Westfield City Council portraits in Council Chambers; some of which will be reframed to make room for more.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
WESTFIELD — On Feb. 19, the City Council approved a series of free cash appropriations totalling $2.3 million that had been requested by Mayor Michael McCabe, following positive recommendations from the Finance Committee, chaired by City Councilor Daniel Knapik.
The largest item approved was $2 million from free cash for the athletic field capital construction account for costs associated with the construction of the athletic fields at Westfield High School.
Knapik said the City Treasurer-Collector Matthew Barnes discussed the item with the Finance Committee and the plan going forward. He said this appropriation, which was covered by $2 million already received by Westfield Gas & Electric for the fields via in lieu of taxes payments that had gone into free cash, would be used to pay down the debt before the city sells its bond obligation for the fields, saving money on interest in the future.
“So the rough number would be from 11 million and change, down to 9 million, is what they were anticipating,” Knapik said. He said the future payments by G&E won’t go through free cash.
Once it gets advertised and becomes a long-term debt obligation, there will be an account where the ILOTS can be paid and dumped into that account, and they should not appear again in free cash, according to Knapik.
City Councilor Kristen Mello said it was not too late if the mayor, the School Committee, athletic director or superintendent were interested in any other ways of saving money. “Choose natural grass, which will prevent injuries, prevent flooding, and avoid having all that storm water end up in the Powder Mill Brook, whose dam has not yet been rehabilitated. I support safe, healthy fields. It’s not too late for real grass, and we did just buy that spanking new mower, I’m just saying. Thank you,” Mello said, referring to an appropriation of $24,314 from free cash for the purchase of a zero-turn lawn mower, approved at the Feb. 5 meeting.
In response to another question, Knapik said once the debt is set up, the account for the ILOT payments will be set up. The appropriation passed unanimously.
Also approved unanimously were appropriations of free cash, in the amounts of $11,900, $44,500, and $170,720 to the Health Department for costs associated with repairs to the landfill groundwater monitoring well, as well as engineering and construction costs for landfill cap repairs.
Knapik said apparently, periodical sloughing comes from the landfill cap due to erosion and rain events, and the costs for repairs are required to make sure the cap is in good order.
Also unanimous was an appropriation of $18,000 from free cash to the Animal Control Department for the replacement of the heating and cooling systems at the animal shelter.
City Councilor Cindy Harris, a member of Finance, said Animal Control Officer Margaret Terkelsen requested the funds to replace heating units in the animal shelter that stopped working in the fall. She said the cooling units were still functioning, but would go above 85 degrees, above state-mandated temperatures. She said three mini-splits were installed.
Harris said the appropriation request from free cash, listed at $27,000 on the agenda, would be amended to $18,000, because the property owner agreed to cover $9,000 of the cost, per Knapik’s request.
Knapik thanked owner William Lawry, saying it was not part of the lease and could have been refused.
Later in the meeting, the council also voted to accept gift donations totaling $3,782 to the Animal Control Department to enhance the quality of stay for the animals at the shelter, in the amounts of $2,713 from Rainbow Rescues, $500 from Martin Luber and Alicia Johnston, and $569 from Rocky’s Ace Hardware.
Also approved was $9,500 from free cash to the City Council to reframe historic portraits hanging in the Council Chambers at City Hall.
arris said the funding will be used to properly display past, present and future City Council portraits, in a tradition dating back to 1924.
Harris said the former facilities director notified the city clerk that there had been no place to hang portraits in the chamber after 2017 due to the placement of air vents. She said a decision was made to reframe the portraits to the smaller sizes before 1996, which would create more room. Funding for the project was turned down by the Mass. Historical Commission, and was not eligible for funding by the Community Preservation Committee. Westfield Technical Academy also did not have the ability to take on the job.
Harris said the City Council’s budget only has a line item for legal ads and stipends, thus the request for free cash. The funds will reframe photos from 2008, 2017, and 2018 to 2023, and will include the frames, glass mats, calligraphy, assembly and labor.
“It’s a small ticket item compared to the millions of dollars that are coming out of free cash since the beginning of the year, so I’m willing to vote yes on it because it is a small ticket item, but I think in principle, all avenues should have been exhausted,” said City Councilor Nicholas Morganelli, Jr., who asked if there was a list of funding sources that had been tried.
Council President John Beltrandi III said the city clerk had exhausted all other avenues of funding.
“I mean, in hindsight, obviously they should have stayed with the smaller sizes to begin with because you could have projected that,” said City Councilor Dan Allie, a printer by trade. He also recommended adding another row on top of the current rows. “At that size, you might be able to get a row that wouldn’t impinge on people getting to their seats, so that may give you a few more years,” Allie said, adding, “They haven’t been hung up the whole time since I’ve been here,” before the unanimous approval.
The final approval of $49,918 from free cash to the Personnel Department was to digitize payroll documents for retention in accordance with state laws. Harris said the money will be used for a vendor that specializes in digitizing records, which, according to state mandates, must be retained for 50 years. She said currently, the records are stored at Abner Gibbs, and the city is hoping to sell that building.
When questioned by Mello about having personnel records and information stored in the building, Knapik said that before they were at Abner Gibbs, they were stored at Ashley Street School. The motion passed unanimously.
