Redevelopment plan to be presented at final city meeting

Date: 1/11/2012

Jan. 11, 2012

By Patrick Kelly and G. Michael Dobbs

Reminder News Staff

SPRINGFIELD — Residents affected by the tornado on June 1, 2011, had their last opportunity to comment in public on a rebuilding plan for the city at a meeting on Jan. 5 at St. Anthony’s Social Church on Island Pond Road.

The final presentation of the Rebuild Springfield Planning Project will take place on Jan. 26 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Anthony’s Social Center. The public may continue to share their thoughts about specific ideas and observations at the online collaboration website link at www.rebuildspringfield.com. The draft plans will be posted on the MindMixer page of the website until Jan. 13.

About 500 people attended the meeting, of which half raised their hand when asked if they had been involved in district planning. Less of a town meeting and more of a brainstorming session, the event was attended by Mayor Domenic Sarno, State Sen. James Welch, members of the City Council and staff members of Rebuild Springfield and DevelopSpringfield.

The areas affected by the tornado had been divided into districts for planning purposes and representatives of each district reported conclusions drawn from their own meetings. All of the districts had concerns particular to their regions, but several themes stood out, including the construction of “infill” housing in vacant lots; the prevention of decay in surviving buildings; and tougher laws regarding absentee landlords.

Other common themes were improved safety and security in the affected areas; building trust between citizens and those trying to improve neighborhoods; boosting educational facilities; and tapping into the intrinsic resources available to Springfield to create a stronger economy.

The largest amount of time spent in the meeting was on a table-by-table activity. Each table had one of the six important areas of development, such as cultural, or organizational. After an hour spent discussing instructions provided, the people seated at each table submitted their conclusions and suggestions.

Several ideas stood out, such as a bike path running through the city, replanting trees in damaged areas, and coordinating music and the arts groups across Springfield to produce better cultural events.

According to a statement released by Concordia, the firm organizing the rebuilding plan, “The draft plan contains recommendations organized by six major areas of influence: social, educational, physical, economic, cultural and organizational ... These suggestions will be refined and prioritized over the next two weeks with the detailed input from both the citywide meetings and Rebuild Springfield website at www.rebuildspringfield.com.”