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Date: 8/18/2022
EAST LONGMEADOW – East Longmeadow Town Council President Ralph Page announced at an Aug. 8 meeting that Town Manager Mary McNally agreed to stay on as town manager for roughly a year, ending June 30, 2023. McNally emphasized that the offer was contingent upon approving the funding of a deputy town manager position.
Two professional town manager searches have been completed, with a price tag of roughly $10,000 each. The three finalists from the first search were determined to be ineligible upon inspection of the town charter’s requirements for the position. Contract negotiations with Ron San Angelo, the candidate selected from the town’s second search, were ended at the council’s last meeting. He sent a letter to the council asking for a meeting, however, no councilors voiced interest in revisiting his contract negotiations.
Page said McNally’s continuation with the town took the pressure off the council to find a new town manager immediately. He also suggested a 2 percent increase to her salary commensurate with the salary schedule of other non-union town employees.
Council Vice President Marilyn Richards said she was in favor of McNally continuing employment with the town for, “as long as she’s willing.”
Councilor Connor O’Shea praised the work done by McNally during her tenure but said the council “is only prolonging the issue” by extending McNally’s time with the town. “We’re almost at the tipping point” of stability because the town has been in flux for nearly a year, he said.
Fellow Councilor Matthew Boucher said there was a feeling of municipal “paralysis” because the leadership question had not been settled. He confirmed with the other councilors that they were still planning to conduct a new search.
Councilor Michael Kane had run point for the previous searches. He told the other councilors that The Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston, which had been used for the second search, was “standing by” and ready to begin the search but added that the firm told him late summer was not the opportune time to look for candidates.
Councilor Kathleen Hill commented it was not unusual for a town to have a long search period and said the council could “re-engage” the search in “a few months.”
The council voted 4-1 in favor of McNally’s extended contract with the town, with O’Shea dissenting and Boucher abstaining.
When voting on funding the deputy town manager position at $150,000, O’Shea commented that the council “may have had even better successful town manager searches had we just raised the salary to what we’re now trying to split between two people.”
Page pushed back on that, saying it was too much work for one person and that the charter was created with a deputy position in mind. He called it “mind-blowing” that the town manager had been able to function without a deputy position for six years. Hill agreed and said the finance oversight committee had “strongly recommended” such a position.
The deputy town manager funding was approved along the same 4-1 line as the previous vote.
Bark Park Walkway
Jonathan Torcia of the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) came before the council to request approval of $7,500 from the CPC’s open space account for a walkway at the Bark Park at Heritage Park.
Torcia reminded the council that it had denied a request last year to fund the first portion of the walkway because of concerns that it would need to be torn up if the Bark Park moves when Heritage Park is redesigned. This time, however, he submitted a letter from Recreation Department Director Donna Prather stating she had seen no concrete plans stating that the dog park would move from its current location.
He also stated that he had received more emails in favor of the walkway than any other CPC project.
The council was not sold. Page pointed out that the town had recently allocated $470,000 for Berkshire Group to redesign Heritage Park. Hill said she was not opposed to the idea, but not until it was definitively known that the dog park would stay in its current location.
Boucher said he doubted the Bark Park would be moved because it is “nestled” against wetlands, but McNally shared that she expected the dog park to move. Department of Public Works Director Bruce Feeney agreed. He said sports fields would likely go in that spot, while the Bark Park would move to the northwest corner of the property.
Boucher asked if the dog park is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Torcia told him that it is level-graded and therefore he believes it complies.
The council voted unanimously against funding the walkway.
Fuel Efficient Vehicles
Community Development and Planning Director Bailey Mitchell brought a policy to the council that would work toward East Longmeadow gaining status as a Green Community. The fuel-efficient vehicle policy would require newly purchased town-owned vehicles to adhere to fuel efficiency guidelines set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The school department would also need to sign off on the policy for the town to have fulfilled its Green Community requirements and be eligible for the funding that accompanies that title.
Page asked Mitchell for a list of current vehicles in the town’s fleet, their year, mileage and fuel efficiency ratings.
Boucher said he was “concerned about sourcing our decision making on what vehicles we use in town to Boston.” He commented that the restrictions could continue to change, but O’Shea noted that the last time the state changed its fuel efficiency criteria was in 2018 and it used 2010 data from the EPA when doing so.
Instead, O’Shea said he was more concerned that the town would not be able to cycle used vehicles to other departments if they did not fall within the fuel efficiency range. Mitchell explained that the practice could still be used if the vehicle was more fuel efficient than the one being replaced.
McNally pointed out that the vehicles did not all have to be replaced at once. The topic was tabled until the council’s September meeting.
Intersection Concerns
During the public comment portion of the evening, resident Anne Landry told the council that the three-way stop at the intersection of Chestnut and Prospect Streets was “confusing to motorists.” Additionally, she cited limited visibility from Chestnut Street and overall speed issues as factors in the danger at the crossroads. Landry shared accident data from the East Longmeadow Police Department (ELPD) that showed there were 12 accidents at that intersection in the past year.
Landry said the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) had rejected the possibility of a four-way stop there. Instead, she asked that the town install larger signs and a speed hump at the location, as well as an electronic radar sign to make people aware of their speed.
Page said he would pass on her comments to the ELPD for their review.
Miscellaneous Information
McNally reported to the council that the state budget for fiscal year 2023 includes an additional $195,000 for East Longmeadow.
The town has applied for a park grant from the Department of Recreation and a representative of the granting authority had been scheduled to tour Heritage Park on Aug. 12.
McNally asked veterans to be patient while Veterans Service officer (VSO) candidates were interviewed, and the right applicant was found. She reminded people that, in the meantime, services could be sought from the VSOs in Wilbraham, Palmer or Longmeadow.