling apart. I think it was the original developer that never intended to make the street a public way.
So I don't think the street was really built the correct when he did it. I think we have mechanisms now that this will never happen again. What happened to you people? Those streets will now be built. That's how they should be, even if it's a private way. 'cause it's not fair that you're stuck with a street that's fallen apart. Um, and as Council Burn said, I don't think I've ever heard of a street coming up with over a hundred thousand dollars to do what you did, um, you know, to hook in, which was kind of a terrible situation in the first place. You dumped your sewer into the condo and the condo went off the street. But it was a way for you to have sewer,
but that probably wasn't the best way. So you guys figured out that you had to do it. Now you're still gonna be taking care of your pumps and all that stuff. So I wish we could take the street. However, this is the only way, and as you look on many of the agenda items from free cash, this is the only way we can pave your street, is to take the money from free cash. There are several other things on this agenda that can, they can put into their budget that they can fund it with. You guys can't do that. Free cash is the only way that we can get your street paved. So yeah, a lot of people say it's a lot of money. I said, well, it isn't their fault
that their street's falling apart. So I'm hoping that everybody, or at least we have seven votes that support your street. And, and I know you still have to take care of everything that's there, and hopefully you'll, you'll move forward on that and someday that your street will be accepted. But for now, I think this is quite a, quite a good thing that's gonna happen. And it's because of Councilor Burns worked as hard as he did to make it happen. Yeah. Councilor Burns for a second time. Yeah. Thank you, Mr. President. Pro temp. Um, again, the way I I I, this, the street's gonna be paved under a cold in place, recycle.
And what they do is they re reclaim the, the materials and they put 'em right back down. Supposedly, or not supposedly, this, this, this particular way they do it is, it gives, it adds 15 to 18 years on top of the pavement. You know, regular tenure years. So this should last quite a while. Probably. I probably won't be around, but Probably not. No, I probably won't. Such Enough again, thank you. You're welcome. Council Morgan? Yes. Thank you. Uh, Mr. President Proton. Uh, yeah, I mean, uh, when a street is, uh, accepted as a, as a public way, then we, we get state, uh, chapter 90 money from the state.
Uh, that helps with, uh, with road projects. And that kind of goes by miles of roads, right? But, um, certainly we do a lot of repairs to private roads in Westfield because our emergency team needs to get down that road, which is ambulance, fire, police. Um, so they plow roads and they take care of, uh, large potholes and things. Anyway. Um, so I, I mean, it, it, it's definitely something that, that needs to be done. Um, so I, I would be in favor of, uh, supporting this.
Good. Thank You. Any further discussion? Councilor Miller? Uh, thank you, Mr. President. Peram, if the money is spent working on the road, will the road be more acceptable as a street for acceptance? Councilor Burns? Um, well that's the pre, that's why we're going into this, because as it stands now, they, they're gonna maintain the pumps, the, um, and the, uh, generators down there and they have backup. They have a pump, two pumps, and two backup pumps and two, uh, generators. So yeah, they're gonna maintain them and that's part of the, let's say deal.
But, um, someday, hopefully we can accept it. I just, Councilor Ali, I just have a question. So, um, right now the, the sewer infrastructure is actually under the road. Yes. Um, and, and that's in good shape. They just put it in last year. Okay. Well that's, oh, wow. Alright. I didn't realize it Goes right out right to the end. Right, right into, Well, well, I knew they had what they had done prior, but, all right. Okay. They're in good shape. Just check with the gas electric if they're there. Okay. So the motion is to approve the expenditure from free cash.
Roll call. Madam City Clerk Bean. Yes. Burns. Absolutely. Fanon. Yes. Fige? Yes. Harris? Yes. Kic? Yes. Matthew Kane. Yes. Mellow? Yes. Morgane? Yes. Oniskey? Yes. Adams? Yes. Allie? Yes. Motion passes. Thank you very much. If you would like to spend the rest of your evening with us, you're more than welcome. What if we'd like to take off? I have a two minute recess to allow that to happen. We'll, now in recess for two minutes. Everybody's understanding. Next item on the bit on the agenda, the public hearing. Madam City Clerk, would you read the public hearing please?
Number 20 on the agenda. The public hearing is for an application for a license for underground storage tanks at 0 21 29 through 45 and 33 3 9 Southampton Road for 28,000 gallons of regular unleaded gasoline. 6,000 gallons of premium unleaded gasoline, 26,000 gallons of diesel, and 2,500 gallons of diesel exhaust fluid submitted by Arla VE Associates on behalf of John Karu. Thank you. Public hearing is now open with, is the applicant here? Yes. Hello everyone. Uh, my name is Ryan Nelson from VE Associates, uh, joined
by Johnny Karu of Racing Mart. Um, for those may be familiar with the site, this site was previously permitted, um, through the planning board, and those permits still remain valid. Um, the previous project, proponent is no longer pursuing the project. Mr. Krus of Racing Mart is a, uh, regional gas station and convenience store operator. He's going to be pursuing the lease for this project. Uh, one of the final components to getting this underway is getting the license for the underground storage tanks. Um, so that's the reason we're here tonight.
Um, Johnny will be here to answer any operational and day-to-day operations questions, safety questions regarding the tanks. Um, we've had some, uh, discussion with, uh, councilor Melo about some of the concerns, and we've tried to provide some response information, uh, regarding those issues. Um, but happy to answer, uh, any specific questions that might arise about the site. Just to give everyone a brief overview, The project site is located right here, this yellow highlighted outline, um,
that there's a former friendly site next to the mass pipe. And in the context there is, um, other gas stations operating within the vicinity. Mr. Car operates a mobile station up the road on South Hampton Road, and then there's independent gas station south of the proposed site. Switching to the site plans, the board approval, here's proposed location, south Road right here. So we had a of tanks located this northwest corner,
the property and located over here. Those Will follow all current, you know, mass, DEP, underground storage tank requirements, all the industry best practices. Those are monitored, and those have all the, uh, required safety precaution measures in place. So, happy to answer any questions. Okay. Any questions from the council? Councilor Adams? Uh, just a question. I, I know that when this came up a few years back, I, I guess my question was, um, have you worked with, at all with the state in case there's any future plans for
that roadway before you, your site? Just so you're on board with, you know, to go forward? Yeah, that's a good question. Um, it is Mass. DOT owned that parcel. Uh, Johnny, are you familiar with any discussions you've had with the Mass DOT about reorienting things? Yes. Uh, good evening. Uh, Johnny Karu on behalf of KP Market, uh, Westfield, uh, we are in contact with DOT. We have been working with him all along, uh, through Le Beck's office.
And, uh, we have been working with them. We had actually as late as yesterday, we had a conference call. So we have about the roundabout and signal, traffic signal and all that. Perfect. Thank you. Because I'd hate to have you develop that and then they change it on you. I wouldn't wanna see that happen, so thank you for working with 'em. 'cause I think the last time the last developer was gonna do it, there was no contact with the state. No, they, So I appreciate you working with 'em just to make sure that they're okay and you're okay. Thank you. I just like to remind everybody as you come to the microphone, please speak into it so we can hear you.
Okay, thank you. Any, any other questions? Yes, councilor Allie? No. No. I'm Sorry. Councilor Kapper. Thank You. Uh, the present owner of the property is, uh, mass, DOT. But who's the lease holder for, for that particular parcel? Uh, who would be the tenant as Well? So, years ago, 99 year lease was signed by Pride, Bob Bullock. So mm-hmm. I don't, I I hadn't seen anything in the news that that lease was retired or anything. So, Yeah. So, so Mr. Bullock would still retain, he he's the lease holder?
That's correct. Who would be sube of, uh, but Mass, DOT Understood. We are undergoing the approval of meth. DOT. They have to approve the sublease. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Any other questions? Councilor Matthews ca Thank you. You, you're not over the Aquifer protection District, correct? We are not. You are not. Okay. Correct. Um, on one of the Diagrams we've provided, um, approximate closest distance from Our project locus, the yellow highlighted area To this purple shaded line where the wellhead officer protection area is.
Sure. About 4,100 linear feet. So almost a mile. Alright, thank you Counsel. Be, And I, this is probably stretching at least this part of the public hearing, but we obviously have a few gas stations in the area. Mm-hmm. Um, I think my little concern is, is that you put another one in, is there enough? Has, has a business plan been done? Like, we don't want this thing vacant a year from now after it's built or putting, in my opinion, putting someone else out of business either, which is not your purview. O obviously. So I, you know, we've, we've been fighting this for three decades, probably up there on,
on putting another gas station up there. And, um, you know, it's good to hear that mass DOT is definitely part of this project 'cause of the peanut design that they've put in. We've seen it in the paper recently, but I am a little concerned about the amount of gas stations in the area. Uh, we have one down in South Hampton Road, we've got the Texaco right there. There's one down at the bottom of the hill. Um, and is this one also gonna have diesel fuel? Is that correct? It is. So is it, has there been any discussion about that in any awareness about that? And, and I, and I understand that this is really about the tank,
so I, and I appreciate that. Um, but this is really the only time this body gets a bite at the Apple. So I'm, I'm not curious. Sure. Yeah. Uh, I, we personally haven't done any market analysis. Before I turn it over to Johnny, if he has any further input, um, just some of my preliminary thoughts on that would be the Sitco station to the South. Uh, that's difficult with the turning lanes there for people to get in and out. Yeah. Um, so I think having this location with ample turning radius, a lot more space, uh, with that, you know, generous space near the on and off ramp, I think your,
your site flow will be improved versus the existing, Uh, neighbor, I appreciate the comments. Thank you. Yeah, sorry Councillor All. So I do have a question. So would this be a Pride Gas station Or, uh, no. This would be racing Mark, correct? No. So we have more than likely would be a KP market that, that's the company, our brand KP market. Okay. So it wouldn't be, So what would be the, what would be the brand of gasoline? Would it be something People, uh, we haven't decided that we don't wanna be presumptuous. We have to secure it. So we, it's in the works, but we haven't decided what brand it would be. We, we gotta take it one step at a time. It could be brand, it could be Shell,
it could be any other brand, but we haven't gotten there yet. Okay. So it be, it would be a brand people would recognize? I would think so, yes. Alright. Alright. Thank you. Co Councilor Morgane. Thank you Mr. President Pro temp. Uh, just a question about the, the overall property. And are you gonna have any parking for large tractor to trailer trucks anywhere on the property per, like a, an overnight parking or, Uh, no, I don't believe so. We have, um, you can see on this site plan,
and this once again was, uh, you know, traffic circulation. Everything was reviewed as part of that process. Um, we have a service station, islands pumps right here. We have another service station here. You have your typical, you know, passenger vehicle cars spacing or parking spaces, sorry, around the perimeter. Uh, there's no provisions for, for truck or long-term parking on the site. 1 33. Thank you. That's, that's what I gathered from the diagram, which we have on our shared drive. But I just want to clarify that. Councilor Oinky. Thank you Mr. President Pro temp. Did you say there was some affiliation
between the mobile down the street and this gas station? I part of it, but Here, so just to clarify, I know Ryan had mentioned that we operate the mobile. We do not operate the mobile. We own it, but it's dealer operated. So that's the affiliation. We do own the property, but we don't control the property. Is is there an intention to keep that open or, oh yeah. Yeah. I would hope so. Okay. I might also add, there is overnight truck trailer parking, probably less than a quarter mile down the street from that. So it exists
and exists right next, almost right next to that location. Thank you. Any other council questions? I have one. Will this project take up that whole parcel so it will be maintained, correct? Yes. Okay. Good. 'cause over towards, uh, time bond is kind of a jungle right now. Yeah, correct. So thank you for that. Okay. Anybody else on the council? Okay. Okay, now comes the time for the public. If you have a question of fact, please come
to the microphone, state your name, address and ask your question please. Okay. Yeah. But right now this, I'll Go, um, this is loose. Okay. Uh, Jessica Britton, 36 Casser Street. I found this intriguing with the gas station being there looking at different, um, what will the, how many like inlets and outlets will it have, uh, just because of that area being so unique with the traffic with the Massachusetts Turnpike entrance. And I know there's just so much congestion up there,
especially if you're trying to go to the gas station before, um, you go through the ring of the turnpike. So I'm just kind of curious, um, with that parcel, what kind of, um, additional exits it will have on Lake Southampton Road right there. Okay, Sure. I can answer that. Um, just Closer to here. Uh, so Southampton Road is right here. We have, um, a divider that will go up through the middle of the site. Uh, so currently, or under this proposal, we have an entrance here. There's an exit right here and,
and one entrance onto South Hampton Road down here. Um, so I guess you're concerned, are you asking how many entrances onto South Hampton Road? 'cause there's a lot of a budding, there's, uh, side streets that circumference. The, the rest of the property Just went by the mic. Yep. Um, you know, just because of all the traffic up there and a lot of people will try to find a tricky way to get onto the pike and circumvent all that traffic. So I'm just curious like what kind of, um, entrances and exits you'll have. Will they be labeled that kind of stuff? Just because of all the tra I drive it every day, so I know,
Yes, there is direction of traffic. Um, there will be signs as indicating the direction of flow. There will be painted arrows on the pavement as well. Mm-hmm. Um, yes, if you don't mind, I'm sorry. So as I mentioned earlier, we are in close contact with DO OT and they still have to approve of all these curb cuts. So we're not there yet. We are working closely with them. They working on traffic mitigation, anything that's the crosswalks. So we are working closely with, uh, with the ot, but that's still in the works. That's still work to be done. Yeah. And I just like to remind everybody,
some of these questions are more appropriate for the planning board. It's already been discussed 'cause they have that permit. This is about tanks, this is about storage. Council, you're all set. Anybody else in the audience? Question of fact. Okay. Anyone? I've got a question. Sure. Councilor on. Thank You, Mr. President. Prote, just to be clear, you're not doing anything with the lot that's next to Ty Bond, correct? Uh, There's that roadway, correct. And then you have A dividing right. Or access road. Right.
Okay. So North would be this direction on the plan. This side, the time bond's up here. So no, nothing's proposed on the opposite side. Okay. That existing road. Okay. Any, any other, uh, questions of fact from the audience? Anyone would like to speak in opposition to this project? Please come to the microphone. State your name. Anyone like to speak in favor of this project? Once again, anybody in opposition? Anybody in favor? Councilor Adams. Motion to close. It's not my committee. Oh, you're not my Committee. It's your
I make a motion to close The public hearing and refer to license. Second. Motion is made. And second to close the public hearing and refer to license. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion passes. Thank you very much. Thank you. Appreciate your time tonight. Next item on the agenda is a public hearing on the zoning petition for the city council to implement an interim restriction for battery entry storage systems public. The um, public hearing is now open. Councilor Fanon. Thank you. President Pro Tem. Um, Karen Fanin, uh, chair of ZPD.
This item was referred to the Zoning planning and development committee by the planning board. They requested that a moratorium be set on, um, on battery storage facilities and accessory, um, unit, uh, accessory systems. They referred it to our committee. Uh, ZPD met. We gave a favorable, favorable referral to have a moratorium. This moratorium will go into effect until, um, September 30th. Um, at this time this public hearing is only relative to the moratorium setting. The moratorium. There will be future public hearings talking about what the regulations will look like.
But at this time it's this public hearing is, is dedicated just to the, um, moratorium. Um, moratoriums cannot be indefinite. There has to be an end date. The end date is September 30th because October 1st is when the state regulations say that we have to have a comprehensive permit that, um, an applicant co can apply for. So at that time, we'd like to have our regulations in order. The state is working on their regulations. I believe they finalized 'em, but they have not adopted them yet. And um, they have not gone in public.
So we are going to look at those regulations to then put our regulations in order. Um, this moratorium is only for medium and small facilities. The large facilities that have over a hundred megawatts is, um, approved through the state. So at this time, this is just for small and medium. It goes until September 30th, 2026 to get our regulations in order. And like I said, at that time, we will have public hearings so people can come forward and, um, we will, uh, talk about what we want our regulations to look like. But for tonight, this is just to approve the moratorium.
Thank you. Thank you Councilor. Fan. Any questions from the council? Councilor Miller? Thank you Mr. President for temp. Um, has anyone asked law to vet out whether or not a moratorium will have an unintended consequence with the state? And that's my only, I don't mean it as like a surprise question. I mean, can we just get law to confirm to us that doing this will not have some kind of unintended consequence?
Like, I don't know, no matter what, if there's a prohibition, then they get a yes from the state. Like is there some, can we just, is it possible for us to ask law to please just double check that there isn't some kind of unintended consequence that we can get from this? I did have law review the moratorium. Um, that review was just as the moratorium was written to make sure that it was all legal terms and it, it, we could pass it like that and it included accessory um, systems. But that particular question that you have Yeah,
we did not ask particularly, would It be okay in if like we just satisfied the paranoia of councilor meow, that it might, that there's no one intended consequence. I know that the planning board was, wanted to get this moving a little bit, get this moving forward so we get this moratorium on. So because it is important to have the moratorium, um, there are no projects in the works at the moment. Right? So is it, I don't know if you can predict all things that could happen.
Um, I'm just not sure If it, is it going to committee? 'cause if it, we could maybe ask law to My, my question is, uh, Madam City clerk, this is an ordinance amendment. So will this have two readings? The moratorium goes into the zoning ordinance as a piece, correct? Right? Correct. Yeah. Excuse The first two readings. Okay. Alright. So we'll have, so we could have that for time for the second reading. Thank You. Okay. Okay. Yeah, so it's not going to go back to committee. We can just give it first reading if, if it's nor in its form. Okay. Okay. Any other questions?
Well, pretty much if I may, um, sure. Okay. So You're in favor or against, right? No, I have a question, but basically what it comes to the mellows, so this is not going back to committee at all. To No, I mean there's a ton of work that was done and I certainly appreciate that. Uh, this is amazing by the way, Jay. Um, but we haven't had a chance as a committee to let's say, discuss what's in here. Well, we did have our ZPD meeting on this matter. It came directly to ZPD because we had the item in committee. So therefore there is no need for it to go back to committee. So we can just, if it's the choice of the council
to close the public hearing and then give it first reading. Right. Alright. Okay. Any other council questions? Okay. Opening this up to the, to the, the room. Anybody have any question of fact on this item? Any questions of fact? Anyone would like to speak in opposition to this item? An opposition? Would anybody like to speak in favor of this item? You go. Jay Vinky city planner. I just want to, um, I believe you have on your share file,
I just want to send the planning board report that, uh, formally they did send a positive recommendation. Um, and also as to the timing, the fact that it's already been advertised and noticed kind of locks us in. So in effect, it's in effect effectively now. So whether it's approved in two weeks or a month, um, it's kind of already in effect the way zoning works. So, Thank you. So we can just, council Allen, Can I speak in favor from here? Sure. Dan Alley, 38 Union Street.
Um, I would like to speak in favor of this. Um, we need to get something in place. Um, I was in Agawam like two or three weeks ago and because the siting board who was supposed to have the regulations in place by March of 2026, and now maybe July or later, um, Agawam, they're looking at a 200 megawatt facility. And that company, long run energy only had to apply to them. I mean, this has created a loophole you could drive a truck through. Mm-hmm. And so all the experts, um,
and Aon, you know, um, and none of us are really qualified on all these aspects. Um, if, if they have their site plan approval and all their approvals in place, um, before the regulations are in place, all they're gonna do at the setting board is gonna be certification. And to me that's inadequate. No intervener groups, no period for public comment. No public hearing. You know, I went to the, um, open hearing, open house rather, um, you know, dog and pony show. People asked questions, they had to go up individually and to hopefully find the right person.
Nobody could open and ask a question openly and get an answer. Um, totally inadequate for something this critical. And, um, so to have something in place. And I'd definitely like to thank Karen Fanon and Jay, they've done an amazing job on this to hopefully take all your considerations in terms of, you know, various uses and stuff like that. Um, so it's better to have something in place and I think we've done a good job. I, I believe you looked at Agawam as well, right? When you were considering this. Um, so, but alright. Thank you. Thank you. Any councilor Morgan Alley.
Thank you Mr. President Prote, uh, question on, uh, the first paragraph of section five dash 31, I would like that kind of picked apart and, and explain. And then, um, what will the next, if this passes, what will that do for us in the next, um, seven months? Council fanon, do you have that? I can just answer that. In the next seven months, we will be developing our own local ordinances, um, relative to battery storage facilities and accessories.
Um, we can do setbacks and, um, things that we can control through zoning. That those are the things we will be developing. We obviously cannot prohibit them, um, through zoning. Um, so we'll look at, uh, locations and things like that to get the best ordinance that we can get legally. And the paragraph, if you Would, um, which section? Like perhaps like exactly The first paragraph. Okay. So it was, it's, it recognizes the act proclaiming
promo, promoting a clean energy grid, advancing e equity and protecting rate payers, which is the Climate Act, Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources as yet to probate their final regulations governing battery storage systems. So a land use not presently addressed by this ordinance, since regulations must be known in dually considered in order to effectively evaluate and establish local zoning regulations for such a novel and an evolving use in regard to public health, safety and welfare. This interim restriction is hereby established. So this gives us a pause and gives us time to look at our local ordinances,
like I said, and develop a new ordinance to, um, put into our regulations based upon the regulations that the city ha the state is, um, putting forward. So if I may please chair. Yes. Thank you. Uh, so is that saying that that battery energy storage systems promote a clean energy grid? That's the act that is the 2024 Climate Act passed by the state. That's their title. Mr. President if I may, yes. Councilor pne. Yeah. Ironically enough, I was with the Department of Energy Resources when, uh, a lot of this, uh, concept
with battery storage was, uh, kicked around in Boston. And if you think about it for a minute, I can just speak as a a for instance, years ago in 2016, the city accepted a grant for, uh, paying 50% of the cost of new streetlights. LED streetlights. Some of you might remember that, right? So there was an analysis on this is as a, as a, for instance, one of the largest peak periods of energy consumption in the state, and it's not any different anywhere else, is in winter time from the period of like four o'clock in the afternoon to seven o'clock
when the street lights kick on. And when everybody gets home from work, the, the demand on the grid is astronomical. Now, years ago, there used to be a number of power plants that we had across the state called peaker plants. And peaker plants were typically number six fuel number two fuel some natural gas, and they would kick these plants on just to answer to demand that came across the state. Now back then you also had a number of atomic plants in the grid, which we don't have anymore. Um, also you had a number of very large natural gas generators
and coal generators that you don't have anymore. One of the answers to, well, you know, where are you gonna get the power then when, when you have these peak points where you need to get power into the grid quickly was the development of lithium ion storage batteries. So way back in 20 15, 20 16, 20 17, that's where the concept of, of connecting battery packs, if you will. 'cause that's essentially what they are in these conex boxes across the state in various locations. So that when that demand comes on, flip a switch and you got instant power hitting the grid.
And that was one of the theories way back then. Now that all being said, um, you know, we still continued to take more power plants off the grid and uh, there were supposed to be about 3000 megawatts of offshore wind that was supposed to come online by 2028, about 3000 megawatts of Canadian hydro that was supposed to take place and replace all of that stuff. We knocked off the grid. And of course now we know that's not coming. Most of it's not happening at all. So, you know, the, the, the state over the years, particularly in 2024 with the technology with battery storage advanced to the point where they needed
to double down on an answer to peaker power problems. And that's a big one, right? So, um, I don't know what the state regulations, I mean there's a draft out there, what they're gonna look like. But, uh, you know, one question I have for the subcommittee would be, you know, are we able to limit if we have to zone it somewhere? And that's typically what you have to do. You gotta find a place to put something, even if you don't like it. Are we able to restrict it, say for lack of a better zone, industrial a and that's it type of idea to limit the amount of impact or wherever these locations,
ideally these are gonna be always located near an electrical substation. 'cause that's where it makes the most sense to. 'cause they gotta put the power in the grid really quickly. So I don't know, that's something for, for the subcommittee to look at. Correct. That is something that the committee will look into. Yes. Okay. Thank you. Anybody else? Four. Okay. Um, Jessica Briton, 36 Casser Street. Thank you for, um, considering putting this moratorium together and buying us more time, um, in regards to, you know, just what's going on.
It just, I know it's not you guys, but it just doesn't make sense. Like, we want this, we're pushing on a, a global level, this net carbon zero and everyone has their own little, uh, state. Each state has their own thing that they need to work on. But what we've seen is that it's not safe and we don't have the long-term data, but what we see so far is it's not safe and it's, it's difficult to manage and it puts a lot of strain on the community. And I've been watching the energy facility siting board, um,
public hearing, and they're talking about the cumulative impact analysis and they're looking at areas where there's been legacy, um, industrial pollution. So that would be like your industrial aid that you were talking about. Um, and they're also looking at the community members and their, their, um, social, um, deficiencies and stuff like that when they're looking at areas that they wouldn't wanna put it. So maybe industrial a is not gonna work because they might be part of that site
with the cumulative impact analysis. And a lot of these, um, sites need water in the hookups, which we have over in the prime location. So we're always gonna be a target there. It's just, it just doesn't make sense. And I appreciate what you guys are doing. I mean, we live in the United States where we're supposed to have the freedom to pursue life, liberty and all our freedoms. And it seems like every day we have to fight tooth and nail just to keep our autonomy. So hopefully we can figure this out
and find a way to maintain that. Thank you. Thank you. Anybody else? Councilor Fa. Oh, council Morgan Elliot. The last Second. Mr. Present Pro temp. Um, so we, we had an ordinance in front of us months ago and, and there were questions asked about battery, lithium, battery recycling, lithium battery manufacturing, lithium battery, uh, storage, um, in, not in the system but in other places. And there was all these other questions. Does this address all those other types
of lithium battery businesses as well to put a moratorium on those as well? This is addressing battery storage facilities and accessory systems. This is what it's, uh, addressing. So I could use the same argument that was given, uh, to the ordinance that we're supposed, that we were hoping to pass, um, on the fact that this is not complete. It was not a complete moratorium. Tell me how this is a complete moratorium on lithium batteries in their danger when they become inflamed and cause public chaos
and a self, a safety risk within oh half a mile or two miles even of the facility or where those lithium batteries have ignited. Like I said, this does refer to battery system facilities and within the moratorium it includes accessory and behind the meter systems designate primarily to serve a non-service, a non bests principle use and not to power the electric grid. Generally. That is what this moratorium is for this particular Moratorium. Good. Good. I, I,
Okay. Thank you Mr. President Proton. I, I'd like to see it go back to committee and make it a, make it a complete moratorium that includes all those other types of lithium battery operations that could possibly come to Westfield. Let's just put it all to bed and prevent all that stuff from coming to Westfield because it's all very, very dangerous and it's a safety risk, a health risk for everybody when they catch on fire. Mr. President. Yes. I I I would recommend going back to committee because one of the, there's five criteria to become a green community. And we adopted that years ago, and one of them,
and I I don't specifically recall what the nature of the one that we adopted was for a clean energy generation, you needed to have a location within your community by right to, to, uh, generate, uh, what's referred to as, uh, you know, green energy. I would like to have it be able to go back to committee. We can pull up, uh, any linkage that the council crossed the way is looking at. And, you know, and just in order, I I I don't think we'd be prepared to get all the answers that we need to have to the questions that were raised even tonight, uh, to put it out in, uh,
in a form to enact it. 'cause there might be a loophole somewhere. Like if we didn't catch this with the Green Communities Act, there might be a glaring loophole that would allow some amount of this to be cited somewhere because it's, I don't know what we, I don't remember what we did back then for as of right for clean energy generation. So I think it just needs a little bit more time to figure that out so that we get it right. Councilor Miller? Thank you, Mr. President Proton. Um, if I may, if you'll indulge me. I believe that the reason this moratorium does not include
all of the other possible lithium battery uses is because this moratorium is in response to the draft ordinance that came out that would've cited battery energy storage in every zone in the city, number one. Number two, I don't know if everybody at these tables are listening knows this, but those battery energy storage systems, their electrolytic solution is PFAS. The liquid in those cells is PFAS. Those cells can leak, they're supposed
to keep them from lighting on fire, but when they don't, that makes burning up PFAS in the aquifer in our air, in our bull shaped community surrounded by mountains and hills. The moratorium isn't because we don't like green energy, it's because energy isn't green if it's toxic. And we are all aware of how dangerous this stuff is for our community and the shape of our community and the water in and under our community
and in the members of our community who have been drinking PFAS for decades. We don't need to talk about this longer. We may need to create more and moratoria for other issues. I totally in agreement with you on that. But in terms of putting the brakes on for something that the state wants us to think of as by right, that is literal tractor trailer boxes full of PFAS, it's a no brainer as long as there isn't an unintended consequence of acting it. So as long as law checks on that, I am in full support
and would ask everyone else to be. So also, so that we don't accidentally poison 40,000 people. Again. Thank you Councilor. Thank you Mr. President Pro temp. And I'd like just a follow up on the comments of councilor IC and Mellow. She brings up a very good point. As Confucius said, I would insist on the exact definition of terms, clean energy does not threaten the environment. You can, you know, it's a euphemism, you know, they, when they said clean energy, it sounds good, but this doesn't fit the definition of clean energy.
Lithium is, is a problem. So we could have, you know, back early on when, you know, agreed, you know, clean energy, it sounded good, but when you define it, can we define lithium battery in sizeable things? I'm not talking about electric vehicles, I mean, whatever. But when you get to a certain size, um, I don't think we can define it as clean energy. Okay. Anybody else? Yes. Chris. Chris McCreary 70 Maple Terrace. Yeah, I, I would encourage the council to, uh, adopt this, uh, right away. I was at the planning board meeting as well
and, uh, this is a seven month moratorium. And so time is of the essence to get to work on, uh, the ordinance for the city. So if we, if we wait, we keep putting this back to committee, we come back here, we keep debating on this moratorium. We're gonna be behind the eight ball just getting the ordinance done. We only have seven months, so we, we already know that the state is going to do what they're going to do. We need to get, uh, ahead of this thing as a city and try to get whatever. We'll figure out whatever, uh, protections we can put in for our city as quickly as
Possible. Thank you. Yeah. One more comment In favor or against, I don't need a lecture on PFAS or on lithium batteries. Okay. No, I'm definitely in favor of this. And I would like to remind this council that, uh, you know, we we're the folks that initiated, uh, three bills in the State house. One is a buffer zone, one is a moratorium. Um, so they can figure out what's going on. Um, not that it's going anywhere, you know. Okay. But, uh, Well, thank you for doing that. Anybody else? Council Fanon. Motion to close the public hearing. Second. Motion is made. And second and close the public hearing.
All in favor? A. Aye. Opposed? Opposed. Let the record record one know two public hearing is closed. Councilor Fanny. Motion to give first reading by title only. Second Motion been made and second for first reading by title only. Any discussion? Yes, Mr. President? Yes. If I could ask the chair if we could just, during this interim period, if the passes, could we try to get an answer to some of these questions as it relates? The question about the, the question Councilor Mellow has asked? Well, you know, Mr. Counselor Morgane had some questions about other places.
I just raised one about the green community settings. What's interesting in the state's def proposed definition, uh, battery generation is referred to in the state's definition a small clean energy storage facility. So I just would like to hear from legal or the planning the planner as it relates to how does that interact? How is what we're doing interact with the language that was, uh, given in the Green Communities Act citing criteria that we passed years ago. I just wanna make sure there's not a loophole here. That's all. If you would like to submit all your specific questions to me, I would get them to law af
between first and second reading. Thank you. If you could just submit those questions in writing so I have them specifically. Any other discussion? None. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion passes. Thank you Councilor Fanon. Motion for a second. Reading a Motion for second reading at the next meeting. Second. Motion made. And second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Thank you very much. Reports of committees. Finance committee. Councilor Bean. Thank you Mr. President. Finance Committee has met with a three zero vote for the approval of a transfer of $75,000
as amended in the finance committee from the ambulance designated account to the ambulance overtime accounts. So moved. Second. Motion made and second further discussion. Council? Yeah, The original request was $150,000. This is for additional overtime within the department. Um, at the time of our meeting, they were talking about running out of pre uh, running out of overtime monies, uh, February 1st. Uh, to be honest, I'm not sure if that actually happened, but I I obviously they're fairly close. Um, there has been some, um, alterations to some of the parental leave act, um, and it has extended it.
So that has been a real grind on the department. That's the basis of this ask. Um, they have gone through about $300,000 already. Um, and we all know last year we did cut, uh, there over time. Um, I don't wanna see substantially, but we, we cut it enough where they were able to manage it up to $300,000. Um, so we're in February, they're already at 300,000. So we thought, um, although the, the, the reason was compelling, um, we felt that, uh, cutting that amount and then having them at least make a, a good effort to,
to main, you know, to maintain the $75,000. I, we did say in finance that with, um, with the explanation they, they could come back and ask and we would definitely listen. Um, but they really did need to be mindful, um, of their overtime expenditures. Thank you. Any other discussion? Seeing none. Roll call Bean. Yes. Burns? Yes. Fanon? Yes. Figgy? Yes. Yes. Harris? Yes. Ick? Yes. Matthews. Kane? Yes. Meow. Yes. Morgan Alley? Yes. Hoki? Yes. Adams? Yes. Allie? Yes.
Motion passes. Item 23, Councillor Harris. Thank you. Uh, president Pro Tet 23 is appropriation in the amount of 7,000 158 96. From free cash to the Department of Public Works land and natural resources division, capital equipment account for the construction of a greenhouse that will be used to grow flowers for city use. And on three zero vote, we recommend approval of that item. Second. Motion been made. And second and further discussion. Councillor Harris? Yes. Um, currently the city spends
$9,000 a year on flowers. Greenhouse will cost approximately approximately $7,100. And then minimal cost for seeds and soil yearly. DPW will help Westfield, uh, technical academy students construct this greenhouse. The greenhouse comfortably sits on WTA property students will grow flowers to beautify many places in the Westfield downtown area. After this year, the, uh, city costs will be reduced. Students will have hands-on training for horticulture and construction. And I asked the community development director,
why spend any money on flowers? And he responded with flowers are aesthetically pleasing, symbolizes vibrancy in life. In the downtown area, flower baskets are a low cost, high impact infrastructure. They quietly communicate that a downtown is active, cared for, welcoming, and we're spending time and money to support and is a quality of, uh, Life issue. Any other discussion? Councilor Adams? Yeah, I, I don't have a, I don't know if I, if Councilor Harris' answer, but somebody, somebody approached me today and said they had five greenhouses at the academy.
I don't know if that's true. Um, but if that's true, I don't know if we need six. Um, if they already have five and, and maybe somebody else has an answer. Yeah. As far as I know, there's two greenhouses at the technical academy, and one is strictly for hydroponics. So this would be a, an added a good addition to their Four. Oh, so there's not five. Somebody said there was five. So, Mr. President, we, we did ask that question, and the answer was that whatever number that they have, and I don't have that number off hand. It's all fully taken up with mm-hmm. WTA horticulture project.
So there would be no space for this project. Yeah. Thank you. Councilor Elli. Thank you, Mr. President. Pro Temp. Uh, yeah. I met with the mayor, uh, earlier this week and, um, or last week talking about all the free cash items come out. And by the way, the total on the agenda tonight is 773,000 and, uh, $5 and 87 cents coming out of free cash. Um, I, I said to him, I said, well, why wasn't this done a long time ago? Mm-hmm. Um, the horticulture program at, at, uh, WTA A is,
is a wonderful program. Uh, I've often gone down there during the, um, uh, vegetable, uh, plant sale that they, they have mm-hmm. And the flower sale, um, and, and purchase some things to support the program. And the plants are always amazing. Um, so I'm looking forward to the city providing their own flowers, uh, to beautify our city, which would help our businesses, which would help our residents feel good when they're driving around and they see, uh, some bright colors and the, and the beauty, uh, and really bring out the beauty of the city in the, in
that deck decor. Thank you. You're welcome. Anybody elses? None. Roll call. Bean. Yes. Burns? Yes. Fania? Yes. Figy? Yes. Harris? Yes. Knape? Yes. Matthews. Kane? Yes. Meow. Yes. Morgane? Yes. Oniskey? Yes. Adams? Yes. Allie? Yes. Motion passes. Item 24, councilor Bean. Thank you. Mr. President. Finance Committee has met with a three zero vote to approve the appropriation in the amount of $24,314 and 43 cents from free cash to the Department
of Public Work, land and Natural Resources Division FY 26. Capital Equipment account for purchase of a zero turn. Lawnmower. So moved. Second. Motion made, and second and further discussion. Councilor B? Yeah, this is coming from a local vendor from Enfield, Connecticut. I'm not sure how local that is, but it's at least close. Um, and, uh, you know, one of the main purposes for this particular piece of equipment is, is the rail trail. They're gonna be using that for the rail trail. They, the, the equipment they had, the zero turn that they had originally is definitely at its last legs.
And they're looking to use this for most of the parks and any kind of, of open space that the natural, uh, resources takes care of. Thank you. Mr. President. Yes. I believe, uh, the director of Public Works had mentioned that the unit that they're replacing a 2014, there's two of them, and it's, and it's done. So it's not like we're adding to the fleet. We're just replacing it with a better unit. Councilor Allie? Yes. Thank you, Mr. President. Port temp. Um, I actually talked to an employee, um, I believe it might be even 18 years old. Um, the concern that the turbo on what, on this one we have,
um, is going, um, this was originally purchased, um, the original one to, uh, mow the cemetery. And this is a side, we have a side discharge. So beside it on its last legs, the new one would be a rear discharge. So when in the cemetery, it actually blows the grass, like onto the stones, which is not good. Um, and as council bean mentioned, this would be used on the bike trail, um, as well as, um, the cemetery and then all over the city. Um, so it is very much needed. So, but I had a question on it. I did look into it.
Thank you. Any other discussion? Councillor Morgan. Elliot. Thank you, Mr. President. Pro Temp. So it says on the, uh, the, the, the estimate. It's an estimate and a quote, a $32,554, the bid contract, uh, 87, and change 8,700 and change off of that price. And then there's a setup fee. Um, how, how close are we gonna get to that price? The price gonna go up. No, price is 24,003. 1443 is what they're asking for. Yeah. Okay. Thank you. Roll call. Madam City Clerk
Bean. Yes. Burns? Yes. Fanan? Yes. Fige? Yes. Harris? Yes. Ick? Yes. Matthew Kane. Yes. Meow. Yes. Morgan Alley? No. Oniskey? Yes. Adams? Yes. Allie? Yes. S Motion passes. Thank you. Item 25, councilor Bean. Thank you. Mr. President. Finance Committee has met with a three zero approval for the appropriation of the amount of $66,505. From free cash to Department of Public Works, waste Collection Division FY 26 purchase a service account
for costs associated with curbside leaf pickup collection. Excuse me. Collection Second Motions been made and seconded. Further discussion. Councilor B? Yeah, This, this was something that wasn't in the original budget. Um, if people remember, and I believe, uh, the mayor's office and the administration heard the outcry. We, we, as probably counselors and also, you know, in particular ward counselors have heard that leaf pickup is important to people here. It's definitely a service for individuals that don't have the ability to, uh, get rid of their leaves. I know some people do have that ability with trucks
or even dumping it in their backyard. Uh, so this particular expenditure is to backfill existing money, um, or used money, uh, in the season. And then they also made a promise to us. Uh, Randy Brown, who runs the department, uh, as well as the mayor, had said that it would be in the budget next cycle. Um, they are not going to not include it in the budget. Too much of an outcry at that point. Yes. Councilor Allen, You thank Mr. President Temp. I think that last year, I mean, we had so much to overcome. There's a lot of items that we're gonna get put off till we
got certified free cash. Um, when they do this leaves collection, do we do anything with all those leaves? I mean, try to compost. Mm-hmm. Um, and, and sell the compost as well. Yeah. Alright. Yeah. Yeah. I, excuse me, Mr. President. Yeah. You can go into the, the transfer station and take what you want. They do till it and turn it right. Um, I'm not sure how good or bad it is, but I, I know people just Be pure carbon or acidic, but, um, yeah. So just free to the resident. In other words, the city doesn't, yeah. It's a separate section than where the leaves get dumped, but they do do that.
Right, right. Council Burn. Yeah. Thank you Mr. And, and also do a contractor comes in and takes it for, I mean, you see a big pile. Yeah. You, you've been up there. I I'm sure most of it has. They a contractor actually comes in and takes that for, takes it away for No, uh, for free. Yeah. Just to follow up. 'cause there was one time I, I had to buy compost. I usually would make our own. And, um, it's amazing how much we had to spend. I mean, there're small farm that'll spend a thousand, $2,000 on compost and it's not that much. So it could be a source of revenue as well, you know,
you know, as long as it was fairly clean, you know? Mm-hmm. Any other discussion? Roll call Madam City Clerk. Be Yes. Burns? Yes. Fanon? Yes. Fige? Yes. Harris? Yes. Ick? Yes. Matthew Kae. Yes. Mellow? Yes. Morgane? Yes. Oniskey? Yes. Adams? Yes. Allie? Yes. Item 27, Councillor Cadet. Thank you. Mr. President. Pro Tem uh, finance committee is met and recommends the appropriation of fifty one thousand three hundred twenty one thousand forty eight cents from free cash to the technology center purchase service
account to upgrade radio infrastructure throughout the municipality. Second, second. Motion been made and seconded. Further discussion. Councilor Can? Yes, we had, uh, um, Lenore Ashian to talk about what this request is, and it's related to the Motorola radio infrastructure software. It's not any hardware, it's all software. They were recently made aware of by Motorola that there needs to be an upgrade. Uh, going forward. The cost of the maintenance of the software is an annual cost incurred normally in our budget, uh, for the tech center.
But this was, um, one that, uh, kind of caught 'em off guard. They didn't realize it was coming. Um, so the, in order to get that software in position, uh, this is the request they put in front of us. Any other discussion? Just one quick comment. And I say this a lot when, when Lenora gets in, she does a, an absolutely fantastic job down there. We, you know, as a city, I think we've been underfunding her budget for many decades. So, you know, she's done a lot for what we give her. So I, I commend her in the department. Thank you. Thank you. Council Morgan Elliot. Thank you, Mr. President. Pro temp.
Yeah, I, I couldn't make the finance meeting, so I, that's why I met with the mayor. So there's several items coming up here, uh, with the tech center. This is just the first one and it's, it's such a great asset to the city to have this tech center. Um, and, you know, software goes, uh, gets old, it needs to be updated, and there's some hardware that needs to be replaced as, as you'll see in coming up. Um, certainly something we need to spend the money on. And I'm sure Lenora could have put it in her budget, uh, but then the budget would be even inflated more than it already was. Um, so once Cash cer, cash got free,
cash got certified at the end of the year, then the, the mayor knew that, uh, that was available, that there was enough available to take care of some of these things from the free ca free cash. That's how I understand it. Um, and I think it's a good use of, of the free cash to take care of that in this case. Thank You. Thank you. Councilor Adams? No, and I agree. Lenore does a great job. I just did wanna make a comment. Um, council Morgane, the problem with some of these expenditures, if every department did this with free cash, we'd be in big trouble. Yep. So if they see something coming, in my opinion,
what, you know, it should still go into their budget. Um, and I've said that, and, and I know technology is a huge one. It, it's a lot of money, but I see something here that's coming to the end of the life, which probably in my opinion, probably should have been in the budget. 'cause you know, it's coming to the end of life. If every department does that, the city's in trouble. So I would encourage that they should be putting this in the budget. And if we decide to cut that in the budget, that's up to us. Mm-hmm. But everything that they need should be in their budget. Every department, in my opinion. Mm-hmm. Counselor can have It. Thank you. That's point well taken. So we did ask, uh, Lenore about
that, and she did recommend, or she did identify when things were, uh, in the capital plan or when they were in the budget. Um, in this particular case, I think this was a little bit of a case of it was a little bit unforeseen, uh, that it was gonna come up. One other thing, you know, as we get ready to do the budget, I know there's an, there's a lot of talk about, you know, the state's not funding us. This not funding us, you know, for that, whatnot. But interestingly enough, for those of us that have been on the council, uh, uh, over the years, a large portion of tech center funding in this city had always come from the Comcast cable franchise account. And an unintended consequence of the Whip city fiber
success has been the deletion of about 50% of the subscribers that used to pay the franchise fee. So what does that mean in real dollars? I, I don't have the numbers in front of me, but it used to be we would generate about 820 plus thousand dollars outta Comcast revenues and the state would allow that money to be used specifically for it. It's now, I believe it's under $400,000. We never, at the time, and nobody, I don't think, we didn't think about this back when the bond was floated for Web City Fiber, uh, thought about a successor
agreement where you could have a makeup on those franchise fees. So the real impact to the city's budget has been, it's a negative, it's a net negative. Now, anybody that has whip city fiber, myself included, loves it. The problem is it's been so successful, it's really obliterated the, uh, Comcast revenue account, which has a direct impact on it. I'm not really sure what the answer is to fix that other than instituting what would be in a very unpopular whip city fiber fee to substitute for that or an additional payment in the ilot to make up for it.
Um, but I do believe it is a conversation the mayor and the GE should have. Because it seems to me, from what I understand and read, there's a lot of money over at the GE on a lot of different topics, including whip city fiber. And the city is in, you know, tough financial situation. And this is something they benefited greatly because the success in Westfield allowed them to cut all these deals in these other towns that is now reaping a great windfall to the Gen E. So, um, you know, I, I think the powers to be should sit down and kind of hammer that out, how we can get a little bit more money back to replace this.
Because if we get behind here in technology, it's a real problem going forward For sure. As y'all know. Anything else? Roll call. Madam City Court Bean. Yes. Burns? Yes. Fanon? Yes. Fiy? Yes. Harris? Yes. Kic? Yes. Matthews. Kane? Yes. Mellow? Yes. Morgan Elli. Yes. Oniskey? Yes. Adams? Yes. Allie? Yes. Motion passes. Item 28, Councillor K. Thank you Mr. President Pro Tem, uh, or finance met and voted three zero to recommend the appropriation, the amount of $60,000 from free cash
to the technology center replacement equipment account for the purchase and installation of replacement switches to support the network infrastructure at the technology center. Second. Motion been made and seconded. Further discussion Council? Yes. Uh, thank you. So there's, uh, not a lot of switches left in the system, but these are two remaining very powerful switches that we need to replace there. Uh, the present ones in, uh, in service are, uh, 10 years old, which are essentially end of life. Um, this was definitely something that, uh, you know,
would've been one that they, you know, we knew they were getting to end of life. I would've liked to have seen it in the budget, you know, 'cause you knew it needed to be replaced. In the end. It needs to get done. And the only only other source of revenue to get it done is, uh, through free cash. Any other discussion? Roll call. Madam City Clerk Bean. Yes. Burns? Yes. Nyon? Yes. Gie? Yes. Harris? Yes. Ick. Yes. Matthews. Kane. Yes. Meow. Yes. Morgan Alley? Yes. Oniskey? Yes. Adams? Yes. Allie? Yes. Motion passes. Item 29. Councillor can Thank you, Mr. President Pro Tem, uh, the finance committee has met
and it voted three to zero to recommend the appropriation, the amount of $88,706 from free cash to the technology center purchase service account for the purchase and configuration of an upgraded permit and code software system for the city. Second Motion be made and seconded. Further discussion? Yes. Thank you. Uh, the departments affected by this immediately would be building, planning, zoning, fire, and code enforcement. It's going to replace the former code, uh, permit system called Munis, uh, that is no longer really supported. This is actually an interesting, uh, component
to this system, is it interacts with a statewide permit system. So like, if you're a registered, uh, intercity contractor, like I do work in another city and I, and I wanna pull a permit in Westfield for something, it'll automatically populate if you're in the system on another shared user. This has become the most popular permit system across the state. So, um, what, what this will pay for is, uh, $88,706 to cover implementation for four months, excuse me, the implementation and the cost of the software for four months,
March one to June 30th. And then going forward, uh, she had indicated that there'll be $74,000 in FY 20 seven's budget, 20, uh, $78,000 in FY 20 eight's budget, and $82,000 in FY 20 nine's budget to pay for that. So, um, this is something that, uh, you know, sometimes people say, well, I don't, why don't we have more communication this or that? Apparently uni and, and I was there when it was implemented. It was a hard system to learn. Wasn't very user friendly. It, we did pretty good for, for a while,
but this one is far used, uh, far more user friendly. We used it where I was at, at the Cape, and it was popular amongst the staff that used it back then. So, um, I'm looking forward to this because there's a lot of, uh, you know, expediting of things that can be done. And the more departments that get on this, the easier communication will be Council B. And there was talk about extending this to other departments. Yes. It's, it, it's a cost situation and there's all, you know, learning the new system and implementing it. We don't want to just, you know, be learning it for the next four months, uh, with all these departments and not actually utilizing it. So you'll see more to come on that particular item.
Anything else? Roll thumb. Clerk Bean. Yes. Beltran. Oh, sorry. Burns Here. Fanon? Yes. Gie? Yes. Harris? Yes. Ick. Yes. Matthew Kane. Yes. Meow. Yes. Morgane? Yes. Oniskey? Yes. Adams? Yes. Allie? Yes. Motion passes. Item 30 C. Counselor can Yes. Uh, Mr. President Prote, the finance subcommittee is met in approved, uh, for three to zero vote in appropriation amount of $130,000 from free cash to the Technology Center Capital project account
to replace the in row cooling rack system located at the tech center, which has reached its end of serviceable life. Second. Second. Motion made. And second further discussion, please. Yes. Thank you. Uh, this, I believe was on the capital plan, but there was a sense that, uh, it couldn't wait. So, interestingly enough, the tech center's about 20 years old now. This unit that cools the server room is, uh, 17 years old, which is like pretty amazing that it's still going. And of course, what would happen if you, if you lost the cooling capacity, you'd fry everything in the server room.
So I, I think it doesn't owe us anything. We got, uh, pretty good legs off of this for sure. Um, but, uh, it is a lot of money and I understand that, but it is a certain thing that we cannot live without. So, um, the, the committee voted three zero in favor. Further discussion saying, none. Ropa. Madison Bean. Yes. Burns? Yes. Fanon? Yes. Fiy? Yes. Harris? Yes. Ick. Yes. Matthews. Kane. Yes. Meow. Yes. Morgan? Yes. Ky. Yes. Adams? Yes. Allie? Yes. Motion passes. Thank you. Finance.
L and o Item 31. Council Oinky. Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, ano met on February 3rd, and upon a three zero vote voted positive recommendation for a resolution to accept a grant from the Mass Department of Ecological Restoration to the Department of Public Works water division for FY 26 DAM removal, preliminary design services. Second motion was made and seconded. Further discussion. Thank you. Yes, Mr. President Proton. This is to, uh, a, a no match grant from the state, uh, to look at the possibility
of removing the Westfield Reservoir Dam in the town of Montgomery. Uh, the reservoir was, was built in 1874. It was used in, uh, up until 1974, uh, 184 million gallons. Uh, 51 acres. Uh, the property that the city owns in Montgomery is 270 acres. It's considered a high hazard dam. So what this grant would do, excuse me, would have a contract between the state
and a vendor to give a preliminary, uh, approach as to what we can do to remove the dam and let the water flow naturally. Uh, as, as it does now, with the exception of not having the reservoir as a holding, uh, holding point. Uh, the city spends about $5,000 a year, uh, in lieu of taxes. Um, let's see. We also spend time doing vegetation management on the dam and also $5,000 every two years for inspection,
uh, of the dam. So this will be a first step to possibly remove the liability, having a, uh, high danger dam. Thank you. Thank you. Any other discussion, counselor Ali? I think it was $30,000 a year in lieu of taxes or something, wasn't it? I've got 5,000. Oh, you're right. No, no. 30,000 lieu of Taxes. 5,000 every other year for an inspection. Yeah. Yep, you're Right. 30,000. Thank you. So this is costing us about 32,000 plus our time. Mm-hmm. Trying to maintain this and, and whatnot.
So, um, anyways, I just wanna clarify that. Any other discussion? Councillor Adam? Yeah, Just real quick. It, the only issue that I had with that is it takes away a, a reservoir that people fish in and, you know, it does take away something that we did agree. That's something we need to check because we did sell the restriction to the fish and game. I don't know the wording that the Fish and Game has in there. Fish money. You're taking away a restriction that they have that says you can't do things. That is gonna be for the public, for fishing and everything. I would just wanna make sure that we check with the fish
and game, that we're not doing something when we sell the restriction and they gave us a million dollars. There's certain things we can't do, and we may be able to take a dam down, but we may not be able to take away, you know, the water supply. I don't know the answer to that. Well, if I may, Mr. Professor Yes. DPW is aware of that and we'll address it in this study and in the future. So we're not doing anything right now. Yeah. It, it, it, it just, I was the one who worked, worked two years to get that with Phishing game. So I know it was a very strict, when they gave us a million dollars, they said, you can do this, you can do this, you can do this.
They have a big restriction on it. DPW wasn't involved in that, but as long as somebody checks, because there was a big, long, extensive list of what things we can and can't do with a million dollars that they pay the city. Understood. Thank you. Anything else? Roll call. Madam City Clerk Bean. Yes. Burns? Yes. Fanon? Yes. Figgy? Yes. Harris? Yes. Ick? Yes. Matthews. Kane? Yes. Mellow? Yes. Morgan Elli? Yes. Oniskey? Yes. Adams? Yes. Allie? Yes. Motion passes. If I may, uh, read the resolution by title only.
Please, please. A resolution to file and accept a grant from the Division of Ecological Restoration to Westfield Water Department. Thank you. Yeah. Item 32, Councillor Oin. Anything? Thank you Mr. President Pro Tem. Uh, LO met on February 3rd, and upon a three zero vote vote of recommendation of an ordinance amending the city of Westfield Code of Ordinances, chapter six, building and Building Regulations. Second Motion's been made and seconded. Further discussion? Yes. Thank you, Mr. President.
This, this updates, um, some of our, excuse me, our, our ordinance regarding the building commissioner. We call the building Commissioner, the Superintendent of Buildings. Uh, and this would change that to building commissioner, which addresses a lot of the, uh, the questions or a lot of the statutes that the state has. They refer to the city having a building commissioner, not superintendent buildings. It also removes a committee that never existed, which is a board of, uh, appeals. So if you were denied a building permit, this board
of appeals that doesn't and never has existed, uh, would, would hear that. Uh, the state does have a resource to address, um, building, um, license appeals. It also cleans up outdated terms, procedures, and references to state statutes. Thank you. Questions? Councillor Allen. Thank you, Mr. President. Pro Temp. Um, I'd also like to mention that, uh, attorney Reed, um, this hadn't been updated in light 40 years. Um, she took it upon herself to literally go through the entire ordinance
and clean it all up, knowing that some of this had to come in front of us, she did the whole thing. So she did a really good job. Thank you. Councilor B, Just a quick question for the chair. Is this gonna affect any kind of hiring processes or union? Someone's going into a different union or any personal service Contracts? I think, I think we address, I think we changed the Did. We did? Mm-hmm. We did. We changed the title already. So when we did the job description, it says built in Commissioner. Okay. Council Matthews. K. Thank you President Pro Tem.
Um, this is a really long, um, piece of writing that we're looking at, and one section was on rental units as accessory uses. I don't even understand why it was under that to begin with, but my only concern is in striking all of that out. Are there other protections in other parts of our city ordinances? You know, like, these are rules about, like, you can't live in a basement. Um, you have to have parking spaces. Um, you know, if you are renting a room, you can't cook food in it. Are those protections? 'cause to me, I read those as protections for the renters.
Are they in another part of our ordinances? If I may? I I believe they are. Uh, if you'd like, email your questions, your particular ones to me, and I'll get confirmation. Okay. Thank you. You're welcome. Anything else? Okay. So I'd like to make a motion for first reading, Second motion made. And second of first reading by title only. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion for second Reading and final passage at our next meeting. Second. Motion been made. And second for final passage. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion passes. Thank you.
Item 33, councilor Oinky. Thank you Mr. President. Pro Temp. Mr. President? Yes. I have to refuse Myself. Okay. Thank you. Reuse. Okay, let the record show that Counselor Matthews Kane, counselor Burns have recused themselves. Gonna wait till they can't hear a word. That's right. Shut that door. Okay. All right. Ano met on February 3rd upon a three zero vote. Voted to remove from committee and recommend this item for finance for acceptance
of MGL Chapter 59. Section five, clauses 22 I and 22 J as requested by Director of Veteran Services, Julie Barnes. Second. Motion made. And second further discussion. Yes. Thank you Mr. President. We, we discussed this, um, a little bit and it has a, you know, some valid, valid reasons to pass us. However, the amount of money in this mm-hmm. Is, is high. Could be another $300,000, uh, impact to the city. So, before we went any further with this, we thought
that finance would be the best place to discuss the finances of it. And if it's feasible financially, then you know, we'd like to hear a report. If it's not feasible financially, we'd also like to hear that report and then, then move on. Thank you. Any other questions? So this is a refer to finance for fine tuning. Well, didn't we, if I may? Yes. I thought we, um, we were gonna remove it from committee. Yes. So it's not in two committees at once. Right. Alright. Alright. Yeah. So moving it to finance. Moving it finance. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed?
Now in the hands of finance. Thank you. You wanna tell the group they can come back? Sure. Sure. You could hear us, huh? Was probably against the wall. Put that down away. We know you were against the wall. Sure you were. Okay. We'll close the door. Item 34, Councillor Fanny. Thank you. President Pro Tem. Um, ano has met on February 3rd and gave a positive recommendation for a stop sign at the intersection of Pine Street at Prospect Street. Second, further discussion. Yes. Um, this actually is in Ward one. This was brought to my attention by a constituent
that there was not a stop sign at Pine Street onto Prospect Street. And as you know, practice Prospect Street is a very busy street. And therefore, I referred this also to the Traffic Commission. The traffic commission looked at it. They gave a favorable approval to have a stop sign there, and the l and l also gave a favorable approval. Okay, so this is, uh, two stop signs. There's gonna be two different ones. Yes. Okay. So why don't we can do 'em both at the same time, if you like. Okay. So the second stop sign is, um, on Old Cabot Road at Russellville Road. Again, this is a Ward one, um, stop sign.
Old Cabot Road is a newly developed, private way. It has a couple houses on it at this time, and it comes onto Russellville Road, which is right near the bend. Um, which can be dangerous. And there is no stop sign there. So again, I refer this to the traffic commission. They, they looked at it and they recommended a stop sign at that location. Thank you. Any further discussion? Councilor Burns? Yeah. Thank you, Mr. President. Um, councilor Fanon did such a great job on the Pine Street one. It's there already. Great job council. Don't worry. It's in a snowbank. It'll fall. Perfect. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion passes.
It's motion for first reading 'cause it's especially In Motion for first reading. Second. Okay. Motion for first reading. All in favor? That's aye. Opposed? Motion for second Reading and final passage at the next meeting. Second. Motion remain Second. All in favor? Aye. A Opposed? All right, boy. We're rocking it now. Item 35, Councillor fan. Thank you Mr. Uh, president Pro Tem. Um, this is an ordinance amendment for a certain left and right turn, prohibited by adding no left turn on red at Prospect Street onto North Elm Street. Thatcha on S Street.
Oh, oh chassis. Sorry. Okay. Yes. Motion been made. Second and seconded. Further discussion? Yes. Um, this is again, is in Ward one. And, um, it was brought to my attention that there is no no sign that says no left turn on Red onto, um, north Elm Street. There is a no left a no right when you come down the hill onto North Elm Street. However, there is no left since it's one way. You could take a left if it's safe. And there is no, um, there is no sign at that location. It's a dangerous intersection. The visibility is not good.
Um, they travel very quickly on that road. So again, it was referred to the Traffic Commission, the traffic convention looked at it and they gave favorable approval also. Okay, so this will be first reading by title. First Reading, yes. Motion for first reading. All in favor. First reading. Aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion for a second Read and final passage are our next meeting. Second. Motion made. And second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Okay. On to second reading. Um, item 36, councilor Ali. Thank you Mr. President for temp. Um, so Eleanor on February 3rd, uh,
and gave favorable approval for an ordinance amendment to chapter 17. Section 1770 certain left and right turns prohibited by adding no left turn, exiting Westfield Middle School during the hours of seven to 9:00 AM and one to 3:00 PM Monday through Friday. Second must have been made. And second, this is for first reading by title only further discussion. Yes. Um, so this would just affect the cars leaving the, um, driveway, leaving the parking lot. Um, the school buses in that roundabout would be able to take a left.
Um, you know, when, either at the beginning of the day or the end of the day when you've got, you know, parents and cars and stuff like that, um, and you have buses pulling out, it really creates a blind spot on the left hand side, um, for cars. Um, and so this would, um, have all the traffic. The car is basically leaving by taking a Right and only the school buses would take the left. Okay. Councilor Morgan Alley. Thank you Mr. President. Pro temp. Just curious how this, uh, ordinance, uh, you know, came about. Where did the idea come from? I've only been on the ano for a week.
I, I can answer that. Um, this one and the next one are both initiated by the building principals because they're having such difficulty clearing the parking lot with left hand turns. Um, both are on very busy streets, so it came from the principals. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you. You're Welcome. Councilor Ab? Yeah. Just so the no left turn isn't for the bus? Nope. No. It's just for the parking lot of the Correct. Okay. So if somebody comes out of there and they live, they have to go all the way
around the block, I guess mm-hmm. To get to back to where they're going. Mm-hmm. Or go down to the light and do a ui. Yeah. Okay. I'll walk It. It, yeah. I mean, I, yeah, I understand it. It just seems like it's been there forever. Mm-hmm. And it would be a hardship on many people, I would think, to have to go all the way around if they wanna get like, back to South Maple Street. Okay. Which is putting more traffic on the side streets. But What if school's not in council? Morgan. Allen. Thank you Mr. President. The counselor crossed the way. Just kind of, that's what I was thinking when I asked the question, because I'm wondering, were were parents asked, were were the parents involved in the decision with the,
the principal comes up with the idea, the principals, and they, uh, do they have a discussion with the parents and are they okay with it? And is that something that makes sense to them? Of course, if it's a safety issue, then that's of course priority one. But has there any been, have there been any safety concerns? Uh, with, with that, other than the lack of visibility? Councilor Harris, you have a comment on that? Yeah. The police department recommended this, um, and said it was a safety issue. Um, if you take a left out of the, uh, parking lot at South Middle School, the kids are crossing, the parents are crossing, cars are crisscrossing,
the buses are coming out. It, it is a recipe for somebody getting very injured. So they're the ones that have actually recommended this? Yeah. Both, both of these, uh, were reviewed and researched by the traffic sergeant at the time. So Councilor Matthews King. Thank you President Proto. I just wanna say I was a parent, um, at those schools, especially at the middle school, I would actually needed to go left and I would take the right, 'cause the backup was so bad on the left that it just saved me time. Mm-hmm. Um, I do think it makes sense. I I approve of it.
Okay. Anything else? Okay. This first reading by title, all you all in favor? Aye. Opposed? So then motion for, uh, second meeting and, uh, final passage. Second. Motion been made. Second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Okay. Off to second reading. Item 37. Councilor all Pick me? Yes. Councilor all. Thank you, Mr. President ProAm. Um, so Ano met on February 3rd and, uh, gave favorable approval for an ordinance amendment on to chapter 17. Section 1770 certain left
and right turns prohibited by adding no left turn, exiting Highland Elementary School during the hours of 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM and 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM Monday through Friday. Second motion be made and second further discussion. Um, yeah, so this would be similar situation. Um, in addition, um, you have, uh, really high speed traffic going down Western Ave. You have the college there, um, and you have traffic coming. You know, obviously you know down, um, you know, two different roads feeding in from the left hand side here.
They would be able to take the right and then just use that little triangle park. I don't know, it has the name, but I don't know what the name of it is. And then circle around, um, Holcomb Holcomb. Holcomb Holcomb. Holcomb Holcomb. Okay. Um, thank you. You're welcome. But, um, so in addition to all the chaos that's causes these other situations, you have an intersection there, but you also have, like you said, um, and if you've ever been outside of Highland School, you know that the cars move pretty quickly, um, in that open area. So, um, it creates a dangerous situation. Councilor Morgane. Thank you Mr. President Prote.
Did the traffic commission talk in their deliberation about a temporary light there that operates between those, that two one hour periods or having a police officer available for traffic safety? I don't know the answer to that, but my first impression would be a light would just add to the chaos and back things up. Councilor Harris? Um, I'm gonna add that I, I, I was at that meeting and the police officer that was there stated that he had indeed been there for the last few days and that he had witnessed things that were, um,
of considerable, uh, potential dangerous situations. And he is the one who also said that he would recommend that Councilor Burns. Yeah. Thank you Mr. President. I too sat I i for two days. I, I was there with the tr traffic sergeant. Mm-hmm. And I observed total chaos. I, I, as I know it's the beginning of the year, but it hasn't changed because I went down there by myself and it's still going on. Especially, I mean, there's like Council Valley said there, high speed there. Not only does it affect the children crossing the street,
but the crossing guard, um, if you, if you can just visualize it, there's a side street Taco Terrace and the cars park all the way up there and they walk across the street, but the cars are coming out, picking up the, well, you know mm-hmm. Picking up the children and, uh, it's just total chaos and everybody wants to go left. I don't see too many going. Right. And well, it's much needed there. Yeah. Um, now whether they can, um, um, author, they're, oh, obviously they're gonna authorize it, but I don't know how, you know, if people are gonna turn left. I don't know how they're gonna stop and, but,
and there's no police officers available. 'cause the, the police department's shorthanded as it is. Right? I mean, this, hopefully the principal and I have talked to her and she's going to, you know, she, she did say that they were going to, um, try to enforce it, you know, with the parents through, you know, maybe PTO, whatever they have now, the PTO and PTA. It's been a long time. But, uh, thank you. Okay. Councilor Matthew Game. Thank you President Pro Tem. I just wanna second most of the points that Councilor Burns made. It, it's really about that crossing walk
where the kids are crossing and keeping them safe and counting on police to be there. They're short staffed. And also sometimes the crossing guard isn't even there and the police has to cover that. Like, there's too many things going on to reduce all these points of conflict and make it safer, I think should be a priority. Thank you. Thank you. Uh, this request came back and to count to myself because my granddaughter goes there and I'm in that line for the first time there, there are 90 new parents dropping off kids because they're not eligible for the foster preschool program.
Mm-hmm. So you got these 90 cars coming in to the parking lot to drop off and to pick up. And it really is, if you go down there, you can see them lined up on Western Ave waiting to turn left in to go to do the pickup. So anything we can do to facilitate moving that traffic out of that parking lot is good. I know the principal has talked and tried to get this done on a voluntary basis and it hasn't been as successful as she hoped, but the parents are aware that this is coming, so mm-hmm. Hopefully this will help Councilor Burns. Yeah.
Also, um, as far as the cul-de-sac there, the bus is coming. They go right anyways. Right. They don't go left. They can't go left. There's a, there's an island there. Um, and you know, the state put in all these islands and everything and I, I don't know if they planned for it at that. It's, it's a mess. It's, it's Just No, I agree. You're all, you're all correct making the points, but the biggest point here is there's a lot more than just coming left out there. There's a lot more problems with the college and the speed. Mm-hmm. This left isn't gonna help that. Correct. There's a lot more going on at that intersection in that crosswalk than just taking a left out of that
School. Well, the other complicating factors, you got Grandville road dumping in, you got the cul-de-sac for the buses, you got the people coming out by the cemetery and they're all coming in the crosswalk. At least it's got flashing lights. So that, and I've seen people run those flashing lights, so anything we can do to make it any safer, that would be great. Any other comments? First, first, reading by title only. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? So motion for, uh, second reading and final passage. Second Motion been made. And second for second reading. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Now for second reading.
Um, item 38, councilor Oinky. Thank you Mr. President. Uh, Ellen met on February 3rd and upon a three zero, uh, approval voted to leave item 38 in committee. Thank You. Second item 38. Motions to leave in committee. Any discussion? Yeah. Yeah. It's gonna be the same for 39 and 40. They're all part of the same. Okay. All in favor of leaving item 38 and L and o, aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion passes. Now left to committee item 39.
Thank you Mr. President. Proto L and O met on February 3rd and made a recommendation to leave item 39 in committee. Second. Motion has been made and second leave committee in its discussion. Seeing none. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion passes. Item 40. Thank you Mr. President Prote, uh, ele omit on February 3rd and voted three zero to leave. Item 40 in committee. Second. Motion been made. And second leave in committee. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? All in committee. Uh, I'm going to propose a short break before we start PAC.
Um, let's take three or four minutes. Second. Second. Motion been made and seconded. Any discussion? Yeah, I think Mr. President Proton. Yeah. This basically is something that is hoping to be voted on this this month in the fire department. Um, the chief is leaving, I believe the, I think in March. Mm-hmm. And the, the ordinance says within 30 days we have to hire a new chief. So there's a couple, there's a couple. If you've seen in shared, there's very few changes.
It has to do with more physical and motor and visual skills, like something about color blind. It's just weird stuff that's in here that you, you're able to be, you know, mentally capable of the job. Very little changes. I think the biggest change was you have to, when you do your budget, you have to present the budget that was in there also. Um, so there was nothing in here that would change anybody's, any, any new chief coming in that, you know, any new wording would change it for anyone. It was just a clarification of changing some words to update it. 'cause it hasn't been updated in a long time.
Um, that's the only I I read through pretty much most of it, and that's the only things that I could see. So, um, it's very important if we can vote on this this evening because they are hoping the, the fire department is hoping to hire the next chief at the end of this month. Okay. Just to remind the council that if we don't vote on it tonight, it automatically becomes accepted so we have a vote. So the motion, any further discussion? You look confused. I'm all set. You're all set. Okay. All, uh, roll call. Madison. Clerk Bean. Yes. Burns? Yes. Fanon? Yes. Figgy? Yes. Harris? Yes. Kic?
Yes. Matthews. Kane? Yes. Mellow? Yes. Morgane? Yes. Oniskey. Yess. Uh, Adams? Yes. Allie? Yes. Thank you. Item 42. Council Morgane. Thank you Mr. President Pro Tem. The Personnel action Committee met on February 2nd and by a vote of three zero gave favorable recommendation for the appointment of Ed Watson to the airport commission. Second. Motion Been made and seconded. Further discussion? Yes, Mr. Watson expressed his interest in serving in a letter to the mayor, to Mayor McCabe dated January 9th, noting his more than 37 years as a Westfield resident
and his longstanding professional and civic commitment to the community. Mr. Watson brings a career focused on collaboration, problem solving, and long term strategic planning. He is the founder of Mobius Works, a company employing more than 35 individuals with experience in organizational management, resource optimization, and team development. In 2014, he was a co-founder of Air One Flight training, which operated out of the Westfield Airport. He also worked on establishing the Westfield Technical Academy Foundation and the Aviation Maintenance Technology Program.
In his letter of interest, Mr. Watson stated, I am particularly drawn to the mission of the airport because of its importance to the city's future. I believe my background as an instrument rated private pilot in community development, my ability to bring people together around shared goals and my passion for strengthening Westfield's assets, including critical resources such as the airport, would allow me to contribute meaningfully to the commission's work. He concluded by noting that if selected, he would bring a collaborative mindset, a strong work ethic and deep respect for the responsibilities
and trusted to the municipal Boards and commissions. Any further discussion? Councilor Harris? Yes. Thank, thank you Mr. Pro. Uh, president Prote, he is a fantastic addition, uh, to the Airport Commission. And I also wanna thank, uh, Kate Feland for all that she's done over the years. Thank you. Anybody else? Roll call. Madam City Clerk Bean. Yes. Burns? Yes. Fanon? Yes. Fiy? Yes. Harris? Yes. Ick? Yes. Matthews. Kane? Yes. Mellow? Yes. Morgane? Yes. Hoki? Yes. Adams? Yes. Halle? Yes. Motion passes. Item 43. Councilor Morgan. Uh,
Mr. President, I'm gonna, I'm gonna step out. Step out. Yeah. Due to the family information record, councilor Bean has recused himself. Okay. Council Morgan Allen. Thank you Mr. President. Proton Personnel Action Committee met on February 2nd and by a vote of three zero gave a favorable recommendation for the appointment of Jason Bean to the Municipal Light Board. Second Motion of it made and second further discussion. Thank you. Uh, Mr. Bean holds a Bachelor of Science from Keen State College and a Master Public Administration with the regional planning option from Westfield State University. His career began, began as an environmental technician working with NASA's earth,
observing satellite systems, supporting water resource management analysis in New England. He later worked as an engineering technician with Heritage Surveys and Engineering Inc. Since 2005, he has worked full-time for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation as a transportation planner, where his responsibilities include statewide policy development, land use, planning, implementation of standard operating procedures and GIS based planning analysis. Mr. Bean has served on the Westfield Conservation Commission from 2012 to 2019, the Westfield Little League Board since 2016,
and has been involved in the Hamden County Deputy Sheriff's Association since 2015. Councilor a I just wanna add a couple comments here. First, the first comment I wanna make is thank Adam Roman. I think many of you knew that I think it was 18 years ago that the, we gave the mayor the ability to appoint someone to that board because I think there was six members and we needed to have seven. Um, and I believe that that appointment was really for when the mayor, they sat under the mayor, but because Adam Roman, um, he was a big numbers man. I think he's an accountant, um, gave a lot to that board,
so he just has remained there all this time. Um, and, and Jason Beam coming along. I think I've got, if many you remember, I think it was in the 2018 or 2019 election, he ran for that Ward six. So he had, he has wanted to get onto that board and he said he's approached the last two mayors after not winning that election, asking if he could be the next one that was appointed. So, um, here's a, here's a local person, um, who was expressed and actually ran an election trying for that position. So I think he would be a great election, you know, great person for that work.
Councilor Morgan. Ellen. Thank you. Mr. President Pro Temp. Uh, yes. And he was at the PAC meeting and did introduce himself and spoke about himself and why he wants to serve, uh, continue serving and also, um, uh, with all of these new appointments, uh, and the reappointments. But I did meet with the mayor, uh, again in the last week and, uh, spoke to him about each and every individual that we're hearing tonight. Uh, so of course he's got a letter, you know, he's the one appointing and and that's why, uh, they're in front of us. But, uh, he, he did speak highly of each candidate that we have, uh, in front of us tonight. Thank you. Thank
You. Any further comments? Roll Call matters. City court Burns? Yes. Fanon? Yes. Gie? Yes. Harris? Yes. Ick? Yes. Matthews. Kane. Yes. Mellow? Yes. Morgan Alley? Yes. Eski? Yes. Adams? Yes. Allie? Yes. Motion passes. Item 44. Council Morgane. Thank you Mr. President Pro. Temp personnel action committee matter on February 2nd and by a vote of three zero gave a favorable recommendation for the appointment of Jeffrey Linas to the Parks and Rec commission. Second Motion is made and seconded. Further discussion?
Yes, Mr. Jois earned his Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Westfield State University and his master's degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2013. His professional background includes sales and territory management roles with Spalding Sports Worldwide, Sanofi Pharmaceuticals, tailormade, Adidas, and Tommy Hilfiger golf. His commitment to athletics and youth development is reflected as in his extensive coaching experience, including assistant coaching roles at Westfield High School and head coaching positions in junior varsity, varsity and collegiate golf.
In 2021, he became head coach of the women's golf team at Westfield State University From 2007 to 2022, he worked as a science teacher at Westfield Middle School. Mr. Jolina currently works as manager of sales training at OMG Inc. In Agawam, where he develops training programs, collaborates with leadership and supports professional development across multiple divisions. Um, and he was in attendance as well and introduced himself and he's, uh, really a great fit, um, uh, for this position. Given all his, given his passion for parks and recreation
and sports and all that brings to the development especially of our youth in the city. Further discussion. Roll call Bean. Yes. Burns? Yes. Fanon? Yes. Fiy? Yes. Harris? Yes. Canik? Yes. Matthews. Kane. Yes. Mellow? Yes. Morgan Elli. Yes. Oniskey? Yes. Adams? Yes. Allie? Yes. Motion passes. Item 45, councilor Morgan Elli. Thank you Mr. President. Prote Personnel action Committee met on February 2nd and by a vote of three zero gave a favorable recommendation for the appointment of Richard Sullivan Jr.
To the Board of registrars. Second. Motion made and seconded. Further discussion? Yes. Um, Madam City Clerk Caitlin Bruce sent the letter to the mayor in support of this appointment stating it is of the utmost importance that we have board of directors who are trustworthy, dependable, and active. She suggested Richard Sullivan Jr. Saying, I believe his dedication to the city of Westfield and expertise in elections will be an asset to the board of registrars. Um, Mr. Sullivan, as we know, has had an extensive career and also a long history of service to the city, including city council and mayor at a recent pact.
Meeting accolades from Councilor Figy from the December 18th council meeting were noted. Counselors and others during public participation at that December council meeting also had many thanks and accolades for the outgoing Councillor Sullivan. The committee was pleased to approve this appointment as part of Mr. Sullivan's retirement activities. Any other comments? Roll call Bean. Yes. Burns? Yes. Fanon? Yes. Gie? Yes. Harris? Yes. Ick? Yes. Matthews. Kane. Yes. Mellow? Yes. Morgan? Yes. Oniskey? Yes. Adams? Yes. Allie? Yes.
Motion passes. Item 46, Councillor Morgan Elli. Thank you Mr. President Prote. Uh, the Personnel Action Committee met on February 2nd and by a vote of three zero. Issued a favor of recommendation for the appointment of Jennifer Gilbert to the zoning board of appeals. Second. Motion made and seconded. Further discussion? Yes. Thank you. Um, Ms. Gilbert earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Worcester Polytech Institute and has worked for the past 16 years as a project manager at Tag and Bond. Her experience includes sewer separation design, sewer replacement, storm water management,
and mass DEP funded projects. Her work has involved, EV has involved evaluation of existing utilities, preparation of specifications and drawings, computer modeling, cost estimates, bidding and contract administration and construction oversight. Notable projects include sewer and pump system design at Bluebird Acres Mobile Home Park in Chicopee, the Emerson Road Pump Station, and Long Meadow and the Hamden Street and Cochran Street Sewer separation project in Chicopee. She concluded her letter of in of interest by stating,
I am confident that my professional background, local knowledge and commitment to Westfield would allow me to add value to the board in this capacity. Ms. Gilbert is professionally affiliated with the Water Environment Federation and the New England Water Environment Association. Any other discussion? Comments? Roll call. Madam Clerk Bean? Yes. Burns? Yes. Fanon? Yes. Fiy? Yes. Harris? Yes. Ick? Yes. Matthews Kain. Yes. Meow. Yes. Morgane? Yes. Oniskey? Yes. Adams? Yes. Allie? Yes.
Motion passes. I Item 47, Councillor Morgane. Thank you Mr. President Prote. The personnel cap committee met on February 2nd by a vote of three zero. Issued a favorable recommendation for the appointment of John Moran as first alternate to the zoning board of appeals. Second. Motion been made and second further discussion? Yes. In his letter of interest to the mayor, Mr. Moran stated, I am running to respectfully, uh, express my interest in being appointed to a city board or commission. As a lifelong resident of Westfield, I have a strong connection to our community and a genuine interest in contributing my skills
and perspective to service in our local government. Mr. Moran submitted a resume outlining his educational background, including a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Westfield State College, coursework toward a master's degree, a paralegal certificate From the University of Connecticut and a Juris doctor from Western New England College School of Law, he is admitted to the bar in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the US District Court for the district of Massachusetts. His professional experience includes work as a contract attorney service on a high volume litigation team at Liberty Mutual and his current role as an associate attorney with Lyon
and Fitzpatrick, LLP in Holyoke. Further comments say, none. Roll call Bean. Yes. Burns. Yes. Fanon? Yes. Fay? Yes. Harris? Yes. Kic? Yes. Matthew Kane. Yes. Melo? Yes. Morgane? Yes. Oniskey? Yes. Adams? Yes. Allie? Yes. Motion passes. Item 48, counselor Morgane. Thank you Mr. President Pro. Tempt personnel action committee matter on February 2nd by a vote of three zero. Issued a favor of recommendation for the appointment of Melissa Fitzgerald Alvi as second alternate, alternate
to the zoning board of appeals. Second. Second must been made and second for the discussion. Yes. In her letter of interest, uh, Ms. Fitzgerald, Mrs. Fitzgerald glitz described her decade of experience as a local West Springfield realtor with work and encompassing residential and commercial property zoning considerations, land use and development challenges. She noted her lifelong ties to Westfield ownership and management of a local construction business and her hands-on experience with property ownership and renovation. In her letter of interest, she stated, as a local realtor
for the past decade, I have gained extensive experience in real estate matters, encompassing both residential and commercial properties, and developed a strong understanding of zoning considerations, property use, development challenges, and the balance required between growth and community interest. My husband and I own multiple properties in Westfield, including the home of our construction business, Fitzgerald Home Solutions, where I serve as owner and manager. This hands-on involvement in property ownership, renovation and local business operations has further strengthened my familiarity with zoning regulations
and their real world impacts. Uh, the family business, uh, is they were renting a property in Westfield and they just, they're now, uh, renovating at the, um, the day, I believe it's the seven day ave. They're renovating to actually have a storefront there and, uh, thriving business in Westfield as they expand their operations as a mother of two small children. She's mindful of her family commitments, which she stated, uh, in front of the committee, which is why she's seeking consideration for the secondary alternate position. She stated at the PACT meeting that in the future she would consider a full-time board
or commission PO position as time allows. Additionally, Rick Sullivan, uh, kick Sullivan rather, uh, Rick Sullivan iii. Is that correct? Mm-hmm. Uh, submitted a letter of recommendation to the mayor endorsing, uh, Mrs. Feal Ovitz, uh, as his replacement, citing her understanding of real estate land use development and our commitment to the community. Thank you. Any other comments, councilor Adams? Uh, I just, I just wanted to add, I'm not sure if council said it, but being that, uh, Melissa lives in Grandville, if somebody owns a business, they're able
to serve on a board here in the town. So I just wanna make sure everybody's aware of that. Thank you. Councilor Matthew King. Mm-hmm. Thank you, president Pro Tem. Um, was there any discussion? Did they try to find somebody from Westfield and they were unable to? I'm, I'm sorry, say that again. So she does not live in Westfield, correct? She, She's a a Granville resident. Yeah. So did they try to find somebody in from Westfield and they were unable to? I, I'm not aware. I I didn't dig into the, all the mayor's, uh, uh, candidates, uh, for that. It is a second alternate. So, um, I I, I didn't ask that question at the time. No.
In my deliberation with the mayor. Yeah. Um, so, so I know we normally impact, there's not a lot of discussions. I am concerned that she's not from Westfield. Councilor Adams is correct. There's actually a state statute about the zoning board of appeals, and there's no mention of where you have to live. Um, but I think we have to approach that with a lot of trepidation. And I do think sometimes it's okay. Like I serve on off street parking and, uh, I had actually nominated Ted Doak of Circuit Coffee. 'cause we need somebody who understands downtown really well
and understands off street parking. And there's not a lot of people who can do that. He does not live in Westfield, but he has a physical business right in town that everybody knows about, and he's been there for a long time. So in a moment like that, I think it's appropriate, but I am concerned that she doesn't live in Westfield and I, that I noticed that. So I went to Google, um, the businesses, um, you know, she does have Fitzgerald Home Solutions, which is in Westfield. She's also at Lock and Key Realty, which is in West Springfield. And that is extra concerning for me that yes, she has a business in Westfield, but she also works outta West Springfield. So I think we as a body have
to think really carefully if there's a really specific reason why someone, we're picking somebody, and they're not from Westfield, but if we can't articulate an argument why this person, why we weren't able to find anybody else. I, I'm unable to vote for somebody who's not from Westfield. She seems very well qualified. It has nothing to do with her qualifications. I just, my preference is if we're making decisions about Westfield, the person should be from Westfield. So that's my piece. Thank you. Yeah, I think I just wanna respond to that. I think the person that we put on the board of the off street parking wasn't from Westfield either. That's correct. So they were, I would say, close
to the downtown parking. She's highly qualified in real estate and does a lot with, I think she's just as qualified as the person that owns the restaurant. So I, I don't know why that would be any different. If we make, if we do it for one, then we should open it up to other people that are qualified that don't live in town. So if, if we didn't make it for the one that owns the restaurant, then we can certainly talk about it. But I don't think, because that we did that for her, we, I can't see why that wouldn't be the same thing for this person here.
Yeah. And there is also a member of the historical commission that does not live in Westfield. So it, the precedent has been set. Councilor, uh, Matthews King, Just to respond to Councilor Adam's comment off street parking needs to be somebody who under, who understands downtown parking really well. And the pool of applicants who can do that is about as big as a donut hole. Mm-hmm. The person who needs to do it for zoning, board of appeals needs to understand housing zoning and real estate. I would argue that for that position, there would be a larger pool of applicants.
Okay. Councilor Hall. Thank you, Mr. President. Port Temp. The other thing is that these are the mayor, uh, it gets to choose these candidates and, and submit them. So you, I mean, you've raised a valid argument, but this is the mayor's, you know, crafting, you know, and we have like so many boards and commissions in this town. Um, and he, you know, and they really have done amazing work, you know, for very little, sometimes there's no money, whatever. These are people that are committed to the town, you know, in many different ways. But we're simply improving. What I would say is, you know,
some very qualified candidates. So Councilor can, just real Brief, if I might ask the counselor, what was the situation with Circuit Coffee? I didn't pick up on that. So off street parking is people who are experts in downtown parking. Right. And he has a business, a physical business in town that everybody knows. Yes. And he used to live there, but he doesn't live there any longer. But, so he, I think he's from in living in Agawam currently, But he's at presently on the off street parking. He is on off street parking. Okay. Well, I do recall if you would indulge me partly being old. Uh, we have some historic perspective here, and we had a wonderful man
that served many years on off street parking that all of us were surprised to find out he didn't live in Westfield. And he had such a passion and he was on the board. I believe that's the way that went down. That, uh, long story short, we did craft a local ordinance to allow business owners and, you know, and, and a lot of business owners over the years were so more passion than a lot of residents were about things. I would just simply state from, uh, being in the mayor's chair at one time, the list of candidates for these positions is not deep. So if you do find somebody, especially like the second alternate to the zoning board
of appeals, it's not really a high profile operation there. Uh, though it is important, it's hard to find candidates. And then there was always the issue some years ago about the quality of candidates. And you know, I know there was a lot of debate on the council over the years, and one of 'em was, you know, it's the mayor's choice ultimately, and if the council didn't wanna approve that person, that's an individual counselor's, uh, decision. And that's respected and that's just the way it is. But I do think that, um, not being, I didn't wanna be prejudicial. I, I did support years ago the ordinance that allowed business owners just only because of the fact that many of them put in a lot of energy
and effort and why not? Right? So, councilor Morgan Elliot, Thank you, Mr. President Prote. Yeah, I, I, I kind of, I agree with the council across the way. I mean, you, you can have a resident, a lifelong resident that really is more invested in another city or town where they have a business or they go to work and they just come home. They have a home here, but that's it. They don't really, you know, are involved in the city at all. And then you could have someone that's just on the outskirts that drive through Westfield, that visits Westfield businesses, that has business here,
that have friends here, uh, that use the pickleball courts or go to our parks and in recreation. And, and they, they want to, uh, they want make Westfield better, and that they're more passionate about it than even a resident that lives here. So I, I mean, I like the idea of opening up our, our boards and commissions to someone that's not just a resident and taxpayer of Westfield. Uh, because you're, you're really missing out on some of the talent that might be out there. Uh, you could have someone that's an incredible, uh, historian from Russell or Southwick or something.
They want to, they want to serve on our historical commission because they just love Westfield history. So, um, that's all. I just wanted to make that point. And I, I agree with the, the comments that, uh, from the councilors across the board council on that. Thank you, Mr. President Pro temp. Um, I just, I, I don't personally have all of the same, uh, feelings about it, but I just wanna sort of highlight, uh, councilor Matthews Kane's comments, because this is the one board I can think of other than health, um, where they can grant variances
to our ordinances. Right. So it, it's not like the historical commission that really, they are wonderful people and they do tremendous work, but they don't even have a budget. Right? Like they, this is, this is a group of people that can give somebody a pass on, on our zoning ordinances. So I just wanna sort of highlight Councillor Matthews King concern, because if we are not fully invested in Westfield, and what happens when we give out variances in Westfield, um, you know, that that could present conflicts.
But, uh, yeah, I just, that's rare. It's not, it's not your average board. That's all I'm saying. Thank you. Thank you. Anybody else? Councilor? All Thank you, Mr. President Trump. But more often than not, as a second alternate, they can certainly bring comment and advice and contribute, but may not even have a chance to vote. Correct? Mr. President? Yes. Just as a point of clarification, um, the zoning board of appeals has, I believe, three areas of jurisdiction that it can give a zoning appeal decision to. So it's very narrow as it relates to
what they can decide on. It's not like I can, I have a particular problem with my setback here or something, and, and I just would like to be able to do X, Y, z. It, it, it doesn't work that way. So I I do agree that, you know, we probably over the years, we always had an attorney on that board and actually kick as an attorney. Um, and it was always helpful. And, and before that it was Bill Murray for years was the attorney. Um, but it was one of those things where if you and I had been in front of the board of appeals to get a, uh, zoning variance, uh, it, it's, if you do it right, it's a hurdle that you have to get through. Um, so I didn't want to be left with the impression that,
you know, we, they could just wave the W and and uh, give an appeal and that's just not the way it works. Yeah. One of the sitting members is an attorney, Christine Webster. Mm-hmm. That's right. And I'd like to say that her office, real estate office, maybe it was Springfield, but she does a lot of properties in Westfield. So that's just where her home base is. Any others? Roll call Madam City Clerk Bean? Yes. Burns? Yes. Fanin? Yes. Figgy? Yes. Harris? Yes. Can I pick? Yes. Matthews. Kane? No. Meow. Yes. Morgan Alley? Yes. Oniskey? Yes. Adams?
Yes. Allie? Yes. Motion Passes. Item 49. Counselor Adams. Yeah. Motion to spend the rules to allow us to vote on all these candidates as a whole second to save a whole bunch of time. However, um, two things. Every one of 'em was 3, 3 0 out of PAC. And if there is a name on here, somebody would like us to pull out and we can talk about 'em, you know, one at a time, I'd be more than happy to do that. Motion's been made to suspend the rules. Yes. Seconded. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? Okay.
Discussion Councilor Morgan. Just also to add to what, uh, councilor Adams just said, if there's anybody that, uh, needs to recuse themselves, uh, speak now. Counselor. Thank you. I just have a, we'll Take that one up. A couple of comments. City Sister Ashley Brown regarding number 49. Um, she wanted everybody to know that she is in total favor of Reappointing, uh, to me Reynolds, that he is fantastic on this board, um, and that her department thinks that, um, he is a definite asset to them
and that he is not only very educated in this area, but that he is a very kind individual. And when things sometimes get heated, as some of those subjects do, when they get, uh, um, people who are a little heated, uh, he is a very calm and collected individual. And I'll just make one other comment that the, uh, Peter Oli number 50 58, we couldn't have a better person on the police commissioner than, um, judge Les.
Thank you, councilor Harris. Councilor Matthews Gain. Thank you. President Prote. This is more for the public. I, I don't know if you clarified, these are all reappointments. So the ones s that we discussed earlier were people who are being appointed for the first time. Correct. So these people were not only vetted the first time, they've also served. So everyone here is really aware of their abilities. Correct. And thank you for that clarification. Yeah. And I think we should all admit that they've all done a great job And they're all, um, otherwise they wouldn't be back. Yeah. Correct. Yeah, exactly. Okay. Roll call.
Madam City Clerk. Mr. Burns, you have something Back? He's good. Pardon? No, he's good. Oh, you wanted say something? Council Burns. Thank you Councilor Bean. I'm good. You're good. No, I, I just, with especially the discussion with one or appointment, I'd just like to say, um, never ceases to amaze me. These people come back year after, or two years after two years. And this is a volunteer job, really. Some get very small stipend and you look at the, um, not just the training or the, the resumes you originally read.
I mean, it, it just, I I just like to thank each and every one of people on, on, on these, uh, boards. I, I served on one. Thanks my buddy. Next door here. Water. Sometimes we Make a mistake, Which, which board was that? But anyway, thank, thank you to all the Board members. Okay, here we go. Council Morgan, just a point of order. Does, does Madam City Clerk need to read through them all first before we vote or No? We could do that. We apologize. It's been a long time since we've done it this way, so we can do that. Madam City Clerk, would you read 49 through 61, please? Yes.
49 Reappointment of Timothy Reynolds 3 24 Woodland Road as a member of the Board of Assessors for a term to expire in February, 2029. 50 Reappointment of Robert Floor 1 71 City View Road as a member of the Conservation Commission for a term to expire in February, 2029. 51. Reappointment of Jeffrey Tran. 10 Waterford Drive as a member of the Fire Commission for a term to expire in February, 2020 9, 52. Reappointment of Stanley Remco 31 Ridge Trail Road as a member of the Board of Health for a term to expire in February, 2029. 53. Reappointment of Kathleen Palmer, 6 0 8 Pcha Road as a member of the historical Commission for a term to expire in February, 2029.
54. Reappointment of Samuel Mackman 2 88 North Road as a member of the Historical Commission for a term to expire in February, 2020 9, 55. Reappointment of Jennifer Thilan 18 Vine Street as a member of the Historical Commission for a term to expire in February, 2020 9, 56. Reappointment of Scott La Bombard, 6 2 6 Western Ave as a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission for a term to expire in February, 2020 9, 57. Reappointment of Bernard Pza 2 57 Valley Drive as a member of the planning Board for a term to expire in February, 2030 1 58. Reappointment of Peter Velas. 18 Spruth Circles the police commission for a term
to expire in February 20, 29, 59. Reappointment of Alexander FNA 54 Bra Way to the Board of Public Works for term to expire in February 20, 29, 60. Reappointment of Linda Salus 17 Hillside Road as a member of the Board of Registrars for term to expire in February 20, 29 61. Submitting the reappointment of Richard Clark 16 Clinton Avenue as a member of the Traffic Commission for term to expire in February, 2029. Thank you very much. Roll call please. Bean. Yes. Burns? Yes. Fanon? Yes. Figy? Yes. Harris? Yes. Ick. Yes. Matthew Kane. Yes. Meow. Yes. Morgan Alley. Yes. Hoki? Yes.
Adams? Yes. Allie? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Sorry. Sorry, Ms. Madam Clerk. I didn't do that to get out of reading this. Sure. But you did it much better than I could've did it. I can tell you that. And I, and I thank, thank all for your, your cooperation on this one. Item 62, councilor Morgan Alley. Thank you Mr. President Prote. Motion of councilors Morgan Alley and Fi relative to lane designations for Union Ave, including the northbound lanes of the Great River Bridge. Refer to traffic commission. Second. Motion made and second refer to traffic commission. Any further discussion? Um, no, it's just that the center lane, uh, going over the bridge coming up to the light
where North Elm, uh, butcher is, um, the, the left lane there is a dedicated left and the center lane backs up all the way down in the morning to the CVS. This was brought to my attention on a couple of occasions. Um, and if the left lane, if you continue on the left lane up to the next light, the lane that lane splits into two and one of 'em goes straight. So it would make sense that that lane should be a straight and a left. The other two lanes wouldn't change. Um, so we'll let the traffic commission look at that. And, um, and the other, the other issue is, uh, um, meadow Street dumping onto the bridge
and signage there and that kind of thing. Um, so hopefully they'll, uh, they'll come up with a, a solution for that to make traffic flow better in the morning, especially Councilor Beam. All in favor to refer this to Traffic Commission. Say hi. Aye. Aye. Opposed? Now in the hands of the traffic commission. Any announcements? Councilor Morgan Allen. Thank you, Mr. President Pro Tent. I just want to, uh, well first of all, the Sub-Zero cold this weekend should be our last round. I don't hear an applause, but that's all right. It's gonna be below zero, I think just for a couple more mornings. And I think we're, we're melting the snow and get rid of that. I want to, uh, give a shout out
and a thank you to, um, my son Lucas Morgane for his service as a member of the 1 0 4 Fighter Wing. He is going off to basic training on February 10th, which is the 30th anniversary of the passing of my father who served in the US Air Force. It's kind of crazy that he's going off on that anniversary, but, um, I'll be thinking and praying for him as he goes through basic. Thank you. Anybody else? Thank you. I, I had the privilege, uh, once again of judging the annual science fair up at the high school.
Uh, and I just like to acknowledge the top three finishers. Giovanni Santella was in first place, Kaitlyn Goyette in second, and Tegan Chisholm Godshaw. And third, they are three of 15 that will go on to the regionals at Western New England College later in March. So it was just another phenomenal experience. If you can find the time to volunteer to do this, it's a, well, uh, it's, it's, it's a nice rewarding experience that I would encourage everybody to do it. Councilor Harris, motion to adjourn. Second. All in favor?
Aye. Adjourn.