Good evening, everyone, and thanks to all who are joining us both here in the Council Chambers and online tonight. I am filling in for Mayor Brindle this evening in my role as Acting Mayor, as she is unfortunately quarantined at home with a case of COVID. 

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PROCLAMATION TO HONOR FORMER COUNCILMAN BOYES

Tonight, we are also pleased to recognize former Councilman Jim Boyes for his years of service and many contributions to this Council. As you know, Councilman Boyes recently resigned from his position as he believed he needed to recuse himself from any discussion or votes related to two development projects that are in close proximity to his home. He further believed that Ward 1 residents needed to have two council representatives who could fully engage in the discussion on these proposed projects, and we respect his principles in that regard. We are grateful to Jim for his service and glad he could join us tonight to be formally recognized. 

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WHS GIRLS SWIM TEAM 

Earlier, at our 7:00PM Conference Session, we honored yet another Westfield High School state championship team, as the Girls Swim Team was here for some well-deserved public recognition of their amazing achievements this season. 

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OPENING REMARKS

I’ll now deliver some opening remarks for tonight’s meeting. As a reminder, public comment will be accepted in person only, and we are live streaming for viewing only via Facebook. As always, the replay will also be available afterwards on Facebook, YouTube, and TV 36. 

We have a very busy meeting tonight covering a broad range of issues, and I’d like to briefly provide an overview of the items we’ll be addressing. 



PUBLIC HEARINGS/ORDINANCES ON SECOND READING

2022 Municipal Budget and SID Budget 
Tonight we will hold our public hearings on the 2022 Special Improvement District (DWC) budget and the 2022 municipal budget. As the Vice Chair of the Finance Policy Committee, I echo the sentiments previously stated by the Mayor and Councilwoman Habgood, who serves as Chair of the Committee. We are very proud of the budget we’ve proposed – one that reflects the Town’s sound financial health and priorities, as we continue to put your tax dollars to work through responsible fiscal management, investment spending, and strategically utilizing our regenerating surplus. 

Public Safety Ordinance
We’ll also hold a public hearing on the ordinance out of the Public Safety, Transportation, and Parking Committee to make traffic improvements to the lower part of Prospect Street. As you’ll recall, we heard from John Federico of WSP – our redevelopment circulation and traffic consulting firm – at our last meeting who shared these changes intended to address areas that have been problematic for quite some time, and are unrelated to the proposed redevelopment at Ferris and Prospect. 

You’ll be hearing more from John later tonight about these specific Prospect Street changes when he shares the outcome of the Traffic Impact Study that is related to the development, which I’ll address shortly.



ORDINANCE INTRODUCTIONS AND RESOLUTIONS

Regulation & Licensing for Vehicle Towing and Storage Services
Also from the Public Safety Committee, tonight we’ll hear an ordinance on first reading amending the fees for various towing services, which had not been updated in over 20 years, enabling the town to offer more competitive rates so that we can have more towing companies at our disposal.

Authorization to Submit a Historic Site Management Grant Application
We have a resolution from the Code Review & Town Property Committee authorizing approval to submit a historic site management grant application by the Historic Preservation Commission. The grant is in the amount of $60,000, $15,000 of which the Town would be responsible for, to update the Historic Preservation Master Plan Element, conduct an architectural survey of the downtown historic district, and nominate the downtown historic district for the national register. Many thanks to the members of the HPC for their ongoing dedication to ensuring that our Town’s history continues to be both preserved and recognized. 

Amendment to the Downtown Westfield Scattered Site Redevelopment Plan 
Also from the Code Review & Town Property Committee, we’ll hear an ordinance on first reading to amend the existing Downtown Westfield Scattered Site Redevelopment Plan to allow for the property at 76 Elm Street, the former Chico’s space, to be utilized as a preview center for Streetworks Development. The preview center will be open to the public and serve as a centralized location where their proposed redevelopment project can be shared and discussed with the community, providing visuals and details, and enabling robust public participation and engagement by inviting the public to preview their proposal, ask questions, and provide input. The center is scheduled to open in July and will be staffed by Streetworks professionals and local ambassadors, and anticipated to drive significant interest and foot traffic, filling up another prominent vacant storefront on Elm Street. The amendment we’re introducing tonight simply allows this use in this specific location for this express purpose. 

Resolution to Award Contract for Independent Assessment of Edison Fields Project 
Tonight we'll also be voting on a resolution to authorize an award of contract to CME Associates, an engineering firm with extensive experience in designing and constructing natural grass and turf fields, to perform an independent assessment of the existing Edison Fields plan to date. This is the next phase of the Town's due diligence process of evaluating the best path forward by engaging an experienced third party to review the current proposal and address outstanding questions by residents. The assessment will include a review of the cost analysis to date, capacity and use assumptions for both natural grass and turf with and without lights, and an analysis of incremental benefits of each solution relative to expense and capacity, such as reliability and expected maintenance downtime. We expect to have a final product for review in June, which will be shared with the public. 

We have been discussing the Edison Fields project for nearly a year, and have heard from residents who have reached out with questions and concerns. We have also heard from supporters who have implored this Council to finally act on delivering a long overdue field solution so that their kids can safely play sports and no longer have to travel out of town to play their home games. As we've said throughout this process, it’s critical that we arrive at such an important decision transparently and thoughtfully to best serve the community at large. This Council and the Recreation Commission remain fully committed to delivering a responsible fields solution and we look forward to your continued engagement. 


Resolution to Appoint a New Ward 1 Councilperson
We’re pleased to be able to move ahead tonight with filling Jim Boyes’ previous seat in order to maintain a continuity of representation for Ward 1. As part of the statutory process, the Town has received a letter from the Westfield Democratic Committee with their proposed replacements for this vacancy, which will be read by the Town Clerk during the Petitions & Communications portion of the meeting. Based on these submissions, I’m pleased to announce I’ll be nominating Emily Root to fill this vacancy, which will then go before the full Council for a vote by resolution to finalize her appointment. Upon passage of that resolution, Emily will be sworn in immediately to begin serving Ward 1 tonight. This is a temporary seat on the Council, meaning that Emily must run for re-election in November. 


FERRIS/PROSPECT TRAFFIC IMPACT STUDY 

Now let’s move onto the reason many of you are here tonight. On behalf of the Mayor and entire Council, I want to thank the residents for their questions regarding the proposed project at Prospect/Ferris Street. As previously discussed, a Traffic Impact Study was conducted by the redeveloper’s retained firm, Stonefield, which we required as a condition of any final Redevelopment Agreement, part of a redevelopment process that allows the Town to exert more control over a project before it receives final approval. Tonight, this presentation will be given by both Stonefield and John Federico of WSP, who verified and reviewed the study’s findings on the Town’s behalf to provide an additional measure of analysis. This is the first time the Council is seeing the presentation, and the objective is to provide us with additional information to guide our decision-making prior to any vote on the final Redevelopment Agreement. It’s worth noting that this traffic study is a highly unusual requirement imposed by this governing body at this stage in the process, which is something typically done at the Planning Board level. We are doing this to get the assurance, and to give the public the assurance, that this project will not unduly exacerbate traffic conditions before any final approvals are given. The public will be able to ask questions during the Public Comment portion of tonight’s meeting, and the presentation and final studies will be posted on the Town website after the meeting.


With that, let’s get started by having Stonefield and WSP begin their presentation.

Thank you.