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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com
VOL. 83 NO. 255
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2014
“Loneliness adds beauty to life. It puts a special
burn on sunsets and makes night air smell better.”
— Henry Rollins
75 cents
Requests made public
Allie, Velis participate in candidate forum
By Hope E. Tremblay Staff Writer SOUTHWICK – Town Clerk Michelle Hill offered a report on public requests for information to the Board of Selectmen this week, which showed 83 requests were made between Oct. 7, 2013 and Oct. 24, 2014. The board requested the report in order to review the policy in place for making public information requests. Earlier this year, Hill asked the board for approval to receive payment upfront for large requests. She said some requests were very time-consuming and tied up staff for hours and then were never picked up and paid for by the person making the request. “It was getting out of control,” Hill said of the number of large requests she received. “We have about $100 in uncollected requests.” The board approved a requirement for pre-payment of any request estimated at more than $10. Hill said the process for a request is simple. “I’m basically the keeper of the information,” said Hill. “Requests come to me and there’s a process
Facilities Department vote slated
By Peter Francis Staff Writer WESTFIELD – Last night’s candidate forum for the two men running to represent the 4th Hampden District in the state House of Representatives – Democratic incumbent John Velis and Republican challenger Dan Allie – touched upon everything from taxes and local aid to the four statewide questions on next Tuesday’s ballot. Sponsored by The Westfield News Group and moderated by WNG President Patrick Berry, the two candidates answered questions and ran through their talking points, all the while lacking much of the firey rhetoric that defined their previous special election race last spring, in which Velis, a city attorney making his first run at elected office, defeated Allie, a first term at-large city councilor, by taking 53 percent of the 5,051 votes cast. This time around, both candidates took decidedly different approaches in trying to convince voters in attendance at Westfield VocationalTechnical High School last night to support them. Allie attempted to convey himself as the doggedly determined grassroots warrior for lower taxation with a far gentler tone than what marked his previous run for the seat, while Velis spoke with the calm, cool and collected demeanor of a man now armed with the most valuable of assets – a voting record. “Every single vote that I took was what was in the best interest of Westfield – nothing more, nothing less,” said Velis. “I’m happy to report that now
By Dan Moriarty Staff Writer WESTFIELD – The Legislative & Ordinance Committee discussed the final version of an ordinance amendment creating a city-wide Department of Facilities Maintenance under the mayor’s department. City Council members had raised a number of questions about the structure of that department, it’s organization in the mayor’s office, the management position for the department, funding and interdepartmental relations when the ordinance amendment to establish the new department was requested by Mayor Daniel M. Knapik at the June 5, 2014 session of the council. The council unanimously approved the first reading of the amendment to Chapter 2 (Administration) , Article III (Officers and Employees), Division 7 (Office of the Mayor) at its meeting on Aug. 21 but the proposed ordinance amendment has not been acted upon since the August session of the council. Last night City Purchaser Tammy Tefft presented the rationale for the proposed structure and tenure of the department supervisor. “The last time we met you had concerns so Shanna (Reed of the Law Department) and I met with Brent (B.
Dan Allie
JOHN VELIS
that I have a record that I’ve done exactly what I said.” “I don’t look at a vote through the prism of what would a Democrat do? What would a Republican do? It’s how do I help the people of Westfield,” he said. Velis stated that his voting pattern since April – in which he voted against tax increases – has made him one of the most independent legislators in Massachusetts. Meanwhile, Allie stressed his acute business acumen and his experience as a family man, a city councilor and a veteran. “I’m deeply concerned with what our politicians are doing at every level of government and the direction our state and country is going in,” said Allie. “I’m concerned about the See Forum, Page 3
See Department, Page 3
See Requests, Page 3
Council to decide Planning Board ordinance
Michelle Hill
By Dan Moriarty Staff Writer WESTFIELD – The Legislative & Ordinance Committee will resubmit a controversial ordinance amendment unchanged, although the motion could be further amended on the City Council floor at the Nov. 6 session. The council was deadlocked at 6-6 at the Oct. 16 session and referred back to the L&O which had given the ordinance amendment a 3-0 positive recommendation. The amendment has three components: it defines the role of associate or alternate members; it defines a quorum needed to conduct Planning
Board meetings; and it would eliminate ward representation on the Planning Board which is currently composed of six ward representatives and one at-large representative. Currently, the Planning Board has five full members and two alternates, a sufficient number to meet the super majority state special permit requirement. The line defining the role of full members and associate members is unclear in terms of participation and responsibility. The Law Department, in an opinion sent to Principal Planner Jay Vinskey on June 18, 2014, states that the membership of the board is nine, which requires a quorum of
five members to conduct a meeting. Historically, the board has conducted meetings with a quorum of four members present for the sevenmember board. If all seven full members are present, and eligible to vote, the votes of the alternates are not counted. Elimination of the ward representation was the issue dividing the council which led to returning the amendment to the L&O and could be deleted during debate on the City Council floor. Ward 4 Councilor Mary O’Connell, who was not at the Oct 16 session due to an airport delay, attended the L&O meeting last night
and historically has been a strong supporter of ward representation, a position she took again last night with the L&O. “The city would be better served with ward representation (on the Planning Board),” O’Connell said. O’Connell would be the seventh councilor to oppose eliminating ward representation of the Planning Board, unless other councilors who were opposed at the Oct. 16 session have changed their position. Elimination of the ward representation was requested by the majority of Planning Board members who See Ordinance, Page 3
Elks provide dictionaries to Westfield children By Carl E. Hartdegen Staff Writer WESTFIELD – Third graders in the city schools – and beyond – are getting dictionaries thanks to a program of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. John Pellan, the district deputy to the Elks’ Grand Exalted Ruler for the West district of Massachusetts, visited Franklin Avenue School recently to personally present the dictionaries to the third grade pupils there. Before he presented the dictionaries to the children, Pellan told the Franklin Avenue third graders about the youth programs that the Elks offer including the Hoop Shoot contest (which he said would be starting soon at the Boys and Girls Club), Americanism essay contests and the Rag Shag parade and Halloween celebration. He also told them about the dictionary project which, he said, was started in 1995 by Mary French of Charleston, South Carolina. The Elks joined the program
nationally in 2004, he said, and since then, the Elks have provided almost 15 million dictionaries to school children. Pellan said that the dictionaries will be given to all the third graders in the city schools. “We do the hilltowns, too”, he said, along with West Springfield and Agawam. He said that last year the local lodge, Westfield/West Springfield Lodge 1481, distributed about 1,500 dictionaries to school children in the area. He said that, for the past ten years, the Westfield/West Springfield lodge has been one of the 600 Elks lodges participating in the program. Pellan said that the dictionary program is “a way of giving something to the children for the learning process.” He pointed out that the Elks, both locally and nationally, have a history of very strong support for education. He said that the Elks are second only to the U.S. government in terms of the amount of scholarship aid provided to students across the nation.
John Pellan, a past Exalted Ruler of the Westfield/West Springfield lodge 1481 of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, distributes dictionaries to the third graders in Lauren Martins’ classroom at Franklin Avenue School as part of the the dictionay program supported by about 600 Elks lodges across the nation. (Photo by Carl E. Hartdegen)