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WEATHER TONIGHT
The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
Cloudy, showers late. Low of 41.
www.thewestfieldnews.com THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015
VOL. 84 NO. 095
ON THE STREET
House unveils $38B state budget Modest hike in spending By BOB SALSBERG Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts House leaders unveiled a nearly $38 billion state budget proposal Wednesday that calls for a modest increase in state spending and offers the troubled Boston-area transit system more flexibility to enter into private contracts. The House Ways and Means Committee’s proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 would hike overall spending by 2.8 percent, about $100 million less than Republican Gov. Charlie Baker’s spending plan. The budget still needs approval from the full House before moving to the Senate. Both the governor and lawmakers are seeking to close a $1.8 billion structural gap between projected revenues and spending levels. The Democratic-controlled House followed Baker’s lead in calling for no new taxes and no withdrawal from the state’s “rainy day fund.” With the massive winter breakdowns that plagued the Massachusetts Bay
MARIA PEREZ I love just being with people.
NANCY GAREN I deal with flowers and everyone is always happy.
NED POLAN My therapy dog Brinkley helps provide comfort to the patients and people love him.
Board approves rail trail safety project
See Rail Trail, Page 3
PHOTOS BY FREDERICK GORE
MARY L. RALPH FIGY O’CONNELL The Council on Aging and Veteran Services have both been removed from that ordinance, while the April 2 vote to adopt the Public Works ordinance which consolidates the Water, Public Works, Park & Recreation and Wastewater Treatment into one department.
75 cents
See L&O Agenda, Page 3
RICK BROWN When I volunteer at Noble, I feel that I’m really helping people.
L&O sets agenda for City Council By DAN MORIARTY Staff Writer WESTFIELD – Members of the Legislative & Ordinance Committee voted Tuesday night give a positive recommendation to the full City Council tonight for three pending issues and to keep two others in committee. The L&O will recommend passage of an amendment to the Public Works Ordinance approved at the April 2 session to remove a redundancy from the city’s Code of Ordinance related to the Park & Recreation Department. Shanna Reed of the Law Department said the Park & Recreation Department was in the Community Services Ordinance which was approved nearly a decade ago combining the Parks & Recreation, Veteran Services and Council on Aging under one director.
— RUSSELL LYNES
“Now a deputy superintendent will be taking over the duties of the Park & Recreation Director, “Reed said. “This amendment is so that you don’t have two directors of Parks & Recreation.” The L&O also gave a positive recommendation to changing the ordinance regulating the composition of the Flood Control Commission. The original ordinance, adopted in 1961 established the commission as a seven member broad. Ward 4 Councilor Mary O’Connell and Ward 2 Councilor Ralph Figy, chairman of the L&O, sponsored a motion to reduce the number of commissioners to five. There are currently four members on that commission
ROBERT JENSEN I’m in Pastoral Care and I think it’s wonderful to volunteer.
See Budget, Page 3
to accept an insult is to ignore it; if you can’t ignore it, top it; if you can’t top it, laugh at it; if you can’t laugh at it, it’s probably deserved.”
By DAN MORIARTY Staff Writer WESTFIELD – The Board of Public Works Tuesday night approved contracts to increase the safety of the Columbia Greenway rail trail crossing on Shaker Road and in a separate vote approved environmental engineering for the second phase of the Route 187 improvements. The board approved a $33,000 request from the city’s Engineering Department for the design of additional warning lights and construction of a sidewalk between the rail trail and Country Club Drive. City Engineer Mark Cressotti said that Ocean MARK State Signal of Smithfield, R.I. will CRESSOTTI install the new warning lights along the Shaker Road approaches and on the rail trail to warn motorists and trail patrons of the crossing, the only road-level crossing along the city’s elevated linear park. “Several City Council members have brought forward a desire to enhance safety at this crossing,” Cressotti said to the Board of Public Works. The $33,000, which is being financed through the city’s Chapter 90 funding, will also, be used to retain Tighe & Bond to design and secure city and state permits, for construction of a “wide sidewalk” which will be an extension of the rail trail into the nearby Country Club Drive residential area, Cressotti said. The board also approved a $46,100 change order for the Route 187 design and environmental permitting which will be paid from an existing bond. The city is responsible for the design work and environmental permitting, then construction will be paid and managed by the state Department of Transportation (DOT). Cressotti said that phase #1 of the Route 187 reconstruction project, improvements to Feeding Hills Road, will be completed this summer and that the DOT is scheduled to advertise phase #2, the improvements to Little River Road, in October with construction slated to begin in 2016. The Little River Road improvements include reconfiguration of the Shaker Road intersection, with additional lanes being added, and a sidewalk along Shaker Road to Cardinal Lane, as well as new drainage. Cressotti said that the state Department of Environmental Protection requirements have changed since the Route 187 project design
What is your favorite part of volunteering?
MARJORIE ANDERSON I love the patient contact and it’s a deeper meaning. I’m in Pastoral Care.
“The only graceful way
Montgomery hosts WiredWest informational meeting By AMY PORTER Correspondent MONTGOMERY – Montgomery’s Select Board is hosting an informational meeting Saturday at 9:30 a.m. to present information on the WiredWest Fiber Town campaign to bring high-speed Internet service to town residents. Most residents have received packets with an informational brochure that provides an overview of the proposed plan and sign-up information. Daniel Jacques, chair of the Select Board, said the purpose of the meeting is to bring people “up to speed” on the impact of the WiredWest campaign. He said broadband represents “critical infrastructure” for the town, and is important for the sustainability of the hilltowns. “I’ve heard too many stories about people trying to buy a house (in Montgomery). They might love the house, but they need broadband,” he said. According to Jacques, residents of Montgomery now have either DSL (digital subscriber line) through Verizon, satellite, wireless, or “are stuck with” dial-up Internet
access. The DSL lines were made possible by equipment from Boston that was obsolete, and Verizon has no plans to upgrade or replace them, he said. Satellite and wireless are expensive, and not all residents have wireless coverage available to them. Comcast needs a minimum of fifteen houses per mile to meet its expenses, and does not cover the town. According to WiredWest.net, WiredWest is a cooperative of municipal light plants (MLPs) from 44 western Massachusetts towns which are authorized by special legislation to finance the construction of telecommunications networks and offer services. WiredWest is governed by representatives from the member towns. It aims to create a robust, long-term solution to the region’s broadband needs by building and operating a fiber optic network that connects individual homes and businesses and provides universal and affordable access to all. Featured in Saturday’s meeting will be a detailed explanation of the potential and expected impact to town finances and tax rates, as well as the expected costs to individual subscribers and the expected construction
plan and schedule. In attendance will be members of WiredWest’s Executive Committee and Montgomery’s Select Board. There are two upcoming critical votes on
this matter: A ballot question at the town election on May 4 seeking approval for a debt exclusion for the project, and an Article on the May 18 Annual Town Meeting warrant to authorize the borrowing for the project. The objective of the meeting is to provide townspeople with the background and facts they need to make informed decisions. “We have to act within a certain timeframe. If we don’t act within those timeframes, it will be more expensive in the future. We’ll lose access to the funds (roughly 40 percent) that the state is kicking in,” Jacques said. According to WiredWest, the sooner a town gets to the 40 percent minimum subscriptions required and passes a borrowing authorization, the sooner the town will be wired. Bids for project management and engineering could begin as soon as this summer. Construction could begin within the year and the first parts of the network could be “lit” within two years of the beginning of construction. Towns with the strongest demand are likely to be some of the first towns to be connected. Jacques said the Select Board encourages all residents to attend. He called the campaign, “a betterment for the community.”