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Date: 4/13/2023
WILBRAHAM — Wilbraham residents gathered in the Police Station Community Room on April 4 to discuss the future of Memorial School, the Parks and Recreation Department and how those two entities may overlap.
Memorial School, a 50,000 square-foot building, served as an elementary school until 2010 and then housed students from Springfield’s Cathedral High School until 2016. In 2017, Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District turned Memorial School over to the town. In the years since then, the Parks and Recreation Department has run several of its programs from the building and its athletic fields.
The Parks and Recreation Department has been housed at the Scantic Valley YMCA for several years, along with the Council on Aging. With the town building a new Senior Center, Parks and Recreation Department Director Brian Litz said it was an appropriate time to consider a new home for the department.
A feasibility study was begun in December 2022 to examine moving the department’s offices to the site and creating a community center.
The feasibility study is being managed Berry Dunn and CHA Consulting Inc. engineering and consulting firms. Litz said the lead consultant from CHA also created the Master Plan for the Spec Pond facilities in 2006, while working with another firm.
About 35 people attended the meeting in person, with another five or 10 attending online. Those who attended the meeting indicated a desire for basketball, pickleball and volleyball courts, a walking path and access to a trailhead. Residents also expressed interest in a gymnasium, fitness areas and dance spaces. Aside from athletics, space for town offices and an area for teens and after-school activities were also indicated as desirable.
So far, Litz said, about 2,500 people have responded to a survey collecting community input. Survey responses are being received through April 30. Another meeting will be conducted in May, with more concrete plans for a possible community center.
The feasibility study is scheduled to be completed in June, after which the Board of Selectmen will review the data and decide whether to seek funding for the project. If the board approves it, the community center will appear on the warrant at a fall 2023 or spring 2024 Town Meeting.
The survey is available at https://tinyurl.com/4w9zva8t.