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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com
— SINCLAIR LEWIS
SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2015
VOL. 84 NO. 186
75 cents
CITY COUNCIL
Office building project hearing continued By DAN MORIARTY Staff Writer WESTFIELD – The Planning Board voted earlier this week to continue the public hearing on a petition for a special permit, site plan approval and stormwater management plan associated with a proposal to construct a four-story office building on Apremont Way and Airport Drive. The board took that action to extend the public hearing until the board’s August 18 session to allow time for a more thorough review of the plans by city officials because the applicant, FAD Realty LLC, and the engineering consultant, Sage Engineering, both of which are owned by Frank A. DeMarinis, submitted a modified plan Tuesday night. The modifications were added to the project at the suggestion of the city’s Principal Planner Jay Vinskey following an informal review of the project which includes erection of a four-story, 54,200-square-foot office building and construction of a 219 space parking lot. Sage Senior Engineer Bryan J. Balicki said the property is located in two different zoning districts, Business A along Apremont Way and Industrial A along Airport Drive. Balicki said the proposed office building will be 46 feet high and that the project has been reviewed and allowed by the Federal Aviation Administration. Balicki said that there will be two parking areas, one off Apremont Way and the other off Airport Drive. The lot along Apremont Way will share common access with an existing parking constructed for the Riverbend Medical Groups medical building. That property is also owned by FAD Realty, LLC. Balicki said the proposed building will also house doctor and medical offices. FAD Realty is seeking Planning Board approval of a special permit, site plan and stormwater management plan. Members discussed if the board should require a performance bond for the stormwater management system which still needs to be reviewed by the city’s Engineering Department. Other questions pertained to the impact of traffic, specifically if a traffic signal at the intersection of Apremont Way and Southampton Road should be installed. Members also asked if there would be structures on the roof of the building. Balicki said the FAA permit for the building’s roof at 46 feet is the maximum height that would be allowed and that the medical building will not increase traffic at specific times, such as an office releasing shifts of workers. “It’s not a shift change of place, so traffic will be staggered,” Balicki said.
“Every compulsion is put upon writers to become safe, polite, obedient, and sterile.”
Knapik seeks at-large seat PHOTOS BY LYNN F. BOSCHER
WESTFIELD — According to online reports, Westfield’s mayor has taken out nomination papers for an at-large seat on the City Council. Daniel M. Knapik was first elected mayor in 2009. Knapik served as Ward 2 Councilor from 2002 to 2009. Look for updates online as well as The Westfield News’s Facebook Page. ——— Online thewestfieldnews.com
Southwick Daze are here
Rotarian David Howes grilling gourmet hot dogs. See additional photos Page 8.
MAYOR DANIEL M. KNAPIK
Body of slain Mass. Marine returns home
Springfield Police and Massachusetts State Police escort the hearse bearing the casket of Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan in Springfield, Mass., Friday, July 24, 2015. The Marine was killed by a gunman in Chattanooga, Tenn. (Michael S. Gordon/The Republican via AP)
Feds: No unauthorized access for Wynn in criminal inquiry BOSTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors are strongly disputing the city of Boston's allegations that Wynn representatives had unauthorized access to a criminal investigation related to casino development. U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Carmen Ortiz's office dismissed the allegations this week as "rumor spewed and spun" by Boston in a separate civil lawsuit challenging the state's decision to award Wynn a casino license. The comments came in the federal wire fraud case against three former owners of the land in Everett that Wynn has purchased for the casino. Boston alleges two former high-ranking state police troopers had been working for Wynn as private investigators and were granted unauthorized access to files related to the ongoing joint state and federal investigation into the land owners. A Boston spokeswoman says the city "sharply disagrees" with prosecutors.
Robot’s cross-country hitchhike hasn’t left Massachusetts BOSTON (AP) — A robot’s hitchhiking journey across the U.S. is off to a slow start. The robot named hitchBOT caught its first ride in Marblehead, Massachusetts, last week, bound for San Francisco, but it still hasn’t left the state. Instead, it has bounced around the Boston area and was briefly taken to sea. On Friday, the humanoid robot took in a Red Sox game. The robot is immobile and relies on strangers to transport it from place to place. It’s the creation of two researchers in Canada who wanted to study how people interact with robots. The robot automatically documents its travels on social media. Previously hitchBOT took 26 days to travel across Canada. Its creators said it had a slow start there, too, but then quickly zipped across the country.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Hundreds of people lined the streets of Springfield waving American flags and paying final respects as the body of a Marine killed by a gunman in Tennessee was returned to his hometown. The body of Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan arrived at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut on Friday afternoon. The casket was placed in a hearse that was escorted by police along Interstate 91 to a funeral home in Springfield. People crowded along Sumner Avenue and on highway overpasses to honor Sullivan. Sullivan was among five service members killed during an attack on military facilities in Chattanooga last week. The public is invited to calling hours Sunday afternoon at the T.P. Sampson Chapel of The Acres. A private funeral Mass and burial are scheduled for Monday.
Mourners line up in the Forest Park neighborhood of Springfield, Mass., Friday, July 24, 2015, for the processional bearing Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan home. (Michael S. Gordon/The Republican via AP)
Town Beach re-opens for the weekend By HOPE E. TREMBLAY Staff Writer SOUTHWICK – Members of the Park and Recreation Commission are hopeful the Southwick Town Beach opened Friday after being closed because of water quality. The beach closed Tuesday afternoon when Health Director Thomas Fitzgerald received water samples with high levels of bacteria. The water at the beach, which is located on Beach Road, is tested every Monday. “Tom was surprised because he said the water was crystal clear,” said Commissioner Daniel Call. The beach has been closed several times over the past few seasons for contaminants in the water. Call said the Commission believed the problem was geese who frequently visited the beach at night. “This year we have not seen any evidence of geese, but prior to this year we had geese everywhere,” said Call. “So there is something else causing it and Tom is not sure of that source.” The Commission had plans to combat the geese this year with plastic fencing that would keep them off the beach. Previously, beach staff would spend every morning raking and shoveling geese waste from the beach. “We were prepared to implement a plan to keep them out but there is no need right now,” Call said. The water at the beach has been tested every day this week and each day the level of contaminants has decreased. Call said Thursday’s test was well under the state levels. “We are hoping to be back in business Friday and ready for the weekend,” he said. Before heading to the Southwick Town Beach, Call recommended calling the beach hotline at 413-5691213 to make sure it is open. PHOTO BY HOPE E. TREMBLAY