Search for The Westfield News
WEATHER TONIGHT Increasing Clouds, Muggy. Low of 68
The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2014
VOL. 83 NO. 207
Police seek help in finding missing man By Peter Francis Staff Writer WESTFIELD – The Westfield Police Department is asking for help from area residents in locating a missing person. Michael McKean, 46, is a 5’11” white man weighing approximately 160 lbs, who police say may be wearing a wig. In a post to the Westfield Detective Bureau’s Facebook page, McKean is reported to drive a green Ford Ranger pickup truck and is known to frequent Village Pizza in Southwick. Police said that McKean has not been seen since August 30 and that he needs daily medication, which he is not believed to have with him, which they are saying may lead to him being confused. Police request that anyone who sees him or has information about his whereabouts call the Westfield Police Department at (413) 562-5411.
DAVID FLAHERTY
JAMES R. ADAMS
RALPH FIGY
Proposal to revoke CPA rejected By Dan Moriarty Staff Writer WESTFIELD – Members of the City Council voted down a motion last night that would have requested the Law Department to issue an opinion on the process of changing or dissolving the city’s Community Preservation Act program. At-large Councilor David A. Flaherty requested the consent of the City Council to send the request to the city’s Law Department. The motion would have required a response from that department, in writing, prior to the council’s Nov. 6th meeting describing “the proper step by step procedures or methods for the City Council or the citizens of Westfield to rescind or revoke the Community Preservation Act.” Flaherty, during discussion of his motion, said he was acting upon a constituent’s request. “This is not a motion to get rid of the CPA or change it in any way,” Flaherty said. “It was a very contentious vote at the time it was passed, basically 50/50 and was passed by just a few votes.” “I’m asking for an opinion on procedures to make changes, the mechanics of getting it on a ballot,” Flaherty said. “There are no instructions (in the state law establishing the CPA) on how to dissolve it. I just want clarification from the Law Department.” “Some people may want a chance to reconsider,” Flaherty said. “Many people did not approve of some of the projects (funded with CPA funds). We’ve collected $5 million, so it’s something worth investigating.” At-large Councilor James R. Adams said he would vote against the motion because the City Council has to vote to approve or deny each appropriation of CPA funds. “We vote to get that money out,” Adams said.
CHRISTOPHER M. CREAN
“Most of the projects (funded in whole or in part with CPA money) are great for the community.” Ward 2 Councilor Ralph Figy and Ward 6 Councilor Christopher Crean also voiced their opposition. “After the dissolution of the BID, I don’t want to lose any other opportunity to advance the interests of this city,” Figy said. Crean said he was on the City Council which voted to put the CPA on the ballot a decade ago. Crean suggested that Flaherty or any citizen could go online to find the directions to rescind the CPA. “We went for the lowest amount, one percent, and the citizens of Westfield OK’d it,” Crean said. “It was never ‘sold’ in any way by this body.” Flaherty countered that he could not find instructions on how to dissolve the program and was just seeking “to get clarification from the Law Department.” Figy said “if someone has something against the CPA, why should we help them? Let them do their own research.” Ward 1 Councilor Christopher Keefe, acting as council president in the absence of Council President Brent B bean II, read the CPA law and described the process of rescinding the law in the city. “I’ve been asked what it would take to do that,” Flaherty said. Keefe called for a voice vote and declared that the majority of council had cast “nay” votes on the motion. Keefe said, following adjournment, that any council member could have requested a roll call vote to clarify the vote outcome, but that nobody made that request and accepted his declaration that the councils casting “no” votes were in the majority.
BRIAN P. SULLIVAN
CHRISTOPHER KEEFE
Police ask public to keep sharp eye out for chainsaws By Peter Francis Staff Writer WESTFIELD – In a Facebook post made this week, the Westfield Police Department’s Detective Bureau advised city residents to keep an eye out for stolen professionalgrade chainsaws. The tools were taken from two separate tree services on Lockhouse Road and Mill Street within the past month. The Detective Bureau also advised authorities and fellow citizens who frequent the Craigslist sites of nearby cities such as Worcester and Hartford, Connecticut to keep their
eyes peeled for the equipment. Approximately six chainsaws were stolen from each service and were valued at over $6,000 in total. While there have been other chainsaw thefts in the city over the course of the year, authorities do not believe these two break-ins are connected to any thefts that occurred earlier this year. In the post, police advise anyone who may have information about either crime or may know of someone who is selling professional-grade chainsaws to contact the Westfield Detective Bureau at (413) 572-6400.
lived without
love, not one
without water.”
— W. H. Aude
75 cents
Applicants sought for vacancies By Hope E. Tremblay Staff Writer SOUTHWICK – The Southwick Board of Selectmen is seeking residents to fill two vacant seats on town boards. The first is an interested resident to serve on the Park and Recreation Commission. This position will be up for re-election in May of 2015 for a one-year term. The resident must be a registered voter. The seat became vacant when comissioner Michelle Ackerman resigned in late July, citing demands at her family business. The Board of Selectmen and the Library Trustees are looking for an interested resident to serve as a Library Trustee. This position will be up for re-election in May of 2015 for a one-year term. The resident must be a registered voter. The seat became vacant when Christopher Grabowski resigned last month. His resignation letter cited a demanding new job in Northampton as his reason for leaving the elected position. “Most of my weekly work schedule I do not come home to Southwick until 9 p.m. at night,” Grabowski stated. “This is just not workable, nor is it fair to the Southwick Library Board of Trustees and the people of Southwick.” Grabowski thanked the voters who elected him and said he “apologizes for not being able to complete my elected term.” Residents interested in either seat should submit a letter of interest and resume by 12 p.m. on Sept. 19, 2014 to the Selectmen’s Office, Town Hall, 454 College Highway, Southwick, MA 01077.
“Thousands have
Animal control position filled By Carl E. Hartdegen Staff Writer WESTFIELD – The manager’s position of the city’s animal control efforts has been filled – but not by the Police Commission, the appointing authority. The position has been vacant since the retirement of Kenneth Frazer, who had held the position since it was established. In late April, Frazer was placed on paid administrative leave but, at the time, no city officials would discuss the move, saying only that it was a personnel issue which could not be discussed. Frazer himself said, in an interview with The Westfield News, that he “wasn’t even told why I was being investigated” and subsequently retained a lawyer in an effort to reclaim his job. After his contract expired at the end of the fiscal year in June, he claimed his retirement benefits. Since Frazer was placed on administrative leave, his role has been filled by his subordinate, animal control officer Kerri Francis, but her tenure as the acting department manager will come to an end when her new boss starts working for the city on Sept. 15. Karin Decker, the city’s acting personnel director, said yesterday that that a hiring committee comprised of herself, Police Chief John Camerota and police Capt. Hipolito Nunez has met, interviewed three candidates, and selected Lori Charett to fill the vacant position. See Animal Control, Page 3
Council authorizes trash container lease By Dan Moriarty Staff Writer WESTFIELD – The City Council voted last night to approve a resolution authorizing the executive branch to enter into a five-year lease-to-own agreement for 13,000 trash containers needed to initiate a single-stream recycling program in the city. The single-stream recycling program is doing away with the bins used to collect paper products in one bin and glass and metal items in a second bin. The bins will be replaced with residents’ current 96-gallon containers which, under the singlestream program, will be used to collect all recyclable materials. The proposed lease-to-own contract is to acquire new, smaller 64-gallon containers for collection of residents’ solid waste trash at an annual cost of $116,899 over the life of the five-year contract. The program is intended to reduce the volume of solid trash being collected by a third, a substantial cost avoidance, and to increase the volume of recyclable materials being sent to the Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) located on Birnie Avenue in See Lease, Page 3