WESTFIELD – Mayor Donald F. Humason Jr. brought a $12,257,000 bond before the Westfield City Council on March 18 for the construction of a permanent Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) facility for Wells 1 and 2 on Dry Bridge Road.

Humason said the Department of Public Works (DPW) applied for, and was recently awarded, a special state revolving fund at zero percent financing and up to 20 percent loan forgiveness. He said the city was notified in February of the approval, which has a June 30 deadline.

Humason also noted that the City Council previously approved a $13 million bond in June 2018 for water treatment, including the permanent plant for Wells 7 and 8 on Owen District Road. He said additional funding is needed for the new facility, but not all the previously authorized bond was utilized and $5 million remains and any unborrowed monies on that bond will be rescinded at the conclusion of the project.

Also speaking to the bond at the Council meeting were City Treasurer Matt Barnes, Fran Cain, acting director of the DPW, Heather Stayton, systems engineer, and Tammy Tefft, purchasing director. Their slide presentation is currently posted on the city website at www.cityofwestfield.org under City Council, Additional Postings.  

Barnes said he conducted a loan cost comparison between a conventional loan and the state revolving fund with the help of Tighe and Bond and found a $5 million savings on the SRF, largely due to zero percent interest and 19.8 percent loan forgiveness.

Cain went into some details on the water treatment plants operations. He said the temporary GAC filtration at Well 2 was always intended to be installed at the Dry Bridge Road permanent facility once built, adding that since the temporary facility began operating, over 320 million gallons of water have been treated successfully without any carbon change. He also said Department of Environment Protection approval for the temporary facility has expired, and new temporary approval must include plans for a permanent structure.

During the presentation, which was informational only, councilors were asked to hold their questions for the sub-committee. The bond request will now go to the Finance sub-committee meeting on March 30.  Finance Chair Ralph J. Figy asked that councilors submit their questions to him by March 23.

“I know you all understand how important this project is for the City of Westfield. I respectfully request your thoughtful consideration of the information presented to you tonight, and your approval of the bond request to allow us to take advantage of the SRF funding,” Humason said.

In other business, the City Council unanimously passed the second reading and final vote to increase the rate of compensation for members of the Westfield School Committee beginning July 1, 2021 with an increase to $8,100, and including step increases through January 2016 to $10,050. Several councilors spoke in favor, acknowledging the hard work of the School Committee, especially over the past year. The School Committee compensation, currently at $5,000, has not increased since 2002.

At-large Councilor Dave Flaherty reported that he had sent a letter to City Solicitor Shanna Reed asking for a clarification on the powers of the City Council.  He said he has been frustrated lately when councilors are told they have to go through the mayor to speak to department heads, and through a public records request for information.

“Basically, I feel we’re being treated very heavy-handedly by the Law Department,” Flaherty said, adding that according to his research, the City Council has the power to investigate any matter in the city.

“I think it’s time for the City Council to acknowledge the power we have and stop caving to demands that we run things through the mayor, Law Department and public records request,” Flaherty added.  He said he is seeking a researched response from Reed.

Personnel Action committee chair Cindy C. Harris brought forward three-year reappointments of Rene Laviolette on the Board of Registrars, Richard A. Sypek on the Police Commission and C. Lee Bennett on the Fire Commission, all of which were unanimously approved by the Council.

Harris also made a motion to ask the Law Department to verify that appointments and reappointments do not need unanimous consent for immediate consideration. The motion was joined by Flaherty, who had made a separate motion asking for a review of nominations by the mayor.

Another motion by Ward 3 Councilor Bridget Matthews-Kane called for the creation of a Public Arts Commission for the city, to refer to the Legislative & Ordinance committee, Law Department., the DPW, Parks & Recreation and the Conservation Commission.

Matthews-Kane said that she and Cheryl Crowe of ArtWorks had independently come to the same conclusion about the need for the new commission, which she said would take the burden off other commissions to make decisions on public art and put them in the hands of experts. She said she did bring the idea to the Westfield Cultural Commission, who thought it should be a separate entity.

Matthews-Kane said, “Westfield is Fantastic,” a second mural by ArtWorks planned for the esplanade along the riverfront, has already been vetted through the old process. Artworks’ first mural, located in the tunnel underneath the rail trail between Hedges and Taylor avenues, portrays the theme “Heroes are Everywhere.”