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Westfield, Southwick move forward on center

Date: 7/6/2021

SOUTHWICK –  Both the Southwick Select Board and the Westfield City Council unanimously passed an intermunicipal agreement (IMA) to develop a regional dispatch center to cover both communities.

The agreement was first discussed and passed by Westfield’s City Council June 17. It was signed by Mayor Donald F. Humason Jr. the following morning. The Southwick Select Board then received the IMA and approved it unanimously June 28 without further discussion during the meeting.

It was then signed by Southwick’s Chief Administrative Officer Karl J. Stinehart.

Stinehart said the following morning that the regional dispatch development process now moves to the phase of securing grant funding. He said Westfield’s Public Safety Communications Director Nina Barszcz will now submit the IMA to the state’s 911 department for them to review and possibly award the recently submitted grant.

“That award, if made, will determine how many dollars are granted. It could be all in one year or over two years,” said Stinehart, “It will include the grant scope of the activities to accomplish and target dates. That will drive our process locally with both fire and police chiefs spearheading the effort with their respective Westfield counterparts. The timeline will become a little more clear in the next few weeks.”

Barszcz said after the agreement was signed that an important part of the process had finally been completed.

“With Southwick’s entire Select Board voting on and signing the intermunicipal agreement last night, an extremely important part of this regionalization process has been completed,” said Barszcz, “This starts a true public safety bond between our two communities and being able to provide a high level of dispatch services to Southwick in the very near future is something my agency is looking forward to.”

Barszcz said previously that the actual process of building the necessary dispatch infrastructure between Westfield and Southwick could take 12 to 18 months. The building of infrastructure includes the laying of fiber optic cables between the two communities.

Southwick began seeking regionalization options early in 2021. The need for new equipment – including a new radio system at a cost upwards of $1 million – and the need for a two-seat dispatch center versus the single-seat Southwick currently has, pushed the select board to look at its options.

WestComm Regional Dispatch in Chicopee made a presentation to the board, touting its ability to cover Southwick and upgrade its equipment.

Westfield then reached out to offer its services, which Southwick Select Board members and dispatchers said made more sense.