Terry Glusko speaks with the East Longmeadow Town Council about funding for the veterans’ memorial.
Reminder Publishing photo by Sarah Heinonen
EAST LONGMEADOW — Terry Glusko and the ad hoc East Longmeadow Veterans Memorial Committee came before the Town Council on June 11 to request $106,484 to help build a small memorial park on the front lawn of the Pleasant View Senior Center.
Glusko said the project, which began in 2018, is “approaching the finish line.” The coronavirus pandemic hindered the committee’s ability to fundraise, he said, but the committee has managed to raise $647,000 toward the project. This includes earmarks secured by state Sen. Jake Oliveira (D-Ludlow) and state Reps. Brian Ashe (D-Longmeadow) and Angelo Puppolo (D-Springfield) and donations from individuals, local businesses and organizations.
The original design, created by the firm Architecture EL, stretched the length of the Senior Center’s rectangular lawn. Since then, cost increases have required the design to be scaled back to a 90-foot-square footprint. Five memorials, representing those lost in WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam and the War on Terror, would be carved into stone and arranged in a star pattern. The memorial would feature benches, flower beds and a statue of a “battle cross,” an arrangement of a fallen service member’s boots, gun and helmet that is sometimes used to mark battlefield burial sites.
So far, the committee has used $174,064 to pay for architectural work and purchase pavers, lighting fixtures and other components of the memorial. Glusko said about $433,000 remains in the committee’s account. However, he said the stone monuments alone will cost $170,000. While the design had featured stone that is only available from India, Glusko said the material was changed to avoid paying an additional $42,000 in tariffs imposed earlier this year by President Donald Trump.
The committee requested the council’s help to pay $38,000 for additional architectural costs, $60,000 to the contractor, WJ Flynn, and $7,500 for benches, flowers and other incidentals, totaling $106,484. If the council is willing to purchase the battle cross statue, the total request comes to $117,674.
Town Manager Tom Christensen acknowledged the committee’s fundraising efforts over several years. He said that once finished, the memorial park would be donated to the town, and that East Longmeadow is one of the few communities in Massachusetts that does not have a veterans’ memorial. There is a small memorial in front of the Town Hall, but it is in honor of a few specific fallen service members, rather than those of all wars.
Council President Connor O’Shea said that the issue is “a question of timing.” The council would have to approve the expenditure before the end of the fiscal year 2025 on June 30. Otherwise, it would need to wait until fall when FY25’s free cash is certified by the state. The council will discuss the issue at its next meeting on June 24.
Town offices timeline
Christensen asked the council for permission to extend the lease of one of the three tenants occupying 382. N. Main St., the future home of the town offices. He explained that the leases for the other tenants expire in late 2030 or early 2031, while one tenant’s lease would be up in 2027. By lining up the leases to expire at the same time, Christensen said the building would be occupied until the town offices are ready to relocate. Leaving one-quarter of the building empty would result in a loss of an annual $150,000 in possible rental income, he noted.
Alternatively, the town could relocate a portion of the town’s offices to the new building. However, Christensen said he was not in favor of this approach. He explained that renovating the building for the town’s use would be less problematic if completed at once, rather than in a piecemeal fashion.
O’Shea said that using the rental income to pay a portion of the debt incurred from buying the building was helpful, but that he voted to purchase the building because the town needed more space, not to generate revenue.
Councilor Ralph Page wanted to see information on the lease terms. He also wanted to know if the renovation needs and layout of the new building had been considered. If the renovations are relatively limited, he said it would make sense to begin the relocation when the lease expires. The issue will be taken up at a future council meeting.
