Westfield350.com WEATHER
Westfield350.com TONIGHT WEATHER Partly Cloudy. WEATHER TONIGHT
The Westfield News The Westfield News
Low of 55. TONIGHT Becoming Clear. Partly Cloudy. Low of 34. VOL. Low of 55.86 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.86 86NO. NO.151 281 VOL.
Search for The Westfield News
Search for The Westfield News
“Time is The only “S criTic wiThouT
theNews only Search elf for Theis Westfield that can ambiTion “Tprison ime is The only.” ever bind JOHN theSTEINBECK soul.” criTic wiThouT ambiTion.”
— HENRY VAN DYKE JOHN STEINBECK
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2017 TUESDAY, JUNE 27, 2017
75 cents
75cents cents 75
City outlines uses for $4.3M in certified free cash By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent WESTFIELD — According to Westfield Mayor Brian Sullivan, the city received notice on Wednesday, following the Department of Revenue’s financial closeout of FY 2017, that just over $4.3 million has been certified as free cash and a portion of those funds is expected to be used to reduce taxes for residents. “There’s a real cooperation with department heads and unions and my administration to get something done,” Sullivan said. “And a number like $4 million is an indication of how successful we’ve been.” Sullivan said that roughly $2 million will go toward reducing the tax obligation of residents, which will help to lower the tax hike many were led to believe would happen. Sullivan said that this will also coincide with the roughly $1.6 million in budget reductions that he and the City Council worked on recent-
ly. Another item that Sullivan would like to see the money used towards includes the construction of Hangar Two at Barnes Regional Airport for the Westfield Technical Academy’s Aviation Technology Department. This amount is yet to be determined due to the request for proposal on the project still being out, but this would allow for the city not to utilize money from its stabilization account for the project, Sullivan said. “Then the rest right now we’re not going to be spending it real quick,” Sullivan said. “We’re going to look ahead to the snow and ice account and look towards the rest of the fiscal year to do some other projects, as permitted.” One notable item that is not expected to receive the certified free cash is the Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) that the city has. “Right now I don’t anticipate any of this going toward OPEB,” Sullivan said. “The $700,000 I put in this year is a
pretty healthy number and we have some projects that I’d like to see done. Right now I feel like the number we have in there is a great start.” Sullivan did say however, that he anticipates the city putting OPEB monies into the fiscal budget moving forward. The city was able to acquire the free cash through multiple sources. Among them are $1.1 million that came from last year’s free cash that was not utilized, as well as budgeting within the city. In addition, Sullivan said funds came from non-recurring revenues within the city, including work by the Law Department’s Assistant City Solicitor Meghan Bristol and the Treasurer-Collector Meghan Kane. “The extensive work the law department and treasurer have done in regards to tax title and going after those monies that are owed to the city over time, that yielded roughly $1 million,” Sullivan said. “That’s a program we spent a lot of
Westfield Mayor Brian Sullivan (WNG file photo) focus on.” According to Sullivan, the total reduction in budget and taxes is not known but he and the departments in the city will be working on getting that number by next week during the City Council’s special meeting on the tax shift. “It’s going to be a work in progress until the special meeting. Next Thursday the city council will have special meeting on tax shift and at that point in time I will come to them with a number,” Sullivan said.
Westfield School District to send out Blizzard Bag survey By AMY PORTER Correspondent WESTFIELD –Families of students and staff at the Westfield Public Schools will receive a survey in the near future on the possibility of implementing Alternative Structured Learning Days (ASLD) or “Blizzard Bags” this winter which are, simply put, assignments done at home on snow days. In a presentation to the School Committee on November 20, Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski explained what Westfield’s Blizzard Bag program would look like, as opposed to those nearby districts who implemented the program last year or plan to do so this year. Czaporowski explained that the last day of school in Westfield this year is scheduled for June 14. There are also five snow days built into the calendar, which would bring the end of school to June 21, if all five days are used. For the first five snow days, no student assignments would be given. The Blizzard Bags would go into effect on snow days 6, 7, and 8. On these days, students would be asked to work on one of a series of linked, interdisciplinary projects that they would continue in school, and ultimately turn in by June. If the plan is adopted, the last possible day of school in 2018 would be on June 21. Last year, Westfield called 8 snow days, and the last day of school was June 28. “We’re hoping what is planned will be long-term projects, something they could do anyway,” the superintendent said. The plan would be to have projects that engage students in curriculum standards from multiple subjects, and would be assigned whether or not Blizzard Bag Days are used this year. Students would be assessed and graded like any other project that is assigned over the year. “If the project is not completed, it would certainly affect the overall grade.” Czaporowski added. He said among the benefits are that students are continually working. He said this means no break before MCAS, and the same for AP courses. Another benefit for students is working on time management skills. Czaporowski said union representatives are “ok” with the plan. The district hopes to make a decision on implementation by Dec. 18, based on the survey results and approval by the School Committee. He also said that Gateway Regional, which implemented Blizzard Bags last year for the first time did not have full support at the start of the program, but after the winter, a survey showed 70% favorable results. Gateway will be continuing with the program this See Blizzard Bag Survey, Page 8
A file photo shows a Southwick DPW snowplow.
Local DPW’s gearing up for winter season By GREG FITZPATRICK Correspondent SOUTHWICK/GRANVILLE – With the winter season fast approaching, it’s time again for local public works departments to have their preparation in order for the first New England snow storm of the year. In Southwick, DPW Director Randy Brown has all his private contractors in place who help his staff plow during snow storms. Brown says that he has up to 15 private contractors that he can call that will help the town plow side streets during the bigger storms. The Southwick DPW has already stocked their salt shed with around 2,500 tons of salt ready to go when that big snow storm does hit the Western Massachusetts area. Newly built in the fall of 2016, 2,100 tons of salt went out of the salt shed for last year’s winter. Based off of the needs last season, Brown made the decision to increase the amount of salt this time around. “We had more snow than a typical year last year,” said Brown. Besides the private contractors, Brown says that every staff member will be plowing or in a truck treating roads with a total of 12 machines ready for use. With Southwick being a rural community, Southwick DPW will continue to be cautious with certain areas in town. “We do have some spot that tends to ice up more than others,” said Brown. On the West end of town, which is heading towards Granville, there is a much higher elevation and better chance for rougher conditions than there might be near Congamond Lake, which is considered the Eastern section. “We’ve got to keep our eye out all over the town” Speaking of Granville, DPW Director Doug Roberts pointed out the topic of elevation and how much of a factor it can be in Granville during the winter.
“That makes a big difference in winter weather,” said Roberts. “It’s a constant, constant deal to monitor it.” Despite the town only having a population of 1,617 according to the 2016 census, Granville has 43 square miles of land, which is more than Southwick’s 31.66 square miles and population of over 9,700 people. Having to cover a lot of road, the Granville DPW has been out checking the roads and has seven pieces of equipment that have already been used to sand areas in town this season. “You’ve got to get your staff ready and trained and understanding their role,” said Roberts. Assisting him in snow storms, Roberts has three full time staff and also has a few temporary staff. In Granville’s fleet, they have three full sized plow trucks and a couple smaller trucks for use.
A Southwick plow truck is seen in action during a snow storm in 2014. (WNG File Photo)