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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
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of life is to be i nterested in one thing profoundly and in a thousand things well.” — Horace Walpole,
MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 2014
VOL. 83 NO. 10
“The whole secret
75 cents
Kidnapping hearing continued
Michael Grondahl, the new leaseholder of the Southwick Motocross 338 track, has met with school and town officials to help reopen the track. (File photo by Frederick Gore)
Motocross management hopes to lease land By Hope E. Tremblay Staff Writer SOUTHWICK – The start of the new year has brought the start of a new era for Motocross 338. New lease holder Michael Grondahl is making plans to begin a new season and the first order of business involves the town and school department. According to an article on www.vitalmx.com, Grondahl is hoping to lease a parcel of land from the town which has been used for parking in the past. Board of Selectman Chairman Russell Fox said this morning that the issue is on the agenda of the board’s Jan. 27 meeting. “There is a chunk of property there that is under control of the schools,” said Fox. “It is in the woods and motocross has used it for parking in the past – the boundaries of what was town property were not clear and we want to make sure the schools and town are protected.” Fox said the schools do not actively use the land. Grandahl’s local representative met with town officials last week for a preliminary discussion on the topic. “They’ve had discussions, and as a board we are aware of the change in management and look forward to working with them,” said Fox, adding that all decisions would be “in the best interest of the community.” Chief Administrative Officer Karl Stinehart said Gary Yelin is acting on behalf of Grandahl in town right now and he spoke with both the police and fire chiefs and was the liaison to the schools for now. Stinehart said he does not know if the name MMX 338 will remain. “We haven’t had anyone file anything yet,” Stinehart said. Vitalmx.com reported that in the past, due to the limited
spectator parking available at the facility for the Southwick National, Motocross 338 partnered with the school which provided parking on school property for the event. It was a win-win for Motocross 338 and the school because there was plenty of temporary spectator parking for the National and it gave the school additional income for education. However, the decision to enter into a long-term lease for the one acre of school property is ultimately up to the Southwick town officials. “If an agreement is reached quickly, there will likely be time to hold a few races later in 2014. Since the scheduling of NESC and NEMX races could not wait for this issue to be resolved, it is hoped they will be able to fit at least one Southwick event into their 2014 schedules with a return to a normal schedule in 2015. If there are additional delays it is possible there won’t be any races until 2015,” according to vitalmx.com. Grandahl told vitalmx.com he is optimistic an agreement will be reached with the town and is currently negotiating with another adjacent land owner to either enter into a long-term lease or to purchase 30 acres of land. Among the goals Mike has set for 2015 and beyond is to restore Southwick to the NESC and NEMX schedules, bring the AMA National back to Southwick, host a round of the USGP and host the MXoN. In addition, he has many ideas to bring some big one-off motocross events to the iconic track,” states the vitalmx.com article. Grandahl Mike began racing in Southwick in 1979 with the NESC and earned his AMA Pro Motocross license in 1981. He has been involved in the sport ever since. He is the cofounder and former CEO of Planet Fitness, one of the partners of the GEICO Honda team as well as Alias MX and owns several businesses outside the motocross industry.
By Carl E. Hartdegen Staff Writer WESTFIELD – A determination of whether or not a city man will be tried in Hampden Superior Court was postponed Friday when Judge Philip A. Beattie allowed a motion for a continuance to allow the defendant’s lawyer additional time to prepare his defense. The case stems from a Dec. 9, 2013, incident in which a city woman claimed that the man had assaulted and kidnapped her in her Southwick Road apartment. Officer Michael Csekovsky reports, in a court document, that he responded to the station after the alleged victim went there to complain about her on-again, off-again, boyfriend. Csekovsky reports that the woman told him that the man, Ryck Crabtree, 23, of 19 Sackett St., had come to her apartment and an argument developed. The woman told him that the man refused to leave when she asked him to and, when she said she was going to call police, took her car keys and cellphone. She told Csekovsky that when she tried to take another phone from the kitchen table to call police the man also took that phone. She said that Crabtree “pushed her against a wall and put his hands around her throat” Csekovsky reports. The victim said that the man would not allow her to leave the apartment for at least an hour after the assault began and she said that “she was trapped in the bathroom as Ryck was See Kidnapping Hearing, Page 3
Massachusetts pushing electric school buses By Peter Francis Staff Writer BOSTON — The Patrick administration is promoting an electric school bus pilot program as part of a renewed push to support alternative fuel vehicles in Massachusetts. As part of the initiative, the administration will provide $1.8 million in grants for eight electric school buses. Districts across the state can apply for one of the buses. Electric school buses have energy storage capability and can also serve as backup energy resources during natural disasters and similar events. The administration is also pushing to increase the number of publicly accessible charging stations and to replace or convert more than 200 public and private fleet vehicles currently powered by gasoline and diesel with vehicles fueled by natural gas, propane, electricity, solar electric and hybrid technologies. The ongoing push for electric cars is intended to help ease reliance on fossil fuels. Early last month, Patrick announced new investments and grants for three programs supporting alternative fuel vehicles. See Electric School Buses, Page 3
Board reviews priorities, funding requirements By Dan Moriarty Staff Writer WESTFIELD – The Community Preservation Committee initiated a review of its priorities in preserving open space Thursday. The discussion focused on ensuring public access to land protected with Community Preservation Act funding. The CPA allows residents to add a surtax on property in the city to generate funding to acquire open space, create affordable housing and preserve historic buildings. Open space preservation is usually accomplished by purchasing development rights to a section of land with a conservation restriction, which has to be reviewed and
approved by the state. Or the land can be purchased through a direct sale, then placed under a conservation restriction while a possession of the city. Committee Chairman Joe Muto opened the discussion of the 2014 priorities with an issue raised several times during earlier agenda items: public access for active and passive recreation on land under conservation restriction. Committee member Vince Olinski suggested that the highest priority should be given to acquiring the rights to land bordering other land that might later be added. “I think we ought to be looking at land that can be further expanded, connected open space instead of
spot zoning,” Olinski said. “I think we ought to be asking what are the priorities of other city departments so we can be more proactive and help clarify where the CPA dollars are spent in the future.” Member Phil McEwan also raised the issue of fiscal accountability and reporting by groups seeking or awarded CPA funding. McEwan noted that frequently the committee is reviewing the cost of construction and renovation projects based on one bid or appraisal. McEwan said that the level of fiscal detail required by the committee should increase proportionally with the amount being sought by a applicant. “We should have bidding require-
ments as part of the application process,” McEwan said. “If it’s for a couple of thousand dollars, best practices. But if it’s for $50,000, maybe we should require the applicant to get two bids and if it’s for $200,000, have them submit four bids for the work.” There was also discussion on following the progress of projects and accounting for the CPA funds as they are expended so that if the work is accomplished under the original estimate, the remaining funds come back to the committee, in a timely manner, so they can be used for other projects. The board, which meets quarterly, will continue those discussions at its April 10 meeting. Muto also opened
the meeting schedule for discussion, suggesting if it would be better to meet every other month instead of the current schedule of meeting every third months. The CPC, with the exception of two mayoral appointees, is comprised of members of the Historical Commission, Housing Authority, Conservation Commission, Planning Board, and the Parks and Recreation Commission, all of which have one or two meetings a month in addition to the quarterly CPC session. The members decided not to change their meeting schedule. If an application had to be addressed within a short timeline, Muto could call a special meeting.