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Date: 10/27/2021
EAST LONGMEADOW – The Pleasant View Senior Center hosted a civic fair on Oct. 21, put on by the town of East Longmeadow. During two different sessions, residents were able to visit tables staffed by town departments and community organizations to learn about opportunities to volunteer and upcoming municipal projects.
Master Plan
One of the main goals of the fair was to “roll with the momentum of the master plan adoption,” said Deputy Town Manager Karen Korpinen. The master plan is a guiding document for the town’s future and was officially adopted earlier this year. Korpinen said she was trying to “get the community involved because the town can’t do it alone. We don’t want [the plan] to just sit on a shelf.”
The master plan, which can be viewed at https://www.eastlongmeadowma.gov/917/2021-Resilient-Master-Plan, has been broken down into short, medium and long-term goals. Possible funding sources and key contacts within the town government have also been identified. “Some of the initiatives will take serious funding. Some will take people power,” Korpinen said.
Three initiative sign-up sheets were available at the table for those interested in identifying recreational trails in town, working with the Agricultural Commission and a Master Plan Implementation Committee, which would coordinate with town departments and the community to continue moving the execution of the plan forward.
Bethany Yeo, director of planning and community development, said that despite the civic fair being the first community event since the master plan was adopted, “There’s been a lot of interest. [Town Manager] Mary [McNally] has been having a lot of coffee hours,” to talk about the plan, “but people wanted more information.”
Council on Aging
At the Council of Aging (COA) table, Director Erin Koebler and a member of the COA Board of Directors explained that they are looking for businesses and individuals to get involved in a state-wide initiative to increase dementia-friendly services. The COA will help create “dementia-friendly businesses, social services, town-wide and teach people how to deal with people with dementia,” Koebler said. She added it’s not uncommon for the COA to hear accounts, “that other sectors of the community don’t understand how to calm dementia patients down.”
“Getting rid of the stigma [around dementia] is important,” said the board member. The program will officially kick off in January.
Recreation
Donna Prather, director of recreation, had information available about the department’s seasonal programs, but she told Reminder Publishing that she was especially excited about the potential to expand Heritage Park.
A 2016 feasibility study was conducted and a plan was designed with trails, an amphitheater for the concert series, and new fields. The project is currently on the town’s capital improvement plan. The next step will be to bid out for engineering documents, an expected cost of about $450,000.
“We need public-private partnerships,” Prather said. “It’s a hard sell, but that’s how things get done.” She also said she was grateful for the East Longmeadow Foundation, which is working “to help with fundraising, education and sweat equity.”
McNally described Heritage Park, stating, “It’s open space, it’s a beautiful natural resource. We have thousands of kids. It could become a beautiful park for East Longmeadow.” She admitted that an expanded and refurbished park would increase the maintenance for the Department of Public Works (DPW) staff.
McNally noted that the town is also hoping to expand the Redstone Rail Trail and they have met with owners of nearby property to do so.
Intertwined
Considering whether to begin by focusing on certain aspects of the town’s master plan and upcoming projects or tackle it all together, McNally told Reminder Publishing, “My philosophy is, ‘let’s get going and keep going.’” She said, “All these community issues are intertwined.”
Aside from the town departments, a table was set up collecting signatures on the statewide ballot initiatives, namely whether to require identification to vote and whether to tie an automatic gas tax increase to the cost of living. There were also tables from the Friends of the Norcross House, the Medical Reserve Corp and the East Longmeadow Lions Club.
“There’s a lot of positive energy,” McNally said, glancing around the room. She said she knows the community has an interest in what is happening in town, because “people will send an email or they’ll complain to Donna or they’ll write to Bruce [Fenney, the DPW director]. We’re trying to get them more involved.”
The town manager, who is leaving her position in December, said that she would have taken a larger role in many of the town’s initiatives were she not leaving. She mentioned the new East Longmeadow High School project, the town’s status as a Green Community and Heritage Park as some of those projects.
“Whoever they get to replace me will see it through, she said. “I’m just sad it won’t be me.”