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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com
VOL. 83 NO. 239
75 cents
MassDOT secretary Davey to step down
See Davey, Page 7
organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.” — Immanuel Kant
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2014
By Peter Francis Staff Writer BOSTON — Richard Davey, the former head of the MBTA, is stepping down as the state’s transportation secretary at the end of the month, Gov. Deval Patrick announced Friday. “(Davey) has been a key member of my team and one of the finest transportation leaders the Richard Commonwealth has Davey ever had,” Patrick said in announcing Davey’s resignation. “He has been instrumental in our work to provide every region of this state with a safer, more efficient transportation system, a growing economy and a better quality of life.” State highway administrator Frank DePaola will serve as acting secretary of transportation for the remainder of Patrick’s term, which ends in January. A Boston resident, Davey was the general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Rail Company, the state’s former commuter rail contractor, before being named general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in 2010. In September 2011, Patrick appointed Davey to succeed Jeffrey Mullan in the cabinet-level post which also includes the title of chief executive of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). In a statement, Davey said he was proud to have worked with the governor to focus the agency on safety, fiscal responsibility and customer service and public service and take steps that have “renewed the public’s confidence in transportation.” Davey led the administration’s push for a 2013 transportation financing law that is designed to ease a maintenance backlog on the state’s roads and bridges and help pave the way for major new projects, including South Coast commuter rail and the extension of the MBTA’s Green Line. The law also ended a long-standing practice of borrowing money to pay the salaries of some MassDOT workers. Despite strong opposition from many bus and subway riders, Davey in 2012 backed an average 23 percent increase in fares that helped eliminate a $140 million deficit at the T. More recently, he has been outspoken in his opposition to Question 1 on the Nov. 4 ballot, which seeks to repeal a provision in the 2013 law that ties increases in the state’s gasoline tax to inflation.
“Science is
Archive funding put on hold by commission Rail Trail South Phase II trail opens Westfield Mayor Daniel Knapik rides past a host of dignitaries and guests as part of the Columbiay Greenway Rail Trail South Phase II trail opening ceremony yesterday. The ribboncutting ceremony was staged at the new East Silver Street access ramp. Earlier yesterday morning, Knapik received notice of a $2 million grant amendment from the state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs for further construction of the city’s rail trail. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
CPC holds information session By Peter Francis Staff Writer SOUTHWICK – The Community Preservation Committee (CPC) for the town of Southwick held an informational session Thursday night for residents to reacclimate themselves with the town’s participation in the Community Preservation Act (CPA). First adopted by the town in 2002, the CPA was enacted under Governor Paul Cellucci in 2000 to set aside funds to assist towns with open space preservation; historic sites; affordable housing; and the acquisition and development of outdoor recreational facilities. Over the past year, Southwick’s Board of Selectmen came to the conclusion that, 12 years after first adopting the CPA, a review might be in order, a sentiment shared by the town’s Finance Committee, which voted Monday night to bring it to a vote at the annual Town Meeting. “We’ve held two work sessions and at the completion of our second session, we felt it was a good thing to hold this informational session,” said Selectboard Chair Russell Fox. “To give the voters of Southwick the opportunity to see what’s been accomplished over 12 years.” John Whalley, chair of the CPC, spoke up prior to a presentation by CPC Vice Chair Dennis Clark. “If you want to save a couple percent off the tax rate, cut it somewhere else because we’ve gotten a $7 million return on what we’ve paid into it,” said Whalley, directing his statement at Fox and Tracy Cesan, the two selectmen in attendance. Clark used a PowerPoint presentation to illustrate to the almost 30 people in attendance the impact the CPA has had on the community, listing 23 completed or still in-progress projects the CPA has assisted in over 12 years. The projects cost the town $1,982,516.30, provided through an additional tax of three percent, which the state matched up to $1,310,019.50. Southwick received $4,901,250 in additional state monies for the 23 projects and received $628,465.91 in donations. All told, the total costs for the 23 projects came to $8,821,458.91, a figure that members of the CPC believe speaks for itself. “For less than $2 million, we have all of these projects which probably wouldn’t have gotten done,” said Whalley following the presentation. “The return on this money is just unbelievable.” Following the presentation, the residents who
spoke up were resoundingly in favor of keeping the CPA intact. “I plan on living in Southwick for another 10 years and would then like to sell my house and would like the resale value to be pretty high,” said Harold Keep, a town retiree. “I believe any community that invests in itself and multiplies the money it invests in itself – ala state money – is going to be a community people want to live in. I happily would pay that CPC at three percent over the next 10 years.” “We made no recommendation one way or another to rescind, reapprove, or change the tax percent. The thing we’re concerned about is what is coming up in the future,” said Terry Mish of the town’s Finance Committee. “There appears to be some additional tax increases coming up with the school and the possibility of this new stormwater unfunded mandate from the EPA (Environmental Protection Act).” Mish reiterated that the committee didn’t make a recommendation to keep or cut the CPA, which didn’t sit well with Clark, who also took issue with the fact that there were no other members of the Finance Committee in the attendance due to there being another meeting scheduled at the same time. “We’re looking at budgets all the time. This started in 2002, we’re going into 2015… things have changed,” said Fox, referencing the school building projects, the unfunded stormwater mandate and additional costs, including the need to purchase a new fire truck within the next five years at a cost of $1 million. “These are all the things we’re looking at, in addition to annual increases in insurance, in electric, in heating,” he said. “We’re not trying to be the bad guys. All we’re trying to say is that we’re a community, we have to look at the whole picture. I think this is a tremendous program, but the board of selectmen wouldn’t be doing it’s job if we didn’t review this. If it’s a good project and the people believe in it, they’ll vote for it again.” Conservation Commission member Marcus Phelps distributed a memo on the value of protecting open space. “A lot of the CPA money has gone towards protecting open space through the purchase of development rights, so it is important to realize that, currently we have limited information on how much open space is in the town,” he said. “Our 2012 open See CPC, Page 3
By Dan Moriarty Staff Writer WESTFIELD – The Community Preservation Commission will resume its review of a funding request for preservation of the City Clerk archive of historical documents, some dating back to the founding of the city in 1669. City Clerk Karen Fanion appeared before the CPC in August with a request that the board approve $120,000 to begin preservation, and digitization, of the historic documents kept in the vault in her office. “These records date back to 1669, the founding of Westfield,” Fanion said at the August meeting. “They include birth, marriage, death and land transaction records. These are permanent records. We can never get rid of them.” “We need to have these records so they can be used in the future,” Fanion said. “Some of the books which need to be restored have mold and mildew. These (documents) are very interesting, very valuable to the city. “There is a lot of water damage, some have insects in them, they need to be cleaned up and preserved,” Fanion said. “A record of the Old Burying Grounds was stuck between two books. It’s so fragile that we don’t want to touch it until it’s restored.” Fanion said that part of the project is digitizing the documents for a back-up electronic See Archive, Page 3
Police seek suspect By Carl E. Hartdegen Staff Writer WESTFIELD – City detectives are hoping to identify a male party who allegedly assaulted a female student in a parking lot late Saturday or early Sunday morning. Det. Daniel Gustafson reports that a female student complained Wednesday of the assault and said that she had first encountered the man at a party she had attended when he groped her and was asked to leave. The woman said that when she left the party she encountered the man again in the Main Street parking lot between the Bank of America and the Subway restaurant and he again touched her. When she pushed him away, the woman told Gustafson, the man punched her forcefully, knocking her to the ground. The woman said that in the next days she suffered migraine headaches and blurred vision. Believing the woman to be concussed, a detective took her to a medical facility for treatment. The victim described the suspect to be a Caucasian male, five foot ten inches tall who is in his late teens or early 20s with short brown hair and a beard. She said that the man has broad shoulders and an athletic build. Anyone who witnessed the incident or may be able to identify the suspect is asked to call Gustafson or Det. Roxann Bradley of the Detective Bureau at 572-6400.
Pond improvements lauded at meeting By Carl E. Hartdegen Staff Writer WESTFIELD – Members of the Hampton Ponds Neighborhood Improvement Project met in March, 2013, and defined areas of concern around the ponds. On Thursday evening, the group met again to review the progress made and consider future endeavors. Chris Patten, a co-chairperson for the project, explained “The biggest obstacle was that Westfield police did not have jurisdiction on the state property” but went on to say that shared jurisdiction was negotiated “and that has been a lifesaver” she said. That change has allowed city police to patrol Old Apremont Way, the boat ramp and other areas in and around the state park. That breakthrough was further exploited when city
police were able to buy a used pontoon boat and were able to equip it for pond patrols. Sgt. Michael Cehchile, the commander of the new marine patrol team, was at the meeting Thursday with subordinates including Officer Allen S. Magdycz who reported on the efforts of the boat patrol officers. Magdycz noted that 30 officers have been trained for the boat patrol which was on the ponds every weekend in July and August. He said that, during the 16 eight-hour patrols over the summer, officers inspected 65 vessels, issued nine warning citations, towed three boats and made two arrests. Magdzcz credited Environmental Police for their invaluable assistance in training officers and making shore-based inspections and enforcement of the regulations which are now posted at
the boat ramp. Patten also credited much of the improvement at the park to the additional police presence made possible by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation which was represented by district manager Dom Sacco. Patten pointed out that, while officers were on the water every weekend, detail officers funded by DCR were on the shore. Two officer details, comprised of both city and state officers, were visible at the park each weekend, together with Environmental Police offices as available. Sacco said that the police details worked well during the summer and will continue next year. “I anticipate us continuing the law enforcement details … it was a great year, both in the park and on the water,” he
Sgt. Michael C. Chechile (second from right) commander of the Westfield Police boat patrol team, speaks to residents about the successes of the new pond patrol at a meeting Thursday of the Hampton Ponds Neighborhood Improvement Project. Listening are co-chairs, Barbara Girouz and Chris Patten, State Rep. John Velis, Dom Sacco, DCR district manager, City Councilor Chris Crean, Officer Douglas LaValley (hidden) and officer Allen Magdycz. (Photo by Carl E. Hartdegen)
said. He also said that DCR will continue to make improvements to the boat ramp and repairs on Old Apremont way.
Both police officers and residents said that the boat patrols made a big difference. “We saw a big difference out there,” Magdycz said.
“When we first started it was a free-for-all out there. There were jet skis and personal See Meeting, Page 7