Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 7/14/2021
LONGMEADOW – The first order of business at the most recent Longmeadow Select Board meeting was to reorganize the governmental body.
After Marc Strange was nominated to be the chair, his fellow member Mark Gold suggested that there was a conflict of interest that would preclude his colleague from taking the position. When Strange asserted that there were no conflicts, Gold disagreed, but did not say more. Strange was named as chair with a 4:1 vote.
Steven Marantz and Josh Levine were unanimously chosen as vice chair and clerk, respectively.
Parking Lot Lights
During the resident comment period, Frank Smith asked how the board would respond if Eversource submitted a plan to move forward on a planned natural gas pipeline that will run from a new metering station in Longmeadow to Springfield. He wanted to know how the board will keep residents informed and if it will defend the town’s natural gas bylaws. He also asked if Eversource had shared the proposed route for the gas line. Strange asked him to send his questions to the board in an email so they could each be addressed.
Another resident, David Morse, spoke against the proposed installation of five parking lot lights at 471-475 Longmeadow St. The property management group Colvest owns the buildings at the address, but the lot is town-owned.
Colvest said that the lights are needed for safety. Current tenants have complained that they did not feel safe walking in the lot after dark and potential tenants have told the company that the lighting is not sufficient.
At the June 21 meeting, where the issue was previously discussed, Gold had argued that the “BUG” rating was too high. The BUG rating system assigns a number to three criteria – backlight, uplight and glare – for exterior lighting fixtures. Since the Metropolitan Area Planning Council had required the upgraded LED streetlights in town to have a rating of B1-U1-G1 or below, Gold said the parking lot lights should have to abide by the same criteria. The lights proposed by Colvest have a B2-U0-G2 rating.
Following up at the July 6 meeting, the company representatives countered that the lights are “significantly smaller” in height and brightness – 5,700 lumens – than the 12,000-lumen streetlights. With no uplighting and a relatively low amount of backlighting on the 1 to 5 scale, the representative said the lights would only shine on the parking lots and not reach the street or any residential property. He described them as “no big deal.”
Marantz opined that the lot did require five lights, though he recognized the need for lighting by the entrance to the lot. He added that there is at least one streetlight directly across from the property, but the Colvest representative noted that a tree blocks the light almost entirely.
Gold was steadfast in his opposition and stated that a public hearing should be conducted on the matter. He said that by using solar lights instead of wired electrical ones and by bypassing the Planning Board, Colvest was avoiding a public hearing. Strange later noted that specific bylaws govern what activity triggers public hearings and that the matter is not one of them.
It was stated by Attorney Jeffrey Roberts, managing partner at Robinson Donovan, that because the parking lot is town-owned, the changes and upgrades do not fall under the Planning Board’s purview. Planning Board Clerk Walter Gunn weighed in and said that the lights meet the standard for Green Communities.
“The lights are not a problem. I think the way they are, it’ll be fine,” Gunn said. What he did object to was the installation of the concrete bases on which the lights will be bolted before coming before the Select Board.
“There was no nefarious activity,” said Frank Colaccino, speaking on behalf of the company. He said the decision was made to pour the concrete while the lot was under construction, rather than after the fact. “We didn’t think this would become an issue at all,” he said.
“Colvest is trying to do the right thing,” board member Tom Lachiusa said. He noted that the Department of Public Works (DPW) has not set a standard for lights. “When you look at safety, we know that when you increase the amount of light in an area, the crime rates go down.” He added that increasing the likelihood of a tenant moving into the empty portion of the building would increase the tax base.
Levine asked who would pay for the removal of the lights, should it be needed and Colvest had sold the building. The agreement with Colvest stipulates that it is responsible for maintenance, including removal, and that responsibility would be transferred to the new owners if the property were sold.
The final vote was 3:2, with Gold and Marantz voting against.
Rotating Chairs
Gold proposed a system of rotating board and committee chairs. He called it a “best practice” and a way “to get some new leadership.” The rotation would only affect boards and committees under the Select Board and would exclude any committee in which a skill-specific chair is needed, such as the Conservation Commission.
Lachiusa agreed with Gold and said that candidates for Select Board have run unopposed in the last two elections, “which to me says maybe we aren’t doing enough for leadership development.” Encouraging people to become the chair of a committee may give them the confidence to run for Select Board, he said.
“I’d be much more interested in term limits,” said Marantz. He took the position that long-term chairs build a working relationship that can “get things done.”
Strange recognized the merit of Gold’s argument, but said, “it’s a little bit too heavy-handed, that’s a little bit too much government for me.”
The board voted 3:2 against the measure.
Year-end Funding Transfer
Finance Director Jennifer Leydon requested a $75,000 funding transfer from the unused daycare salaries to cover a shortfall in retirement costs. She explained that because the daycare was closed in 2020, funding generated by the service was not available to pay for the daycare’s portion of retirement costs. Generally, she said, $4 million is set aside for retirement, with $3 million from the general fund and the rest comprised of money from the water and sewer fund, the ambulance fund and the daycare account. The funding was approved.