Part I- Longmeadow Property Taxes Since 1990

Below is a chart showing average property taxes for Longmeadow homeowners as compared to three other surrounding towns (Wilbraham, East Longmeadow and Hampden) as well as the state average from FY1990 --> FY 2011.

Figure 1- Average Property Tax Comparisons
click here to enlarge chart

[Data obtained from Massachusetts Dept of Local Services, www.mass.gov]

The majority of year-to-year increases during the past 22 years in Longmeadow have been greater than the Proposition 2½ guideline of 2.5% (see Table I below).

 Table I- Annual Average Property Tax Increases for Longmeadow

[click here to enlarge table]

Over the past 22 years, Longmeadow average property taxes have increased at an average annual compound rate of ~ 4.5%- well in excess of the Proposition 2½ guideline.  This difference is a result of the eight Proposition 2½ overrides (3 operational + 5 debt exclusion overrides) which have occurred during this time frame.  Given the current economic environment and the recent voter debt exclusion override approval for the new high school project, it is likely that Longmeadow property taxes are going to continue to increase at a rate significantly greater than 2.5%.

It is also interesting to note the large difference in average homeowner property taxes between Longmeadow and three other towns in the surrounding area.  Longmeadow property taxes for FY2011 are 39% higher than the average taxes for Hampden, East Longmeadow and Wilbraham which is very close to the historical average over the past 22 years.

Come back to read Part II- Longmeadow Taxes which will show estimated future property tax increases that will result from the new high school project.

Where is the new Longmeadow website?

At the SB meeting last November 1 Rob Aseltine announced that the Town Manager's Website Task Force had decided to use the WordPress "open source" Content Management System (CMS) platform for the town's revamped website. He also announced that the new Longmeadow.org website would be at least partially operational by January 1 with some additional components being rolled out at a later date. At the SB meeting on February 7, he announced a 2-3 month delay because more time was needed to transfer the archived meeting minutes to the new website format.

A recent look back at the July 26 meeting last year during which the Longmeadow Select Board discussed the forward plan for development of a new town website was pretty interesting.  Mr. Barkett called it right.... he didn't want the plan to fall into the category of "analysis- paralysis".  Below is a short video clip from this meeting with Mr. Barkett's insightful remarks...



At the SB meeting this week there was a short discussion of the need to create a website masthead that was more reflective of Longmeadow.  I'm not surprised that the new "free" Wordpress website "right out of the box" will require some modifications.  A typical theme for Word Press is shown below...

After a little Google searching (I simply searched for "Longmeadow + fiscal year + 2011"- click here to view results) I was able to find the new Longmeadow.org website and was surprised to see a masthead almost identical to the WordPress theme shown above.

I'm sure that there are creative people in Longmeadow who can provide a more imaginative masthead for the new improved Longmeadow website and which would be more reflective of our town.  Perhaps the Select Board should sponsor a contest!

Mr. Barkett had it right... we don't need "analysis-paralysis".... we need a functioning town website with updated information.  It shouldn't be that difficult!

A Gem in Our Valley

Have you visited the Springfield Museums lately?  Have you ever visited?  Just a few miles away is a gem in our Pioneer Valley.  The five-museum complex located behind the Springfield Public Library is on Edwards Street in Springfield.  All too often when a place of interest is located nearby, we do not take the time to learn more and visit.

The five museums contain a wealth of History, Science, Art and definitely knowledge.  School groups in Southern New England visit on Field Trips and learn about specific topics while taking Docent led tours.  This week the Springfield Museums' talented staff has created a wonderful program, "Rockin' Reptiles Week" designed for children.  Vacation Week Schedule.

"Robots:  The Interactive Exhibition" and Reptiles:  The Beautiful and the Deadly" are special exhibits now on view (fee not included with General Admission).

The Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel) birthday celebration with special activities will be on Saturday, March 5.

Have you viewed the Chinese Jade Burial Suit?  Learned about a Samurai's suit of armor?  Admired the permanent collection of Currier & Ives prints?  The Rolls Royce?  Monet's "Haystack"?  These are only a few of the beautiful objects on display in addition to the very large murals that depict life long ago in the Wood Museum of Springfield History.

Visit their website, Like them on Facebook or Follow them on Twitter to learn about weekly events.  School vacation week is a wonderful opportunity to visit this gem in our Pioneer Valley.

Judy Moran
Longmeadow, MA

 

Winter "Snowscaping"

Because of the large amount of snow that has fallen in the last 6 weeks our town streets and crosswalks have become very difficult to navigate.  Driving as well as on-street parking in almost any part of town has become very hazardous.  Car owners are subject to personal and/or vehicle damage because the streets have become so narrow.



Given that the weather has not cooperated until recently the DPW has become more proactive.  In addition to reducing the levels of snowbanks at intersections, the DPW is now currently widening streets in town via the use of privately contracted equipment (see photo below).

I applaud these efforts and am always appreciative of our Dept of Public Works... they are an important element in determining the quality of life in our town.

Select Board: Please take notice of these efforts and their importance to town residents when finalizing the FY2012 budgets!

Ice “Damms”- A Personal Experience

My wife and I have lived in our house for over 30 years and have never experienced the degree of ice dams on the north side of our house as we have this year.  We also have never had any water intrusion damage of the interior ceilings/ walls and we hope to keep this record intact. 

About 8 years ago, we had new roof shingles installed with 3 feet of ice/water shield barrier used as a protective measure but as the ice dam grew thicker (~ 8”) this winter I began to get a little worried.

I understand the mechanics of how these ice dams are formed (see figure above) and how to avoid them but at this point I needed some way to release the water before it was too late.  Brute force chiseling of the ice did not seem like a good option but I had heard about the use of calcium chloride salt as a possible remedy.

After spotting some calcium chloride salt in front of Brightwood Hardware, I stopped in and chatted with Stan who told me how easy it was to solve my problem.  Use some nylon stockings (or ice melt socks), fill them with the calcium chloride salt, place them on the ice and watch it melt away.  I purchased the salt … followed the instructions … the results were amazing.  See the photos below:

 

12 hours after I had started the process, there was a 2-3" wide slot formed through the 8" of ice. The roof shingles were exposed and free of ice and water was flowing freely into the gutter.  Salt water has started melting snow and ice in my downspouts as well.  I'm now hoping for warm weather that will slowly melt all of the snow that is now around our house without causing flooding in the basement.

I expect that there may be some salt related problems with grass and vegetation in the immediate area of the downspouts but this seemed to be a small price to pay to avoid water damage to interior ceilings and walls. 

It been a long time since Longmeadow residents (as well as the rest of Western Mass) have seen the type of winter as we have this year.  Stop in and chat with Stan at Brightwood if you have problems similar to mine.  Tell him that I sent you.

Let's hope that the rest of the winter will be mild without a lot of rain or additional snow!

An Overview of LongmeadowBiz

Jim Moran of LongmeadowBiz, LLC was interviewed on 2/04/11 by Arlene Miller on LCTV's local TV show "Our Town". Mr. Moran provided an overview of the free Internet resources available to Longmeadow town residents.   He also described some new web resources and initiatives including "Facebook Comes to Longmeadow".



Please visit the new Facebook comes to Longmeadow initiative. You do not need to have a Facebook account to be able to visit Longmeadow's new fanpage on Facebook.

Below are links to additional free resources available to Longmeadow residents that were mentioned during the interview:

Longmeadow Business Directory
Longmeadow Community Bulletin Board
Town Calendar
Classified Ads (Items for Sale)
LongmeadowMA.org

LongmeadowBiz, LLC and Jim Moran want to thank Longmeadow Community TV and Doug Pas, Bryon Kozaczka, Dave Bartlett and Arlene Miller for providing the opportunity to explain the role of LongmeadowBiz, LLC in our community.

Please feel free to ask any questions by posting a comment or sending an email to: LongmeadowBuzz@comcast.net

Homework Assignment

Your Assignment:      Update your SOI’s (statement of interest) for both Williams Middle School and Glenbrook Middle School

Assignment Due

Date:                                   January 26, 2011

This assignment given in late November of 2010 seems simple enough, doesn’t it?  Certainly one would think so, especially for our educated School Superintendent, School Principals and School Committee.

With tongue in check I say that too much time was given to complete the assignment – or more aptly put, too little time was spent doing it.  This assignment was to have been done by the school superintendent (who by the way receives $155,000 a year which is 25% more in wages than our previous) and we have heard the so-called excuse that she admitted to the error of putting off the SOI when it should have been done sooner.  Big deal.

The assignment for the school superintendent was simple – just update the SOI  for each school, submit to both the select board and the school committee for their approval and  then submit to the MSBA.  What went wrong?

No matter who was delegated to do the work, the ultimate responsibility lies with the school superintendent.  When there is a plethora of errors both in the accuracy of the content and actual typing of written documents, it means no one read the finished product.  How can Geoff Weigand then state, “The school committee vetted this?”  Witness the combined meeting of the select board and school committee on January 24^th for actual comments (when you watch it, it is almost a joke if it weren’t for the fact that these people represent us).  In fact, there were so many errors that were evident without extensive critique, that an emergency meeting was scheduled for 1/25/11.  Low and behold – again – errors were found and I don’t mean a simple “typo” that certainly can happen in 50+ pages of typing; I mean critical numbers that weren’t the same throughout the document.  For example, on the review of the documents on the 25^th, the school enrollment figure in one place was 356 and in another was 386.  Frankly, this is sloppy, sloppy, sloppy when those in the meeting room had just been told that the principals of the schools, Mr. Phaneuf, Mr. Wrable, and the School Superintendent and the school committee had all reviewed the documents.  Doesn’t anyone know what the true enrollment is?  What is wrong with this picture?

Mr. Wrable and Mr. Phaneuf are not academics and therefore can only be held responsible for the information that they provided not the actual documents themselves.  However, the principals and the school superintendent as well as any school committee members who had access to these reports prior to their presentation, should have insisted on the accuracy and validity of these documents … I only wonder why Armand Wray and Geoff Weigand defended the superintendent so vehemently.  When the select board members during the meeting of the 24^th wanted an emergency meeting so that they could again have an opportunity to read the again-altered documents, Geoff Weigand stated, “Vote your conscience.  Stand up in front of people and stand behind it.  I’m sick and tired of the back channel stuff that’s going on and it needs to stop and you know who I’m talking about.”  And then he stormed away from the microphone. 

What does a statement like that mean? What is back channeling? I don’t know what Mr. Weigand is talking about but now I want to … in fact, it is his statement that piques my interest the most.  Could it be the reason the SOI’s weren’t completed correctly?   I applaud Jennifer Jester and Gwen Bruns for their noted displeasure with the documents presented on the 25^th.  The only excuse not given  during this 2-day soiree for the acceptance of the SOI’s is “the dog ate my assignment.”  Since we are dealing with education, what example does this show our children?  If your child passed in an assignment with erroneous facts and numerous errors – what would their fate be?  Would they pass or fail?

With that being said, the superintendent’s performance or lack thereof, warrants a written reprimand in her employee file.

Respectfully submitted,

Diane B. Nadeau

Longmeadow, MA

Longmeadow Select Board Meeting 1/24/11

The Longmeadow Select Board met on January 24 to approve the updated MSBA "statements of interest" for the Glenbrook and Williams Middle Schools.  These documents presented by the School Committee and the School Superintendent contained such a large number of factual errors that Ms. Swanson and Mr. Gold refused to approve the documents.  It is interesting to watch this discussion where the school superintendent and SC chairman tried to push through a poorly prepared document at a time when our town cannot afford to build new or significantly renovate these schools.

I attended the “emergency” SB meeting on January 25 to see if the SOI’s for renovating/ replacing the two middle schools in town would be approved in time for the Wednesday, January 26 deadline at 5 PM. There was a fairly sizable crowd- most of which were School Committee members and School Dept staff. Interestingly enough Ms. Swanson was not in attendance. Given her stance on Monday night, perhaps she didn’t want to be seen as voting no for a school project.

This emergency meeting was called in an attempt to present two “accurate” SOIs to the SB for their approval. The school superintendent spent almost 25 minutes outlining all of the corrections that needed to be made in the SOIs- some of which were to correct some pretty sizable errors in the original document. Additional corrections were added during the discussion. Where was the due diligence by the SS and her staff for such an important document?

When the preface of each of the latest SOIs reads:

"Replacement or renovation of a building which is structurally unsound or otherwise in a condition seriously jeopardizing the health and safety of school children where no alternative exists."

the School Committee is obviously looking to get a high priority status. It is also possible that the "errors" in the latest SOIs, many of which were related to capital improvements made to each school over the past 4 years, were deliberate oversights since it made the story more convincing.

An attempt to discuss the question of affordability raised by Mark Gold was quickly extinguished by Rob Aseltine. Mr Aseltine did comment that he thought the town was not going to be able to afford significant renovations or a new facility any time soon but that this question would be discussed at a future date.

However, the game plan is the same…. submit the SOI…. Wait for the MSBA to give the green light and then start the school building process all over again.  The Lancer Pride group has strong membership and can probably repeat their success once again.  

Concerned Longmeadow citizens need to wake up.

Tear down these schools

“If you seek new school projects, if you seek increased taxes for Longmeadow residents, if you seek financial ruin: Come here, to this town.  Ms. Katherine Craven, tear down these schools.”

This quote is adapted from a famous Presidential speech to be used in a future speech by Armand Wray (or the next SC chair) in 2011 about the new Glenbrook/ Williams Middle School building projects.

I’m sure that the Longmeadow School Committee (or a future School Building Committee) will be able to point out a crumbling wall or two (like the crack in the northwest corner of LHS) that will convince Ms. Craven and the MSBA of the need to build two (or one larger) new middle school(s) in Longmeadow.

Last night’s SB meeting was evidence to the agenda of the Longmeadow School Committee and certain members of the Select Board.  If you didn’t watch last night’s discussion regarding the MSBA “statements of interest” (SOIs) for our middle schools, you should take 30 minutes at 7 PM tonight to watch the rebroadcast.  I understand the first 10 minutes of the discussion (which were not broadcast last night due to technical problems) will also be aired tonight.

Here are statements from the first section of both SOIs…

The following priorities have been included in the SOI:

1. Replacement or renovation of a building which is structurally unsound or
   otherwise in a condition seriously jeopardizing the health and safety of school children where no alternative exists.
2. Elimination of existing severe overcrowding.

It may sound like the health and well being of our middle school children and teachers are being jeopardized, but according to the SC + superintendent comments, this language  is necessary (even if untrue) in the SOI in order to get a high project priority!! 

Last night was supposed to be a simple SC/SB joint meeting for the SB to approve the SOI’s which are due January 26 at 5 PM.  Comments by Swanson and Gold pointed out a large number of factual errors (not minor) and both SB members appear to be unwilling to sign an official town document containing such errors.  It turns out that the MSBA notified the School Superintendent last June that Longmeadow’s SOIs needed to be updated.  The deadline is about to pass with some lame excuse that the MSBA system has changed and that is why the documents are being submitted at the last minute.  There was not a satisfactory explanation as to why the SOIs were not accurate.

The SB agreed to continue their joint meeting tonight at 6 PM in an effort to resolve the errors and be able to submit an accurate SOI before the deadline passes.  It will be interesting to see what happens.   

BTW… the meeting is not being videotaped so you will need to attend the meeting at 6 PM at the Police Dept Community Room if you want to view the proceedings.

Some local quotes....

Sounds like a good idea....