City's Law Department Rules on Funding for Road Stabilization Fund
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JOHN STEINBECK Low of 55. www.thewestfieldnews.com VOL.City’s 86 NO. 151 Law Department rules TUESDAY,on funding JUNE 27, 2017 for Road Stabilization Fund 75 cents By AMY PORTER that he had concerns in his ward that he fund, it still must follow the process of Correspondent would like funded out of stabilization. approval dictated by the municipality’s WESTFIELD – When it came time for “The issue was, you all got the memo form of government,” Reed wrote. the seven motions on the City Council’s today,” Surprise said, adding, “The She added that both the language of agenda which addressed the creation of a memo today from legal stated that we the statute and the language of the Special Purpose Stabilization Fund for are not allowed to dedicate the money.” Department of Revenue solidify the road and sidewalk repair and mainte- Surprise was referring to a memo from basic concept of Municipal Finance Law nance, Ward 3 Councilor Andrew K. the Law Department written by Shanna that in “a city form of government, the Surprise moved to suspend the rules. He R. Reed, Mayor initiates appropriations and the asked to take items F & G out of order, Assistant City Solicitor regarding city council, as the legislative body, which referred to a Council resolution to Special Purpose Stabilization Funds. approves the same.” ask the Mayor to propose orders dedicat- Reed wrote that MGL chapter 40 sec- Reed concluded that the City Council ing 100% of the Local Option Meals Tax tion 5B was amended by the Municipal may, pursuant to the law, “accept a stat- and Occupancy Tax to the special pur- Modernization Act in 2016 to allow a ute or a portion thereof by vote of the pose fund, for immediate consideration municipality to accept a provision that legislative body. Consequently, in this and referral to the Mayor. would permit it to dedicate certain reve- particular instance, the Council may vote “We need the Mayor to fund what’s nue streams to a special purpose stabili- to accept the statute and this office can coming from stabilization,” said Ward 5 zation fund. “Although the change does At-large City Councilor Ward 3 Councilor Councilor Robert A. Paul, Sr., adding allow a municipality to dedicate the See Fund, Page 3 David Flaherty Andrew K. Surprise Columbia Greenway Wrong way donates usage driver arrested counter to Southwick By CARL E. HARTDEGEN By GREG FITZpaTRICK Correspondent Correspodent WESTFIELD – A city woman apparently was having a SOUTHWICK – Dan Call of the Columbia Greenway bad day, even before police spotted her driving drunk in the Rail Trail in Westfield approached the Select Board on wrong direction on a one-way street adjacent to the police Tuesday evening to discuss counting the number of station. people that use trails. Police had been called to a According to Call, members of the Columbia Greenway Pochassic Street address Rail Trail have been working on coming up with a way Monday evening by a woman to track the number of people that use the trail since he who expressed concern for an was the Chairman of the Open Space Committee in eight-year-old girl who was 1995. under the care of an intoxi- Recently, the members of the trail committee have cated woman. The caller told bought three counters. An infra-red device, the counter police that she knew a former will be able to count people that use the trail. One coun- Mayor Brian P. Sullivan speaking to the City Council at an in-law was intoxicated ter will be going on the Shaker Road part of the trail near earlier meeting. (WNG File Photo) because of the harassing text the Southwick line, and a second one will go on Main messages and phone calls she Street near the Stop and Shop. had received from the woman Call’s reason for approaching the Select Board is the and said that she was con- CHRISTINE M. fact that Westfield wants to donate the third counter to Mayor ends briefings cerned for the chid in her BUSSOLARE Southwick for them to use on their rail trail. Along with care. fellow members Bob Pak and John Tassinari, the The responding officer to City Council; found that the woman in question was indeed drunk and the See Greenway, Page 3 child was transferred to the care of another family member. Less than an hour later, a caller reported that the same plans television show woman – who was driving while intoxicated – came to his residence and yelled at him. By AMY PORTER The woman was not in the area when officers responded Correspondent to the second call but a short time later Officer Scott WESTFIELD – At the start of Thursday’s City Council Schuster and his partner, Officer Bradley White, reported meeting, Council President John J. Beltrandi, II read a letter they had spotted the woman, later identified as Christine M. from Mayor Brian P. Sullivan announcing that he will no longer hold briefings prior to the City Council meetings: See Driver, Page 3 “I am writing to inform you that per the request of a certain City Councilor, I will no longer appear before your body to offer a briefing. It was mentioned many times by more than one councilor that they did not see a value added in having me there to discuss or explain topics that were either in Zoning Board approves Council or on the evening’s agenda. “Respectfully, I do not want to waste my time or theirs if cell tower variance the original intent of this exercise, which was to provide background on incoming agenda items and provide an oppor- By GREG FITZpaTRICK tunity to meet face-to-face in a public setting, is not deemed Correspondent Dan Call of the Columbia Greenway Trail in Westfield, productive,” began the letter. No mention was made to which WESTFIELD – At Wednesday night’s meeting, the spoke to the Select Board on Tuesday night. (Photo cour- Zoning Board of Appeals decided to approve the variance tesy of Greg Fitzpatrick) See Mayor, Page 3 for Verizon Wireless to build a cell tower on 866 Shaker Rd. The variance was from Article V S 5-50 (II) A of the ordi- nance, which prohibits wireless telecommunications towers in the Rural Residential zoning district. The approval of the variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals now allows Verizon to take their proposal to the Planning Board. Sisters in song plan final concert The structure will be a 120-foot telecommunications By LORI SZEPELAK been “sharing a deep love for each Choir members slated to perform See Zoning, Page 3 Correspondent other and transforming ourselves are Sarah Calabro, grade 9, and WESTFIELD-Young women in through the music we create togeth- Taylor Calabro, grade 11, both of the Moriah Chamber Choir are pre- er.” Southwick; Maura O’Neill, grade 9, paring for a final concert on April 7 The Moriah Chamber Choir, of Blandford; Aria Willey, grade 6, that will be bittersweet and full of established in the fall of 2004, is an of Granville; Kiran Sharma, grade 9, emotion. offshoot of the Young Singers of of West Springfield; Mara Winer, The 4 p.m. concert, titled “Sisters Greater Westfield which disbanded grade 12, of Agawam, and Rachel in Song,” will be conducted at the last year. St. Jean and Allan Taylor White, grade 7, Rhys Cook, grade 9, First Congregational Church on spearheaded the original artistic Kat Houck, grade 9, Maddie Broad Street. group because they saw a need in the Lemieux, grade 10, Becca Osowski, “The chorus is a wonderful group community for children who wanted grade 10, Mandy Maloney, grade 10, of girls who sing for the love of sing- to take their singing to a higher level Rebecca Monti, grade 10, Fionnuala ing,” said Janet St. Jean, artistic of artistry. On Jan. 11, 2001, the first director, adding her greatest joy has chorus began rehearsals. See Sisters, Page 2 Verizon Radio Frequency Engineer Jay LaTorre shows the Zoning Board of Appeals the location of the cell tower. (Photo by Greg Fitzpatrick) PAGE 2 - FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 2018 THE WESTFIELD NEWS Sisters Continued from Page 1 Matthews, grade 11, and sure to endure during the years to “We’ve had a wonderful run and are MacKenzie Haskins, grade 12, all of come. grateful for our extensive commu- Westfield. “I am honored and so grateful I nity support.” St. Jean noted that the concert will get to sing with such great girls, that For the singers, they too are grate- simply be the girls’ voices and the I am part of such a great family, and ful for the community’s support and music. that I have made lifelong friends,” the experiences they have shared. “No special lighting or micro- said Becca Osowski. “Young Singers/Moriah means phones,” said St. Jean, adding the Maura O’Neill concurred. everything to me,” said Madison singers wish to share the beauty of “I have had an amazing experi- Lemieux.