I would like to address last weeks Letter to the Editor, asking Longmeadow residents to vote yes on Article 6. Contrary to the opinion of the MSBC, we are not trying to derail the process, we are trying to find a better solution and location for the proposed new combined middle school. Let me address each of their points.
First, that the petition was submitted by a subset of abutters. The petition was signed by over 250 residents from all parts of town. It’s not just abutters who think the Williams Middle School site is not appropriate. We had residents from the Glenbrook section of town who are not happy that they are going to lose their neighborhood school. And many residents expressed their frustration with the daily traffic generated by the current high school and Williams Middle School and are not happy that the town is planning to bring another 350 students to this site.
Second, yes Longmeadow has limited options for the placement of a combined middle school.
However, the three other options the MSBC mentioned; Turner Park, Academy Drive, and the Glenbrook property are all viable options that would help alleviate the traffic concerns in the center of town. The MSBC’s contention that moving the project to Glenbrook just moves the potential concerns to another neighborhood is not necessarily true. The Glenbrook neighborhood does not have the high school, Blueberry Elementary School, Big Y, and most of the town’s restaurants and commerce in their neighborhood. Why cram everything into the center of town? And why does the Glenbrook site require the use of modular classrooms while Williams does not? Can’t the school be built in the fields behind Glenbrook while students attend the current school until construction is complete? Lastly, the MSBC gave little to no consideration to the Academy Avenue site. There are over 20 acres of land sitting idle, and it’s off of a major street for accessibility.
Third, no decisions have been made on what would happen at Glenbrook. While this may be true, you can bet that property, at over 20 acres, is not going to sit idle for long. The town will certainly want to turn that site into an income producing property with some form of housing, which means a loss of youth athletic space.
Finally, we are not trying to distract the focus but are trying to get residents to focus on the location and whether they agree with the MSBC’s decision to place a combined middle school with almost 700 students on the Williams site. A safe middle school with state funding can be built at the other potential sites. The state funding is not limiting the town to building on this one location.
The MSBC’s contention that traffic around Williams needs to be addressed is certainly accurate. But the 21st century thinking they are talking about gave us the current high school traffic mess every day. What makes you think a new middle school with an additional 350 students and staff will be any different?
Bill and Terry DeGiulio
Longmeadow
