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www.thewestfieldnews.com www.thewestfieldnews.com TUESDAY, JUNE 27, 2017 TUESDAY, TUESDAY,JUNE JULY27, 25,2017 2017
Blandford takes another step towards Broadband By AMY PORTER Correspondent BLANDFORD – The Board of Selectmen held a joint meeting with the Municipal Light Board (MLB) on Monday in Blandford to take care of one last item before submitting the request for more than $1 million earmarked by the state for Blandford’s broadband efforts. Needed was a vote by the board to authorize the ballot question on debt exclusion for municipal broadband work, which appeared on the warrant for the town election and passed 80 to 56, but was not voted by the Board of Selectmen. Procedurally, the town counsel had recommended that the board vote to ratify the placement of the question on the ballot retroactively, which passed. The ratification was the last step before submission of a letter to the state for bond capital for the make ready work, including pole surveys. MLB member Kim Bergland said the town is working with Wired West and speaking with Westfield Gas & Electric about laying down the fiber optic for the network after the make ready work is completed, but no contract has been signed. The town of Otis has just spent a year completing the pole surveys and is ready to start the fiber work with Westfield G&E. Otis has offered to help Blandford with the make ready work, which the MLB said has to happen next regardless of who Blandford ends up working with in the end. “We’re trying to fulfill the checklist for the Bond Council for state money. Then you make real decisions,” said MLB chair Peter Langmore. After the meeting, MLB member June Massa, who is also the town tax collector, said that as it stands right now, Westfield G&E is the only one approved in this part of the state for the bond to do the work. She said with 52 square miles of land, which she said is the largest land area for towns and a small population (1,233 residents based on 2010 census), other providers are not interested, or if they are, not approved. “That’s why we don’t have cable,” Massa said. Langmore said Blandford is continuing to work with WiredWest, a cooperative of See Broadband, Page 3
Blandford Municipal Light Board chair Peter Langmore, members Kim Bergland and June Massa. (Photo by Amy Porter)
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Southwick water main break
Brenna Mahoney (L), a benefactor of the “Smoke Detector Blitz,” looks at a carbon monoxide detector with American Red Cross member Vicki Edwards.
Smoke detectors installed in Westfield homes by WFD and Red Cross By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent WESTFIELD—As a result of the story first published in The Westfield News July 14, the Westfield Fire Department, American Red Cross and the Council on Aging (COA) worked together to make 34 homes safer in the city. The Westfield Fire Department and American Red Cross worked together to install over 100 smoke detectors, as well as over 30 carbon monoxide detectors, in 34 homes yesterday. The installations were part of the “Smoke Detector Blitz,” as previously coined by Tina Gorman, director for the COA. “We couldn’t do this without the support of the Westfield Fire Department and the community,” Westfield Fire Deputy Chief Eric Bishop said. “These smoke detectors save lives,” he added. Bishop said that there was a total of three teams that went to install the smoke detectors in the homes. The teams included members from the American Red Cross, as well as Bishop and fellow Westfield Fire Deputy Chiefs Pat Egloff, Pat Kane, Andy Hart and
Mark Devine. The teams focused on three areas within the city—downtown, the north side of the city in the area of Joseph Avenue and Paper Mill Road and the outskirts of the city, according to American Red Cross member Vicki Edwards. The COA also worked previously on the project to gather names, addresses and phone numbers of those receiving the detectors. According to Bishop, all of the homes were built in 1975 of later and were either without smoke detectors or they weren’t operational. “Many of the homes had nonworking smoke detectors, either nonexistent or not working,” he said. “I feel we made the community safer by doing this.” Bishop added that one of the reasons that smoke detectors are so important today is because “modern furnishings give you very little time to get out.” He also said that the Westfield Fire Department hopes to partner with the American Red Cross for another smoke detector installation program on a future date.
By GREG FITZPATRICK Correspondent SOUTHWICK – About 75 homes at the intersection of Babb Road and Point Grove Road, right near Nora’s Restaurant and also including the Lakewood Village apartments, were without water due to a water main break around 1 a.m. Saturday morning. Crews from the Southwick Water Department worked on the break and were able to restore water back online in the homes shortly after 9 A water main break happened a.m. on Saturday. around 1 a.m. on Saturday in On Monday, Southwick. (Photo courtesy of DPW Director WWLP) Randy Brown said there still hasn’t been an official cause of the water main break but one possibility could have been the age of the pipe. These types of incidents do occur a few times a year, Brown said, but, for now, an actual cause hasn’t been determined. “We’re going to look into it and see what we can do to prevent it from happening again,” said Brown. If anyone has any questions or comments about the water main break or any other project or incident involving the Southwick DPW, give them a call at 413-569-3040.
Officials discuss recent land acquisitions for North Pond project By GREG FITZPATRICK Correspondent SOUTHWICK – The Select Board, CPC (Community Preservation Committee), and Franklin Land Trust gathered on July 17 to discuss recent updates with the North Pond land acquisition. Rich Hubbard, the Executive Director of the Franklin Land Trust, and Alain Peteroy, the Director of Land Conservation, represented the non-profit organization and talked about the process they went through in order to buy the remaining pieces of the North Pond land. After learning that the state reported there are two separate parts included in acquiring the rest of the property, the Franklin Land Trust split those entities into two different phases. The first phase was that Franklin Land Trust would spend the $1 million from the state’s budget allocated for this project, which had to be spent by June 2017. The $1 million was used by Massachusetts Fish and Wildlife as they were already planning on owning the Eastern portion of the North Pond land, which is roughly 80 acres. For the second phase, the Town of Southwick is See North Pond Project, Page 3
Little River Road construction update By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent WESTFIELD—Sewer extensions and a dedicated left turn lane are currently at the center of the Little River Road Reconstruction Project still going on in the city. The project continues through the summer, with a number of improvements coming to the area. According to Mark Cressotti, city engineer for Westfield, these improvements will include a dedicated left turn lane on Little River Road and extension of sewers, among other items. Cressotti said that the project will continue through the summer and the fall, with an expected shutdown during the winter months. “Their thought is they will substantially complete the work by the end of this construction season,” he said.
The contract, according to Cressotti, is through February or March for the project to be finished, with the roughly $6.5 million in funding for the project coming from state and federal sources. Cressotti said that the workers are currently extending sewers along Little River Road. “They’re extending sewers down a portion of Little River Road from Shaker Road toward Violet Circle,” Cressotti said. In addition, there are sidewalk extensions occurring in the area. Also, the entrance to Ridgecrest Drive will be improved, which will include granite curbing, stone masonry work and the installation of new signage and a guardrail, among other improvements. Finally, Cressotti also said that dedicated turning lanes will be added and improved on
Construction area on Little River Road. Little River Road, allowing drivers to turn onto Shaker Road. According to Cressotti, this will be new to Little River Road and will improve traffic flow on the roadway.