WESTFIELD — The City Council will determine whether Westfield spends $110,000 to buy about 17 acres of riverfront land near the Russell town line.
City Planner Jay Vinskey initially proposed the purchase to the city Conservation Commission and Community Preservation Committee, which both voted in favor of it. It would be funded in part by the city’s Community Preservation Act fund.
In the application submitted to the CPC on behalf of the Planning and Conservation Departments, Vinskey said that the project presents a unique opportunity for the Conservation Commission to expand its limited portfolio of properties (currently three).
“The CPC has often heard the land protection is a priority in Westfield and that it should be a focus of our CPA fund expenditures,” Vinskey wrote. He described the property as mostly wooded upland, with some wet areas apparent. He said while the land has some steep topography, there is a graded path for easy access and some trails throughout, and an existing parking area alongside Russell Road (Route 20). He said a small barn or shed on the property is in very poor condition, and its removal or stabilization would be anticipated as part of the project.
The land would be combined with an adjacent 2.5-acre parcel that the city already acquired, in lieu of back taxes, and managed as the “Tekoa Narrows Conservation Area.” Together with an existing state conservation area and parkland that extends from Westfield into Russell, it would form a corridor of 40 acres of contiguous protected land along the Westfield River.
Vinskey said the city has been in discussions with the amenable landowner for nearly a year, and now has a landowner agreement for the 17 acres behind and to the west of an existing house, which will remain a separate parcel.
He said the plan is for the land to remain conservation land.
“I would anticipate some trails along the river, river access, fishing, and kayak access,” Vinskey said. The land will be permanently dedicated to open space and conservation.
“It’s consistent with our open space plan of linking protected areas, there is state land to the east, and improving access to the river and to wildlife corridors. It checks all the boxes in the open space plan,” Vinskey said.
The request for approval of an appropriation of $60,000 from the Community Preservation Open Space account, and $50,000 from the open space account in the fiscal 2023 budget, for a total sum of $110,000, was taken up by the City Council on Thursday and referred to its Finance Committee with no discussion. After being vetted by the subcommittee, it will return to the full council at a future meeting.
Community Preservation funds are separate from the city’s annual budget. The accounts are funded by a surtax on property taxes and matching grants from the state. Money in Community Preservation accounts can only be spent on open space, recreation, historical preservation or affordable housing projects.
The nearby parkland on the Westfield-Russell line, known as Tekoa Park, was recently refurbished with trails re-blazed by members of the Western Mass. Hilltown Hikers.
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