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Date: 2/1/2021
CHICOPEE – The Chicopee Department of Planning & Development along with Veterans Services and the Department of Parks & Recreation are seeking feedback on the future Western Massachusetts Post-9/11 & Service Dog Memorial Park.
The Post-9/11 Memorial Park will be a seven acre space adjacent to Westover Air Reserve at the corner of Westover Road and Honeysuckle Drive. The plans for this space began approximately five years ago and have been advanced tremendously in previous years with the help of Chicopee’s Director of Veterans Services Stephanie Shaw. A final concept plan is now being shown to the community in order to receive comment, criticism and praise.
According to Shaw, the park space was donated to the city by the federal government when Westover was downsized over 20 years ago. The space was vastly underutilized and, roughly seven years ago, the Chicopee Veterans Group came together to discuss placing a regional 9/11 monument there. The monument was instead installed at the plaza on Front Street in 2018.
After the installation in a different area, Shaw reconvened with the original committee to decide how to move forward with the site. The concept of the Post-9/11 Memorial Park was then created with the idea of everyone – not just those from Chicopee – being able to use the space to invoke emotion, share positivity and learn about the experiences of those who served.
“It’s seven acres of underutilized space that we could turn into not so much a memorial, really, but a park and a space where we could celebrate service and bring families together not just for sorrow, for success,” said Shaw.
The plan presented to the community now shows the concept of the park and what it could hold, pending feedback and final alterations.
“It’s a draft. Nothing’s been ordered, but it’s so incredible. There’s walking trails, monuments, memorials, playgrounds, a dog park and ample parking. I got so moved when I saw this draft,” said Shaw.
COVID-19 has proven to be a challenge when it came to advancing this project over the past year, according to Shaw. She said she wants the community to know that this didn’t happen overnight and that the plan has been years in the making. All departments want to continue to move forward with the project as they see it as a silver-lining and positive space where people can be outside and socially distanced.
“It’s challenging right now. We don’t want to lose this program, we don’t want to lose this park space, we don’t want to lose the momentum we had but we also understand that we’re in a pandemic and it’s affecting our economy,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to that piece of sunshine that this project can bring to our area as it comes to fruition and as it gets unveiled and opened. The veterans and the families in the area will know that this didn’t just cease or stop. We kept working however we could manage with the safety restrictions and the priorities that we have to have right now.”
Community feedback will be accepted until Feb. 26. According to a press release, “The city has been working in partnership with regional engineering and landscape architecture firm, Milone & MacBroom (now SLR International) to advance the design of the project. After multiple rounds of community input from residents of the Westover neighborhood, the city at large, and the regional Veterans community, Milone & MacBroom has synthesized all comments into a final park concept.”
The feedback is an opportunity for Chicopee residents and others in the Western Massachusetts community to list their pros and cons of the project plan, state how their perception of the project has changed after viewing the final plan and give praise or constructive criticism.
“This is going to affect a lot of people and we want to give them the opportunity to share their ideas, their concerns and even their praise,” said Shaw.
Once the feedback closes it will be assessed with the design team to make adjustments. The departments can then look into getting materials and contractors, based on cost and availability due to COVID-19. According to Shaw, this project will rely heavily on federal funding and support to cover costs.
“It may take a little bit of time because of COVID, but it’s not something that’s going to cancel our efforts or change the root of this. It just might change the timeline a little bit,” she said.
Shaw said she is most excited for this space to be a potential area for emotional connection. She wants to spread awareness of veterans and their service and can even see it as being a potential site for field trips. According to Shaw, it will be a great way to get families and people involved and into the City of Chicopee.
“It is a space where people can gather, celebrate service, honor those that have fallen and be together,” she said.
Those interested in learning more about the Post-9/11 & Service Dog Memorial Park, seeing the most recent project plan or giving feedback are encouraged to visit their website at https://www.chicopeema.gov/895/Post-911-Service-Dog-Memorial.