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VOL. 86 NO. 151
Serving Westfield, Southwick, and surrounding Hilltowns Serving Westfield, Southwick, and surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com www.thewestfieldnews.com TUESDAY, JUNE 27, 2017
VOL. VOL.86 86NO. NO.151 214
See Saldo, Page 3
JOHN STEINBECK
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The school committee approved the FY18 capital improvement plan during Tuesday night’s meeting. (Photo courtesy of Greg Fitzpatrick)
School committee still addressing capital improvement plan By GREG FITZPATRICK Correspondent SOUTHWICK – The Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School Committee approved the FY (Fiscal Year) 2018 capital improvement plan during Tuesday night’s meeting. The committee brought the plan to a vote for the third time as it had been initially rejected by Granville at their annual town meeting in May and then rejected again by Granville at a special town meeting in June. If each of the three towns in the school district approve the FY18 capital borrowing plan it will allow the Regional School District to use the $525,000 they have proposed towards a number of different areas. The departments included in the plan and the amounts are as follows: • Transportation Vehicles $200,000 • Technology $150,000 • Equipment $50,000 • Buildings $25,000 • Playground $100,000 According to Superintendent
Jen Willard, originally, the capital improvement plan was set at $600,000, but since the district missed their window of time to include the $150,000 for paving the school roads, $75,000 of the paving was put towards technology instead. The other half of the $75,000 was taken out of the FY18 plan and could be in the FY19 budget. Moving forward with the process of the capital improvement plan, the school district is sending out letters to Southwick, Tolland, and Granville residents giving them the option to hold a special town meeting and vote on the matter. All three towns have 60 days to take action, and if they choose not to and that time passes, the FY18 capital improvement plan will be passed. With $200,000 of the $525,000 in the plan earmarked for transportation vehicles, Willard believes approval of the plan is a necessity in order to make sure the district has the proper amount of mid-size buses.
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TUESDAY,SEPTEMBER JUNE 27, 2017 THURSDAY, 7, 2017
Local TV Journalist Returns to Host Connecting Point SPRINGFIELD — WGBY’s local current affairs show, Connecting Point, has a new host — who also happens to be a past one. Beginning with the forthcoming Season 8, Carrie Saldo, an award-winning journalist with nearly a decade of public media experience, will return to public television to present timely stories from western New England on the PBS station’s flagship news and current affairs program. Saldo served as WGBY’s Connecting Point host from 2010 to 2013, presenting most of the shows eight-minute segments and co-producing the half-hour program at large. During her tenure, Saldo conducted hundreds of instudio interviews, traveled to Haiti following the 2010 earthquake, and hiked parts of the Appalachian Trail in a special inthe-field series. Saldo’s return to the local PBS station comes on the heels of Jim Madigan’s retirement. Madigan, who headed up WGBY’s public affairs efforts for nearly 30 years, is himself a well-respected and award-winning journalist. WGBY Deputy General Manager Lynn Page says Carrie Saldo was an obvious choice for the job. “Carrie Saldo is the perfect addition to our team,” Page says. “She worked closely with Jim Madigan in the past and knows the region and its leadership very well. Carrie cares deeply for western New England. She understands the people, traditions, and cultures. She will continue Jim’s legacy as well as the mission of WGBY to connect the people of our region.” WGBY General Manager Anthony V. Hayes echoes Page’s confidence, saying Saldo will advance the station’s commitment to reliable local news and current affairs coverage. “Public media is a trusted source for information,” Hayes says. “It’s extremely important that our current affairs team lives up to the PBS reputation and provides western New England with the content it expects from us. I have full confidence that Carrie Saldo will produce and deliver that quality local content to viewers.” For Saldo’s part, the return to local public media is a welcome one. “I am honored to dive in and uncover the stories that need to be told in this region,”Saldo says. “Excellent journalism is the result
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“We desperately need those mid-size buses,” said Willard. Willard went on to say that there are a number of streets in Granville where a full-size school bus can’t properly go down, which is why purchasing more mid-size buses would resolve that issue. Currently, some students in the district have to walk a half a mile or more to their bus stop and Willard believes that the purchase of the mid-size buses would change that. “The pickup is going to be at their driveway,” said Willard. Noting the fact that the other items included in the FY18 capital improvement plan are also highly important, Willard said that the $150,000 for technology is integral since there will be MCAS testing in the district this year for grades four, five, seven, and eight. The Westfield News will continue to follow this matter once it is revealed what each of the three towns plan on doing for the FY18 capital improvement plan.
Planning board votes on water treatment facility By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent WESTFIELD—The proposed water treatment facility completed another step in its creation yesterday, gaining approval from the Westfield Planning Board. The planning board voted unanimously to recommend approval of the special and stormwater management permits for the water treatment facility that will be located on Owen District Road. The facility, if constructed, will be used to help treat the city’s water for the contamination of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), which has resulted in two of the city’s wells being offline since January 2016. Alan G. LeBlanc of CDM Smith addresses the planning board, while Heather Miller looks on. The plans have previously gone before other committees, including the Conservation Commission and the Barnes Aquifer Protection Advisory Committee (BAPAC), who made suggestions for the project, a number of which were associated into the plan. The treatment facility, according to Heather Miller, water systems engineer for the city who was present at the meeting, will be located “near existing well seven off of Owen District Road,” which is near the East See Water Treatment, Page 3
Deadline to lease Old Library extended
Huntington Cable Advisory Board (L-R) Johanna Brackney, Robert Brackney, rear, Chris Saner and Town Counsel William Hewig, III at the July negotiations with Comcast. (Photo by Amy Porter)
By GREG FITZPATRICK Correspondent SOUTHWICK – After only one interested party showed up at the site visit for the Old Library last week, Southwick town officials have decided to extend the deadline for proposals to lease the historic building. Chief Administrative Officer Karl Stinehart believes that the extension could be a benefit moving forward. “We’re going to extend the process to try to generate more interest in the location,” said Stinehart. According to Stinehart, the site See Old Library, Page 3
Cable Advisory Board at odds with Selectmen over Comcast contract
CARRIE SALDO
By AMY PORTER Correspondent HUNTINGTON – The Huntington Board of Selectmen met with the town’s Cable Advisory Board (CAB) on Wednesday to inform them of their decision to sign a ten-year contract with Comcast. “We are going to follow the attorney’s recommendation and accept the offer of Comcast,” said BOS chair Edward Renauld. His announcement received an immediate reaction from Chris Saner of the CAB. The offer by Comcast includes a buildout to 96% of unserved homes in Huntington through its agreement with the Massachusetts Broadband Institute. 77 previously unserved homes are on the list to receive service, and 17 homes are not included on the list.
Comcast also offered a graduated franchise fee to the town over the ten years of the contract, beginning with 2% of gross annual percentages from cable television subscribers in the first three years; 3% over the next four years, and 3.5% the last three years, for a total projected contribution of $194,000. Comcast’s position is that the amount of the franchise fee would allow the town to do the buildout to the remaining 17 homes at an estimated cost of $139,000, with additional money for a PEG Access Cable station for the town. The previous ten year contract with Comcast included a $3,000 franchise fee over ten years. See Contract, Page 3
Southwick Old Library. Photo)
(WNG File