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Date: 1/5/2023
LONGMEADOW – Looking forward to what 2023 may bring, Longmeadow Town Manager Lyn Simmons told Reminder Publishing, “We’ve got some exciting things” happening.
Town Hall move
As it stands, town offices are split between the Town Hall and the Community House. A plan is underway to consolidate town offices in the former Council on Aging space at the Greenwood Center. The daycare program would continue to operate in its current location.
A feasibility study completed last year found there were no major challenges in using the building. Simmons said most of the work needed at the Greenwood Center is cosmetic. She added that no longer having to heat, cool, electrify and maintain two separate buildings would also save the town money. The town may save even more money in the long term if the building’s energy consumption can be made net zero with efficiency upgrades. If that is possible, Simmons said she would seek grant funding to achieve it.
Eversource pipeline
Longmeadow has petitioned for intervenor status in the state’s Energy Facility Siting Board (EFSB)’s review of Eversource’s Massachusetts Gas Reliability Project.
The proposed project would locate a natural gas metering station in Longmeadow and run a pipeline through the town and into Springfield. The ESFB’s review is the final step in the process, Simmons said.
She added that approval from the board would exempt the project from following town bylaws, which outlaw such infrastructure within its borders.
Simmons said the town got involved to protect its interests, including limiting traffic disruptions, preventing the loss of wooded area and the metering station’s proximity to Wolf Swamp Road Elementary School.
Addressing Eversource’s stated reason for the project, Simmons said, “It’s unclear to me, if [the pipeline] is terminating at the same point, how it is for reliability.” Further, she said the state is at a “pivotal point” in its plans to reach the climate goals set by Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration, and this project would hamper those goals.
Long-range plan
Longmeadow was awarded a grant in 2022 to address climate-related issues through a long-range plan. “We’re at the starting gate,” Simmons said, but the creation of that plan will be “kicking into high gear,” in 2023. The Long-Range Plan Steering Committee will conduct its first meeting in January and work on the plan until June 2024, at which point it will be presented to the Select Board.
The plan will identify a direction for the town overall, as well as in terms of climate preparedness. “We know the climate is changing. The long-range plan is going to lay out how we’re going to respond in the next 10 to 20 years.” Simmons said there are known drainage issues in neighborhoods throughout town that could be helped with aspects such as treescapes, garden space or limiting or eliminating some impervious surfaces, such as asphalt, she said.
Plaza rebuild
Reconstruction of the Maple Center Shopping Plaza at 901 Maple Rd., has been approved by the Planning Board. The next step for the project is to prepare the site for construction. As is standard, Simmons said the town will ensure the new building is up to code.
Simmons said initial conversations have been had about rezoning an adjacent parcel owned by Pun Longmeadow Realty, which also owns the plaza. The location, currently zoned for residential use instead of commercial, is often used for overflow parking. Zoning changes must be approved at Town Meeting and Simmons said this issue may appear on the warrant in the spring.
Communication
In addition to large projects, there are smaller improvements and developments coming in 2023. Longmeadow recently finished an update of its bylaws and is awaiting approval of them from the Attorney General’s Office. Once approved, the town will begin using the E-Code platform to allow the charter and bylaws to be integrated and searchable with a single keyword.
Longmeadow will also be launching a mobile app to provide information to residents, “without them having to search for it,” Simmons said, adding, “There’s more to come, stay tuned.”