Date: 10/27/2022
This week, I read The Reminder article by Sarah Heinonen (Oct. 20-26 publication) on the East Longmeadow community development workshop conducted Oct. 12 at Birchland Middle School on the vacant commercial land in the center. The workshop was reported to be on the multi-use overlay project of “shops, businesses and residential spaces on the floors above” proposed to be built in the center’s vacant commercial/industrial space. It’s a huge project on track to potentially alter the culture of the town.
Yet there is something wrong with only a dozen people showing up to ask questions in a town of over 16,000 people. Why so little attendees? Perhaps as I’ve learned after the fact, the workshop was announced on the town website only a week before the actual event. I would have liked to attend if I knew about it; but I don’t monitor the town website, Facebook, or whatever – and why would one give such short notice anyway? Maybe the Town Council can consider an electronic billboard in front of the town hall rotary to announce such events, or to alert town residents to check the town’s website for information, or an “all call” to landline property owners similar to “pay your property tax bill.” Don’t informational meetings of such importance require more than a dozen attendees?
As to developing the town’s center, now euphemistically referred to as “downtown”, one can’t ignore the fact that the busiest and most congested part of East Longmeadow is the rotary and it’s center. So I’m cynical about such a proposal and liken it to stuffing five pounds of feathers in a three pound bag – how exactly does adding housing in the center improve on these center issues? Too bad ... I missed the workshop, and didn’t get to ask questions.
As the saying goes, the devil is in the details; how many buildings, how many residential units in the six acres, number of people/bedrooms, unit cost, floors per building, parking space, neighborhood and rotary traffic impact, pedestrian travel, stop light/s to enter/exit the project, impact on town resources of fire, police, teachers compared to taxes collected, etc.? I’d like to see a definite plan of center development so the citizens of East Longmeadow and town decision makers can have thoughtful discussion about this project.
Jim Shea
East Longmeadow
