Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 10/19/2021
WEST SPRINGFIELD – Incumbent Mayor William Reichelt will be running for another four-year term, unopposed, in the Nov. 2 election.
In advance of the election, in an effort to inform voters, Reminder Publishing asked Reichelt a series of questions on his visions for West Springfield.
Reminder Publishing (RP) Why have you decided to run for re-election?
Reichelt: I love my job as mayor of my hometown and the opportunity I have to make the place I grew up better for the current generation as well as future generations. The work I started six years ago is not finished, we have laid the foundation for some great advancements over the next decade.
RP: How do you plan to involve residents in the decision-making process in town?
Reichelt: The first part of the 5 Point Plan when I first ran back in 2015 was to be “Accessible, Approachable, & Accountable,” which I believe we have done through both an active social media presence as well as dedicated open office hours. I try to make myself as easy to reach as possible and am always open to feedback from residents on any issue we have before us or if there is something we should be looking into instead.
RP: What are some issues within the town that you wish to address?
Reichelt: We have had significant (over $30 million) worth of infrastructure work throughout town over the past few years. A big focus now is to pave a lot of those streets which we’ll be working on over the next couple of years with close to $11 million dedicated just to resurfacing streets. We’ll also continue work on the necessary infrastructure too.
RP: Now that Bearhole is protected, how will the land be treated/preserved?
Reichelt: The land will remain as is and available to the public to use as passive recreation for the whole community. Audubon will work with the community management team to ensure we all are doing all we can to make sure the public has the best experience possible while using the land.
RP: What do you think is more important for West Springfield: building new homes and commercial space or rehabbing/expanding/better utilizing existing homes and storefronts? How would you like to see the town balance these?
Reichelt: We have little choice on this front as we do not have much virgin land to allow for new construction. Our focus has and will remain the reuse of existing buildings and working with businesses to partner with their expansion plans and help them prosper in town.
RP: How can you/the city support small business development and expansion?
Reichelt: We will continue to build on the economic relief package we originally proposed last January and was recently passed by the council. We’ll continue to pursue these types of measures as well as engaging the community with our economic development staff to ensure we can retain our diverse base of business partners.
The polls will be open for voting on Nov. 2. For information on in-person early voting, visit https://www.townofwestspringfield.org/government/departments/town-clerk/elections.
For those who would like to vote by mail, visit https://www.townofwestspringfield.org/government/departments/town-clerk/elections to complete the application and submit it to the Town Clerk’s Office by Oct. 27.