Ludlow and Belchertown 2023: a year in reviewDate: 12/26/2023 With the end of 2023 rapidly approaching, Reminder Publishing took a look back at some of the major storylines that helped shape Ludlow and Belchertown over the past year.
What do you feel made the year memorable for the region? Let us know by sending a letter to the editor to cmaza@thereminder.com.
Belchertown chooses new town administrator
The Select Board appointed DPW Director Steve Williams as its next town administrator at its May 1 meeting.
For several months prior, the Select Board worked with Community Paradigm Associates to find a replacement for Town Administrator Gary Brougham, who was set to retire in June after his contract expired. Williams previously served as the DPW director in Belchertown for 25 years. He and Brougham were both hired in 1993 and have worked closely together on several projects.
In December 2022, the town moderator assembled a five person Town Administrator Search Committee, which worked with Community Paradigm Associates Senior Associate John Petrin in reviewing applications, conducting interviews and presenting the Select Board with finalists.
The committee received 20 applications and screened six applicants before they presented three finalists to the Select Board.
Wellesley Human Resources Director Scott Szczebak, Greenfield Housing Authority Executive Director Thomas Guerino and Whately Town Administrator Brian Domina were the three finalists who were interviewed by the Select Board on April 25.
After the interviews, the Select Board decided they would wait until its May 1 meeting to discuss the candidates further before making its decision.
On May 1, Select Board member Ron Aponte kicked off the conversation by going over the pros and cons of each candidate and added that even though all three were qualified and good, “there wasn’t that quote, unquote perfect candidate.”
Aponte then mentioned the idea of naming Williams as the next town administrator, calling him a “stealth candidate” who matched what the town sought from the position. Williams had submitted a resume and application to the search committee but was not selected to be screened or interviewed. The Select Board decided to host an interview with Williams who happened to be present at the meeting. After almost an hour of deliberation, the Select Board unanimously voted to appoint Williams.
After his selection, but before he started in the position, Town Meeting approved an article that allows the town to transition the town administrator position to a town manager. A town manager would take on more day-to-day responsibilities so the Select Board can focus on long-term goals, solutions and policy.
The matter is currently in the hands of the state Legislature. On Nov. 2, the joint petition by state Sen. Jake Oliveira (D-Ludlow) and state Rep. Aaron Saunders (D-Belchertown) was passed in the state House of Representatives and is waiting to be enacted. The state Senate finished its second reading on Nov. 6 and ordered the bill to a third reading.
Ludlow School Committee debates library policy
School libraries have found themselves to be battlegrounds in the midst of the national culture war of late and Ludlow became an unexpected combat zone in that struggle this year.
While Ludlow Public Schools had an existing policy that allows parents to challenge what books are available in the school libraries and notifies them of what books their children are checking out, School Committee member Joao Dias presented the proposal for a new library policy. That policy included more definitions and restrictions.
Specifically, the policy stated that no materials in the elementary school libraries should contain explicit written description of sexual acts or nude intimate parts, implied written description of nude intimate parts, visual or visually implied depictions of sexual acts or simulations of such acts and visual depictions of nude intimate parts or implied nudity. The middle school and high school restrictions become somewhat more lax based on education purposes.
It also proposed giving responsibility and authority for selection of library materials directly to the School Committee.
Dias argued the policy was designed to get rid of inappropriate materials from the schools’ libraries, however, others pushed back, questioning the motives behind the proposal and whether any change is needed at all.
The public comment portion of the School Committee’s May 23 meeting featured approximately 30 Ludlow Public Schools staff members or school parents expressing their opinions for or against the proposed policy. Those in favor argued that they didn’t want books that described sexual acts, use of drugs or acts of rape to be allowed in the schools’ libraries. Those against the policy argued that the proposed policy was part of the “right-wing agenda” of the committee and restricted students the access to information.
Among those opposed was the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, who argued the policy was a copy of the policy adopted in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where it was adopted but has faced several legal challenges. Dias admitted at the May 23 meeting that he Googled and copied the proposed policy from Bucks County.
The organization characterized the proposed policy as discriminatory and an attempt to suppress free speech and the right to receive information free of censorship. The ACLU’s letter urged the committee to reject a policy that it believed “would impose sweeping and unjustifiable restrictions on learning materials and could effectively restrict access to LGBTQ-themed books.”
Another hour of public comment during the June 13 School Committee also drew multiple speakers expressing either their concern or appreciation of the policy. That included those who decided to use their time to read from the Bible, such as Rev. Steven Craft from Camp Constitution, a New Hampshire-based right-wing group whose stated mission is, in part, “to enhance understanding of our Judeo-Christian moral heritage” and “examine and expose some of the abuses and perversions that have brought our nation and economy so far down.”
Ultimately, when Dias called for a vote on the policy on June 13, no member of the committee offered to second the motion, causing it to fail. School Committee member Ron Saloio, who was in favor of the proposal, motioned to table the vote for another meeting for Dias to take more time to address concerns and get legal advice, but the remaining committee members did not support his motion.
Though the policy was not approved, Dias defended his position to bring it forward, saying it was the School Committee’s responsibility to address complaints of inappropriate books in the school libraries. He also took aim at the ACLU, calling it the “legal arm of the pornography industry” whose members “live by making threats to gullible and cowardly politicians.”
Discussion on Jabish Brook Middle School ramps up
The Select Board approved the dates for a special election and Town Meeting that will decide the future of the proposed Jabish Brook Middle School reconstruction.
In March 2022, the town approved a feasibility study to explore potential renovations, repairs or the prospect of building an entirely new school in town. The Jabish Brook Middle School Building Committee recommended replacing the current building, built in 1964, with a new a new three-story facility that would be able to accommodate 475 students. Each floor would be dedicated to one grade.
The total project is estimated to cost between $117-$121 million but since the project was accepted into the MSBA program, the town could receive about a 30% reimbursement from the state for the project, which would bring the town’s cost to construct the new school to between $86 million and $90 million.
The special town election will take place on June 17, 2024, followed by a special Town Meeting on June 24, 2024. Superintendent Brian Cameron and School Committee Chair Heidi Gutekenst said past public hearings will be made available on BCTV and there will be “many more” public hearing for residents to see the proposed design for the school before June.
Ludlow Mills continue to see more life
Work on the Ludlow Mills continues to move forward, specifically at Mill 8, home of the iconic clock tower on the town’s seal.
WinnDevelopment is in the midst of renovating the 110-year-old, 4-story, 220,000-square-foot building into approximately 95 mixed-income units for adults over the age of 55 with 147 parking spaces, a fitness center, a resident lounge, laundry facilities, work pods and an outdoor community space. Apartments with 1-, 1- plus den and 2-bedroom layouts will be available.
This project comes after Mill 10 was recently transformed into mixed-income, senior housing in 2017. That project included 75 units of mixed-income age-restricted housing.
Applications for the residences are now being accepted. The selection process for Mill 8 will be done like a lottery, the same way it was done for the Residences at Mill 10, with interest forms that can be filled out available at the Ludlow Senior Center or Mill 10. There is currently a three- to five-year waiting list for the Residences at Mill 10 “proving how vitally important it is to deliver additional quality apartment homes to seniors in and around Ludlow.”
The developer is also looking to work with Renaissance Medical Group to establish an adult day health facility using most of the building’s ground floor with on-site medical and supportive services for those living in Mills 8 and 10 as well as the broader community.
Westmass Development Corp, which owns the sprawling complex, also received $740,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency as one of the 13 brownfields awards that the organization will use to examine and remove asbestos from the roofs and windows in buildings 44 and 58.
The town also this year approved the demolition of an eight-story stock house building originally constructed in 1913 as a storage warehouse for Mill 11. The building, Westmass representatives told the town, did not meet any of the building codes and efforts to renovate and restore it to code would be cost-prohibitive. Concerns included low ceilings, columns and concrete slab floors that could not be brought to code for any commercial or residential use. For example, occupiable spaces require a ceiling height of no less than 7 feet, 6 inches by Massachusetts state building code. Each floor was only 6 feet, 10 inches from the floor to the ceiling.
The Historical Commission voted 4-1 to demolish the building and the Planning Board voiced no objection at its April 13 meeting.
Town Planner Doug Stefancik added, “They looked at so many uses and it is just so limited because of the height. They always had a hard time with this building and I think demolition of this building was always apart of the original plan.”
The state also awarded two One Stop for Growth grants for fiscal year 2024 totaling $805,500. The grants both fall under the Underutilized Properties criteria of the One Stop for Growth Grant Awards and include $500,000 for the Ludlow Mills Clock Tower renovation and $300,500 for capital improvements to Stockhouse 119. The scope of the clock tower restoration was excluded from the redevelopment of the Mill 8 development budget due to cost constraints.
Not all are happy with the developments at the mills, however. Residents have taken to social media and different boards in town to express their concerns about issues with rats in their neighborhoods, specifically those neighborhoods that lie north of State Street, across from the mills.
The Board of Health issued a notice to residents in late June to let everyone know they are aware of the situation and things people can do to help fix the problem, however, resident Ann Van Aller, the Board of Health and Building Commissioner Leslie Ward met with the Board of Selectmen at its Aug. 15 meeting to continue a discussion. Van Aller provided pictures that she said depicted rats present in the late morning hours. She said they have set traps and consistently caught them.
Westmass Area Development Corporation President and CEO Jeff Daley countered the claimed, “we absolutely do not have rats, we don’t have a rat problem, we never had a rat problem since we owned it in 2011.”
Public Health Director Paulina Matusik said she met with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and they are asking the town to create a rodent control plan.
Ludlow Town Meeting denies cannabis establishments again
Residents at Ludlow’s Town Meeting voted down an effort by the Planning Board to reverse a 2017 Town Meeting decision to permanently prohibit the establishment of retail marijuana shops or cultivation facilities.
Planning Board Chair Raymond Phoenix argued that the town was missing out on substantial tax revenue, presenting the example of Easthampton, which collected $874,020 in 2022, $1.3 million in 2021, $1.4 million in 2020. He also noted that initial security and public health concerns had not been realized.
Others in favor argued that it was better to have a regulated industry in town as opposed to people seeking cannabis through illegal means and buying products that could contain harmful adjuncts such as Fentanyl.
Residents who spoke against marijuana facilities were against the smell the product would bring to the town and raised concerns regarding attracting new homeowners. Others did not care for the idea of recreational drugs in general.
Mary goes on the lam
Mary, the 24-year-old one-horned antelope, was returned to Lupa Zoo in Ludlow after escaping and spending about a month wandering around Western Massachusetts.
Mary escaped on April 1 when a tree fell on her fenced enclosure after a storm and has been exploring Western Massachusetts ever since. Multiple residents from surrounding communities posted video footage of the antelope on social media either roaming in their backyard or on the side of the road.
Mary was captured on May 6 near the solar panels by the Massachusetts Turnpike and Chapin and Miller streets.
Lupa Zoo’s Facilities Development and Animal Care Director Wally Lupa said after many attempts to capture Mary, he and a team were able to get her in a trailer.
Lupa said that he spent the prior five weeks sleeping in the truck in different locations to be close to her last sighting.
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