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Some private ways in city may become public streets By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent WESTFIELD—If you live on certain private ways in the city, your street may be one step closer to becoming a public way. The City Council’s Legislative and Ordinance (L & O) Committee voted earlier this week to approve a resolution to send a home rule petition to the state legislature that would authorize the city to categorize private ways into public streets. The measure will now be sent to City Council on Nov. 16, where it is expected to be voted on by the entire council and if successful, is then expected to go to the state legislature. The project was originally put forth by outgoing Ward Four Councilor Mary O’Connell, who was said to have been working on this for over a decade. “I’ve been working on this for almost 12 years,” she said. “The process to accept private ways to public ways is cumbersome,” O’Connell said, adding that steps include public hearings and multiple departments. “The process now is broken, we want to try a
that there may be an increase in Chapter 90 funding, due to the increased amount of public roads the city would have. However, he is unsure how much it could actually rise. One downside that Figy mentioned though, was that the city would then be responsible for these streets. Figy said though, that the city has COUNCILOR COUNCILOR helped to maintain these roadways. Figy also COUNCILOR MARY BILL RALPH said that the city’s law department reportedly O’CONNELL ONYSKI J. FIGY does not feel that this process would be approprinew process,” O’Connell said. ate to accomplish their goal. “What this allows us to do is look at and clump “They think we should stick with the way it’s together a group of streets that can become pub- laid out, one street at a time,” he said. lic ways,” Ward Two Councilor and L & O Regarding the streets themselves, there are a Chairperson Ralph Figy said. “We still have to total of 61 streets that were listed for this particudeal with them individually after, but this speeds lar resolution. The street’s locations, by ward, are up the process.” as follows: Figy said that if the home rule petition is OKed -Ward one, 12 streets by the state, there is still a state process that the -Ward two, one street city must go through for each street, including -Ward three, zero streets steps by the city’s engineer, assessor and -Ward four, seven streets Department of Public Works. -Ward five, 21 streets “Have to do it one way or another, street by -Ward six, 20 streets street by street,” Figy said. According to Figy, the streets chosen have Figy said that one positive for this could be
City provides ‘Adopted by’ signs to businesses, then reported vandalized or missing
Congregation on a mission to collect coats By LORI SZEPELAK Correspondent WESTFIELD-For many adults in our region, the gift of a warm winter coat is a blessing. “This is New England and a coat can literally mean the difference between life and death,” said Reverend Barbara Hesse, who recently joined the UCC Second Congregational Church of Westfield on Western Avenue. Known as “Pastor Barb,” Hesse has extended the church’s coat drive through Nov. 19 and welcomes area residents to donate to this cause. “Almost 10 years ago, the Springfield Rescue Mission contacted the Second Congregational Church and requested our help in providing coats to their residents,” said Hesse. “The church views itself as a ‘Beacon of Hope’ and as a congregation, they regarded the request as a way to provide shelter, worth and dignity to an underserved population.” Coat donations can be dropped off at the church on Nov. 12 or Nov. 19 from 11 a.m. to noon, or from Nov. 14-17 from 9:30 a.m. to noon. For more information, call (413) 568-7557. “We use the coats to warm all those who are cold, regardless of religious affiliation,” said Hesse. “That’s why we are looking for coats and jackets of all shapes and sizes.” Hesse noted the coat drive is
a church-wide service project led by volunteers working behind the scenes including York Mitchell, Scott Clark, Angela Powell, Linda Byers, Holly Lurgio and Patrick Jay. “Our church is passionate about being a ‘Beacon of Hope,’ but we can’t do it alone,” said Hesse. “We need the help and support of the community. There’s so much need, and though we’re doing everything we can, we need the community’s help to reach all in our community who need help.” Hesse added that once all of the coats are counted they will be delivered within two to three days after Nov. 19. “I am blessed to have been called to lead such a loving group of people,” said Hesse. “The people of UCC Second Congregational Church demonstrate the love of God in everything they do, and I have found that to be inspiring.” While the coat drive has been a mainstay for many years, the congregation is active throughout the year with other service projects, ranging from its food pantry to help feed needy Westfield State University students, staff, and faculty, to participating in the Westfield Food Pantry’s Walk for Westfield and collecting food for the organization year-round. Additionally, a Mitten Tree donates winter apparel items to those in need and in 2016, 142 winter items
The Rev. Barbara Hesse, Pastor of the Second Congregational church in Westfield. (Photo submitted) were given to the Sioux YMCA in South Dakota. Other worthy projects that church members support include “Our Community Table,” serving meals to Westfield’s homeless population; “The Kinship Fund,” that supports homeless teens in Westfield, and Church World Services, which provides disaster response in the United States and around the world. In January, Hesse added that the church will sponsor a “Month of Undie Sundays,” collecting new packages of underwear to provide to the Springfield Rescue Mission and other local programs, such as the Kinship Fund. “The first thing I noticed about the church was that the website said, ‘Driven by Christ to Care,’” said Hesse. “Over the last three months, as I’ve gotten to know the congregation, I’ve found that that’s not just a slogan.”
Shop Small Business Saturday in Southwick By GREG FITZPATRICK Correspondent SOUTHWICK – On Monday, Oct. 16, the Economic Development Commission sent out a press release announcing that they will be promoting Small Business Saturday in Southwick. A nation-wide event that was started by the American Express corporation in 2010, this one-day event takes place on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and encourages holiday shoppers to buy locally. This year, Small Business Saturday will be on Nov. 25. With a majority of small businesses in Southwick being located on College Hwy, Feeding Hills Road, and Congamond Road, it gives peo-
ple the opportunity to benefit from what several local businesses in town provide. Michael McMahon, Economic Development Commission member, informed the Select Board about the event. Russ Fox, a Select Board member as well as a small business owner in town, is in complete support of Small Business Saturday. “I think it’s a great idea,” said Fox, who co-owns the Southwick Flower Shop. “I’m always a big supporter of supporting all businesses in the town of Southwick.” If any small business in Southwick would like to take part in Small Business Saturday, send your name, name of busi-
property lines that do not extend to the middle of the roads, so the roadway is essentially unowned. “Theoretically, these are the newer subdivisions that have had property set aside to have a street. These are supposed to have streets that nobody owns,” Figy said. “Streets that are all ready to go.” According to L & O member and Ward Two Councilor Bill Onyski, most of the streets have plans that have occurred within the past roughly 20 years. “Majority of the streets have plans dating back to around the year 2000,” he said. “There’s a few in there that are slightly older, but majority are 2000 and closer.” Onyski, like Figy, said that the newer streets should have boundaries that leave space for roads. Figy noted that for certain other private ways, the city would have to go through the process of acquiring the land that the roadway is on, due to how parcel boundaries were created for those private ways and how the boundaries may extend to the middle of the road.
The Southwick Flower Shop is already gearing up for Christmas. (Photo courtesy of Greg Fitzpatrick)
ness, address, and contact information to info@southwickma. info. More information on this event can also be seen on Southwick EDC page.
By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent WESTFIELD—The city of Westfield has provided several downtown businesses with signs showing their efforts to maintain the area but two were reportedly recently vandalized according to Community Outreach Coordinator Amber Danahey, while another was reported missing. Skyline Trading Company, Blended Vintage Marketplace, Jack’s Barber Shop, RE/MAX Compass and The Good Table all received signs on Friday, Nov. 3, which show locations near the businesses that were “adopted” by them. These are areas that the businesses will help to take care of and maintain, including vegetation and trash pickup. According to Danahey, the program began to form in August, when several businesses approached the city about caring for planters and other areas of the city. The city determined that they would get signs for the businesses participating to highlight their efforts, while also drafting a policy for businesses to follow regarding caring for their areas. “The city paid for the signs for the good will we will receive in return,” Danahey said. The signs were planted last week at businesses that were participating, highlighting the businesses that adopted those small parcels to care for. However, according to Danahey, by this past Monday it was found that at least two of the signs–Jack’s Barber Shop and Blended Vintage Marketplace–were reportedly vandalized. The information came from a phone call Danahey received from one of the participants. In addition, Lisa Pac, owner of Skyline Trading Company, also noted to The Westfield News that her sign was missing earlier this week. “We got a phone call from Jack at Jack’s Barber Shop asking if there were replacement possibilities for vendors that had participated,” Danahey said. “We really hadn’t thought of it that far, didn’t think we had to this soon,” she said. Danahey said that the sign for Jack’s Barber Shop was found “flat” in a nearby parking lot. “Luckily it hadn’t been damaged too bad and he was able to put it back in his planter,” Danahey said. In addition, Danahey said that the sign for Blended Vintage Marketplace also had damage. Andrea Bruno, owner of Blended Vintage Marketplace, was unaware of the damage at first. Bruno said that the fact that this happened is disheartening. “I’m kind of bummed out, I just got the sign,” she said. However, in spite of it, she said that she would continue to maintain the area she pledged to take care of. “I will still take care of the planters, just a little upsetting that someone has to ruin what the city of Westfield is trying to do and what the small businesses are trying to do to bring Westfield back,” she said. Bill Miner, owner of RE/MAX Compass, who said that he is bringing in his sign for the winter, was also disheartened by the news.
Jack’s Barber Shop sign. “I can’t believe people that don’t respect things in the town and things that go to improve Westfield,” he said. “Unbelievable people can’t respect that.” Miner’s sign was not damaged or missing. Pac said that she noticed the Skyline Trading Company sign missing on Tuesday, and believes that it may have occurred around the same time as the other two incidents. When asked what she may do, Pac was unsure. “I don’t really know, I can call the mayor’s office and ask but if we put another out there and it disappears then it’s all for nothing,” she said. “I didn’t even get to really see it,” she added. Pac said that no police report was filed regarding the incident. Pac is discouraged, but said that this won’t prevent her from continuing to maintain the area she said she would. “We’re still going to take care of the garden whether our name’s there or not,” she said. Pac suggested that the city should look into attaching the signs to their locations somehow to prevent something like this from happening again. Danahey responded to the news of the alleged incident with the Skyline Trading Company’s sign and others on Thursday via email: We initiated the Adopt Westfield program at the inquiry of a few local businesses that were interested in helping out their city. We wanted to capitalize on their enthusiasm. Signs were distributed to the businesses on Friday, and by Monday there were reports of vandalism – and today one that has been stolen outright. I’m disappointed. At this point, I am not sure if the signs will be replaced. They weren’t inexpensive. Until a more permanent solution can be determined for the signs, we will not order replacements.”