East Longmeadow Town Manager Tom Christensen
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
EAST LONGMEADOW — East Longmeadow Town Manager Tom Christensen is set on further improving the town in 2026, and noted several upcoming and ongoing projects he has his eyes set on.
Christensen said the first headline for 2026 is the grand opening of the new high school, which is slated to be open for the 2026-2027 school year. Construction on the building began in 2024.
“It’s a gorgeous building, gorgeous campus, new pool building,” Christensen said. “The first line of my town manager reports every other Tuesday is as you know, update of the school. We get weekly reports from the project management team at Skanska … and it’s really cool to watch it sort of unfold in real time from week to week.”
Christensen said it will be the flagship building in town for the next 50 years and is always on the forefront of his week. He also said that the town is “trudging along” with their fiber project, which has begun preliminary design work and coordination with utilities.
“We’re hoping to, in the next month or two, make a decision on what the timeline is,” Christensen said. “If, and when, we move forward, you know, starting to build out our system and provide internet service to the residents of East Longmeadow, that’s a big one for us.”
East Longmeadow is partnered with Westfield Gas and Electric/Whip City Fiber and Christensen said he expects the project to be another 18 months to two years, if not longer. He said there is still a lot to hash out between permitting, construction and funding for the project.
“We’re getting to the point where we can put something in front of the council, from an appropriation standpoint, to see if the full build out is feasible,” Christensen said.
Funding is a big question for the project, and he said that opportunities like this one, where expenditures can turn into revenue, don’t come along very often for municipalities. He said it is a need that the community has been asking 10 years for, and it would create a much needed revenue stream back into the town for an increase in service from what there is now.
Christensen is also working on the language for the Center Town District Bylaw, which was initially withdrawn without prejudice by the Town Council in December 2025 after disagreements with what the bylaw looked to build.
“We withdrew that application and had a nice conversation the meeting after about the things the council, in particular, thought were best for the community and what they wanted to see,” Christensen said.
He added that a consultant will be coming in as well to show renderings of what the different options for development could look like in the town, which he said will hopefully provide a better picture for what they’re discussing.
“In terms of density and height and things of this nature, it’s hard to visualize change on paper in two dimensions,” Christensen said. “We’re hoping with these three dimensional renderings, we can get an idea of what people may think is too much or too little.”
He said they are trying to balance the benefits of bringing economic development to town with what it’s going to do to the roadways and infrastructure, and that they have to find the sweet spot that doesn’t overcrowd the center but still allows the town to grow and change in a way everyone can get on board with.
Christensen also reflected on his time in East Longmeadow and said that since he began work, the town has gotten to another level, in terms of communication and an overall respect for coworkers and the public.
“We’ve hired some fabulous people over the last year or two,” Christensen said. “We have such a good group of people working here that I think everyone’s really appreciative that they work here and love being part of the team, including myself.”
