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| By Sarah M. Corigliano Assistant Managing Editor EAST LONGMEADOW On Oct. 23 East Longmeadow voters will have the opportunity to decide the fate of 19 Special Town Meeting warrant articles, ranging from a request to add another liquor license to town, to the routine adoption of new roads as part of the Great Woods development at the southern end of town. Article 1 on the Special Town Meeting warrant asks if the town will "vote to raise and appropriate a sum of money for the repair and completion of Rollins Drive as recommended by the Planning Board and the Board of Public Works, and pass any vote or take any action relative thereto." Planning, Zoning and Conservation Director Robyn Macdonald explained last week that, while the road is a private way and the town normally is not responsible for such roads, this is a unique circumstance. "The request for money from the town for Rollins Drive is a result of a developer, Three R General Contractor, Ronald DeCoteau walking away from a subdivision without completing the roadway," she wrote in an e-mail to The Reminder. "The town has been trying to get responses from Mr. DeCoteau for a number of years, to no avail. The town residents who live on this street purchased their homes with good faith and the anticipation that the roadway would be completed and taken over by the town for maintenance. "This did not happen and the road is in extensive disrepair. Because this road is a private subdivision road the town is prohibited from performing any work on it. The town did file a claim with the bonding company, however, the insurance company has denied the claim and therefore, it is necessary to request money from the town to finish this roadway. "This is a unique situation which is not likely to occur again as the Planning Board has established strict requirements for bonding in the future. In order for money to be transferred to the Department of Public Works to perform the work on this road, a two-thirds majority of town vote is required. In our Town Meeting form of government, the residents are the controlling force of expenditures from the town and nothing will be done without the approval of the residents." Article 5 seeks a pay increase for the East Longmeadow Cable Access Television Director. Board of Selectmen chairman James Driscoll explained that the Board sponsored the article, which would increase the salary by $5,500 (from $29,500 annually to $35,000). In addition, Article 6 seeks a self-funded pay raise "not to exceed $21,000 during the fiscal year." Driscoll explained that this raise would come from fees and fines associated with dog licensing and control in town. "This is currently a woefully under-paid position compared to other towns," he said. The increase would allow for a raise in per diem rates paid to the current dog officer. "It's still less than any other town around, and this is an important position," he added. Article 7 also seeks a pay raise for a per diem position, the health agent. "Most towns have full time health agents," Driscoll said. "We save tens of thousands of dollars a year to do this as we do." In addition to enforcing health codes in town, Driscoll said East Longmeadow's health agent responds to emergencies in terms of licensure and enforcement. The health agent also responds to public health issues such as dead birds which need to be tested for West Nile Virus and possible rabid animals. "He makes sure the town follows through correctly and that we are well-informed," Driscoll explained. "[The health agent position] is a huge bargain and this is a minor increase." Article 10 seeks to "see if the town will vote to amend the East Longmeadow Zoning By-law ... to make changes to the land use classification table ... for the purpose of adding a use to a district as recommended by the Planning Board, specifically: Hospital or sanitarium, medical clinic: to allow such use in the Industrial Garden District ..." Macdonald explained that the change would not create a new district, but would "allow an existing use of a hospital, sanitarium or medical clinic in the industrial garden district." She explained, "Currently, these types of facilities are only allowed in the residential districts and the Planning Board feels that this is unreasonable. "The Planning Board made this decision based on their continuing review of the by-laws and no specific project has been discussed nor has there been any submittal for such a project." Article 11 seeks to add an all-alcohol on the premises liquor license to town. Attorney Brian Fitzgerald, who represents East Longmeadow Center Village, LLP, explained that currently there are no liquor licenses available to new restaurants in town. "The only way to acquire one is to purchase it from an existing business or, if the town authorizes special legislation [for an additional license]," Fitzgerald explained. In order to add a license to town, Fitzgerald explained that, with the approval of voters at Special Town Meeting, the Board of Selectmen would submit special legislation to local representatives, who would sponsor a bill to be voted on by the legislature. "Palmer recently authorized four additional liquor licenses," he added. He said that, although East Longmeadow Center Village would seek to purchase a liquor license to be used at Spoleto's, which recently moved to the new retail development, there is no guarantee the license, if approved, would be granted to that business. "They would still go through the application and review process," he said. He added that the current number of licenses allowed in town, 15, is based on 2000 Census data. Fitzgerald said another available liquor license would bring the town in line with the current population. Article 12, which was sponsored by R.E. LaPlante Construction, Inc. and others, seeks to rezone a property on Maple Street. Bill Laplante explained to The Reminder that he would like to move his company's headquarters to that address and changing the zoning would help expedite that move. "We are not the owners of the property, but we do have a purchase and sale agreement for the property." Currently, he explained, there is split zoning at 94 Maple Street one third industrial and two-thirds residential. "We hope to obtain a zoning change to commercial, which is far more restrictive than industrial," Laplante said. "We want to build an office building for our company." Laplante said he has had his business in town for over 30 years and the Maple Street location would allow for more space and an opportunity to better project the company's image. "We will put up a residential-looking office building that fits with the neighborhood and all the parking will be in the rear," he said. He added that this will be a purely professional office building, with no equipment stored on site. "We will create nice landscape buffers for the abutters on the residential side and we will lose the look of the industrial facility next door," he added. He said he hosted an informational meeting last week and received verbal support from the property's abutters. With approval, he said there would most likely be a spring 2007 start for the project. |