Annual Town Meeting Thank you to all of the volunteers, registered voters, staff and media who attended the Annual Town Meeting on May 9. 34 warrant articles were approved in just under 2 hours. The minutes of the meeting will be uploaded to www.longmeadowma.gov this week and a recording of the meeting can be viewed on the LCTV Youtube Page.
Cooley Brook Engagement Survey The Town of Longmeadow invites you to fill out a survey about the restoration potential of Cooley Brook in Bliss and Laurel Parks. This survey is meant to gauge park users' interactions with Cooley Brook as it exists now, as well as to understand users' priorities for any future maintenance regimes or improvement projects. The survey should take about 10-15 minutes to complete, depending on the level of detail you choose to provide. The Town is now focusing its efforts on understanding park users' visions for Cooley Brook; the results of this survey will help guide future conceptual design efforts for improvements to the stream and the way it interacts with the park landscapes overall. The future design efforts will be funded by a MVP Action Grant and a Long Island Sound Futures Fund Grant for which the Town has applied and will hear back on this fall. Those projects would both take place over 2024 and 2025.
Fields Maintenance Follow Up and Greenwood Pool At the April 18, 2023 Select Board meeting I provided an update on the maintenance at Wolf Swamp Athletic Fields. Questions were asked about Wolf Swamp and Glenbrook and as a follow up I have the following information. The water to Wolf Swamp has been turned on and the irrigation system is working. A sensor needs to be installed on the irrigation system to switch the water source from well to town water, this is being worked on. The first mowing was scheduled for 4/28. The DPW continues to work with the maintenance contractor on the fertilizer specifics.
Glenbrook has grass growing. There continue to be issues with the irrigation pump and the electrical system, more work is needed to make the irrigation work. Luckily the weather has cooperated, however DPW is using water cannons to water the field. The field is not perfect but it does look better. The material to prep the infields is on order.
A major repair at Greenwood Pool is scheduled for two weeks. The known, pre-existing leak has undermine the area and caused the concrete decking to buckle and cave. A contractor will be on site to complete the repair work to before the pool opens for the season. The pool is expected to open on time.
State Budget Amendment As I updated in my April 18, 2023 report, State Representative Brian Ashe filed an amendment to the FY24 House budget to assist with maintenance of sports fields. Unfortunately, the budget amendment did not survive the debate process and was struck from the FY24 budget.
Active Recreation Area and Conditions Assessment The Active Recreation Survey closed on May 12 and we received 650 responses! Thank you participating. Your input will greatly impact the future planning efforts of outdoor active recreation facilities. This information will tie into existing plans such as the OSRP and the ongoing Long Range Plan update; help inform decision-making in regard to the annual budget process, the capital planning process, and the expenditure of Community Preservation Act funds; and the formulation of grant applications to relevant funding agencies.
Municipal Code Online Completing a multi-year process including reviewing, editing, updating and a vote of Town Meeting, I am pleased to report that the Town’s Municipal Code, including the General and Zoning Bylaws, Charter, Planning Board Regulations and Traffic Rules and Orders, etc… are now available online! The new online Code provides convenient access to these key documents in a feature-rich format that has been specifically designed for optimal viewing on desktops and laptops as well as smartphones and tablet devices. Partnering with General Code, the Town’s online Code offers the ability to quickly search by keyword across all areas of Town laws or regulations and provides an easy to understand organization.
Eastern Hampden Shared Public Health Services The Eastern Hampden Shared Public Health Services (Longmeadow, Monson, Hampden and Wilbraham) was informed that it is eligible and will be receiving an additional $163,000 in grant funding on top of our current Public Health Excellence grant allotment, bringing the total for FY24 to $393,000. The additional funds were made possible through a capacity assessment completed by Health Director McCool. This assessment looked at the shared service arrangement population size, community resilience estimate and the level of need. This funding directly supports the EHSPHS program, including the full time public health nurse, inspector and shared services coordinator position.
Fireworks at Longmeadow Country Club On June 16, 2023, the Longmeadow Country Club is planning a fireworks display. A permit for the display has been filed with the Longmeadow Fire Department. We plan to provide notification to residents by social media, signage, and a CodeRED reverse 911 call before the event.
Mobile App Work is continuing on the mobile app. The paperwork to authorize the app on the iTunes store has been completed. The initial graphic design has been approved. We are hoping to launch the app in the beginning of June.
Upcoming Topics and Events
- Wednesday, May 24, 2023 - Longmeadow Long-Range Plan Community Visioning Workshop, 7 PM, Longmeadow Adult Center
- Monday, May 29, 2023 - Memorial Day Ceremony, 9 AM, Longmeadow Town Green
- Monday, May 29, 2023 - Town of Longmeadow Municipal Offices Closed - Memorial Day
- Monday, June 5, 2023 - Last day to register to vote in the Annual Town Election (if not already a registered voter)
- Friday, June 9 , 2023 - Longmeadow Climate Change Perspectives, 4 PM, Longmeadow Adult Center
- Tuesday, June 13, 2023 - Annual Town Election, 7 AM - 8 PM, Longmeadow Community House
- Thursday, June 15, 2023 - Select Board Reorganization Meeting
- Monday, June 19, 2023 - Town of Longmeadow Municipal Offices Closed - Juneteenth
- Tuesday, July 4, 2023 - Town of Longmeadow Municipal Offices Closed - Independence Day