Impact 2023

2023 IMPACT

Welcome to Impact — Reminder Publishing’s newest annual product that works to honor the past, present and future of our region.

As the birthplace of basketball and volleyball, the first motorcycle company and first American automobile, the first use of interchangeable parts in manufacturing and the first commercial radio station Western Massachusetts has much to offer the state in not just its past, but its present and future, too.

Impact offers our Western Massachusetts readers the opportunity to dig deeper into their surroundings and gain an even greater appreciation for their communities and the impact they have had in building the fabric of our region.

First American Automobile Springfield

First Commercial Radio Station East Springfield

Brimfield Flea Market Begins Brimfield

Volleyball Invented Holyoke

Basketball Invented Springfield

By Tyler Garnet tgarnet@thereminder.com

Mills and industrial properties have been intertwined into the history of Massachusetts since the Industrial Revolution.

Although most of the buildings have not operated for their initial purpose for decades, many of the buildings are being revitalized to fit more modern day needs like housing and other business.

Mills started with Francis Cabot Lowell who formed the Boston Manufacturing Company and established his first mill in Waltham in 1813.

Due to Lowell’s success, many new mills and mill towns just like it began to sprout up along rivers across Massachusetts and New England.

Around 45 mill towns were established during the industrial revolution just in Massachusetts alone including Chicopee, Holyoke, Ludlow, Monson and Palmer.

Through the 20th century, many of the mills went out of business and became abandoned.

After becoming abandoned in the early 20th century, Westmass Area Development Corp. acquired Ludlow Mills almost a decade ago and oversees the conversion of the more than 120-yearold mill complex into a modern, mixed-use development.

Several redevelopment projects at Ludlow Mills include the renovation of the Residences at Mill 10, Iron Duke Brewing and a variety of small industrial users in the stock houses and a public riverwalk that provides riverfront access and a pedestrian/cycle connection along the southern edge of the property, with plans for more recreational opportunities in the future.

The Ludlow Mills are helping with the affordable housing problem in Massachusetts.

Mill 10 opened in 2017 and features 75 units of mixed-income age-restricted housing.

space and plan to demolish it.

Chicopee

Chicopee adopted the motto “Industriae Variae,” which means various industries, because of all the factories that use to be located in town including cotton and woolen mills, textiles, brass and iron foundries, paper making, footwear factories, the first friction matches and ship building.

The mills constructed by Boston Associates, known as Chicopee Manufacturing Company, were located on the present-day Facemate property and were used for the manufacture of textiles.

The Chicopee Manufacturing Company was around from 1823 through 1915 before the property was purchased by the Facemate Corporation in 1977.

The company produced finished cotton and synthetic cloth products.

at Chicopee Falls.

The town also has a contract agreement on another parcel in the complex has been bought by Brisa Development LLC who has proposed to build a mixeduse development that includes a 106-apartment building, indoor sports complex and a brewery/ restaurant.

The project is estimated to break ground in late fall 2023 for the residential component.

Pouliot said for the Uniroyal property there has been ongoing sitewide assessment and cleanup including the demolition of 18 structures.

The official address is 154 Grove St. and there are still four structures available for redevelopment including a former office building, small retail shop and two production buildings number 27 and 42.

ABANDONED MILLS CONTINUE TO MAKE IMPACTS

ation producing a variety of paper products.

For many years it was operated by the Valley Paper Company and produced fine writing paper and envelope paper.

By 1920, the city was producing 80% of the writing paper used in the United States as well as the largest silk and alpaca wool mills in the world.

Approximately 19 mill buildings were demolished throughout the late 1950s and even as recently as 2019 after going out of business.

Holyoke’s Planning and Economic Development Director Aaron Vega said Holyoke has had the cannabis industry come in and try to repurpose some of the mill buildings.

Those that remain standing are being purchased and repurposed to still preserve its towns history.

Most of the buildings are in the planning or construction stages of being redeveloped.

Mill buildings that remain untouched are due either to the amount of money it would cost to clean the building of chemicals from its original business or the money it would cost to reconstruct it, according to government officials.

Ludlow

Ludlow was established in 1774, and was home to many sawmills and gristmills, utilizing the power from several sources of water nearby like the Chicopee River, Broad Brook, Higher Brook and Stony Brook.

In 1868, the Ludlow Company opened and operated the largest mill who employed more than 5,000 people who produced jute yarns, twine and webbing.

WinnDevelopment plans to renovate Mill 8 into 95 mixed-income units for seniors with 147 parking spaces, a fitness center, a resident lounge, laundry facilities, work pods and an outdoor community space.

Ludlow Mills continue to undergo cleanup and construction including a recent grant in July that will help examine and remove asbestos from buildings 46 and 48 in the Ludlow Mills complex.

Some problems with the existing buildings include age and dimensions.

Certain buildings and hallways are too wide making it unable to redesign.

Current concerns with Mill 11 include low ceilings, columns and concrete slab floors that cannot be brought to code for any commercial or residential use.

For example, occupiable spaces require a ceiling height of no less than 7 feet, 6 inches by Massachusetts state building code.

Currently, each floor is only 6 feet, 10 inches from the floor to the ceiling.

Westmass deemed there was nothing that can occupy that

From 1870 through 1896, the Uniroyal property was utilized as a lumber yard by the Chicopee Manufacturing Company until it transitioned to manufacturing bicycle tires from 1896 through 1898.

Chicopee has put together a request for development to hear from proposals for the property.

Pouliot said the deadline for those proposals were due Aug. 4 before a developer is chosen after an evaluation process.

From 1898 to 1981, the site was controlled by the Fisk Rubber Company to Uniroyal Inc., and manufactured adhesives and pneumatic tires for bicycle, automobile, motorcycles and trucks.

Uniroyal and Facemate closed in 1980 and 1990.

By April 2010, Chicopee successfully gained ownership of the former Uniroyal and Facemate properties.

Chicopee Department of Planning and Development Director Lee Pouliot said the two properties were planned for redevelopment together because they abut one another in Chicopee Falls.

The development plan is known as River Mills at Chicopee Falls.

The town prioritized the redevelopment of the Facemate property by creating a senior center called the RiverMills Center in 2014 and another privately owned River Mills Assisted Living in 2018

“We are hoping to see some mixed use proposals that capitalize on the river, the access that is available and that it is integrated into the general Chicopee Falls neighborhood,” he said.

Pouliot added the two properties cover a large area of space in a unigue location.

“Between these two properties we are talking about almost 40 acres of land in the heart of an urban neighborhood which is nearly unheard of. I think we have set the expectation between the senior center, the assisted living facility and now this third redevelopment proposal and that we will be able to garner the type of redevelopment we are looking for with the Uniroyal property,” Pouliot said.

Holyoke

Holyoke is still referred to as the Paper City because in 1885, over 25 paper mills were in oper-

Green Thumb Industries medical marijuana occupies the second floor of an old paper mill at 28 Appleton St. where the company completed an $8 million renovation and eventually renovated another location at 100 Water St. which was long owned by Hampden Papers.

Riverside Mill, located at 1 Cabot St., has transformed into a cannabis co-working space where a variety of cannabis businesses under one roof can share facilities and a sense of community.

Riverside Mill No. 2 was originally built in 1867 as an independent paper firm that merged into American Writing Paper Company and eventual home of National Blank Book.

The Baustein Building currently serves as an artist and maker community located in the former 1800s Merrick/American Thread factory.

In 2013, Dirk and Susannah Auferoth bought the 120,000 square feet, three floor Baustein Buillding at 532. Main St. and created non-residential studios for artists to work and create their art. There have also been some projects to address the housing crisis in Holyoke.

WinnDevelopment currently owns the Farr Alpaca Mill Complex and plans to turn it into 86 units of mixed-income and 55 years and older rental housing complex. The Farr Alpaca Mill was started in 1873 by Hubert Farr and produced alpaca wool.

The mill complex consists of six buildings, totaling 168,000 square feet that has sat vacant since 1990.

The project will preserve 86,000 square feet in buildings five, six and part of building four. Although a majority of mill buildings are being repurposed, there are still some that remain untouched.

Vega said, “We do have a number of projects in the pipeline for some of these buildings. What’s happened in Holyoke is a lot of these buildings were purchased recently by cannabis companies. They did pay top dollar for them; sometimes overassessed value and a lot of those projects are not going forward, and we are uncertain as to what is going to happen to some of those buildings. It will be interesting to see if they are actually able to go forward and do their originally project for for cannabis or if they will be back on the market.”

Palmer Palmer is currently working

to revitalize the Thorndike Mills, 4145 Church St.

Palmer Town Planner/Economic Development Director

Linda Leduc said she has been working with the Faye family to find uses for the building.

The property consists of seven linked mill buildings that contain 90,000 square feet and 5 acres.

The complex constructed in 1836 was the first of the buildings that remain on-site today and focused primarily on granite block construction.

In 1836, the Thorndike Company was incorporated for the purposes of manufacturing cotton, woolen and silk goods.

The first dam was also constructed in 1837 and a another new dam was built in 1868.

The mill complex and power generation facilities were acquired by Thorndike Energy LLC in February 2013.

Leduc is currently working with Thorndike Energy LLC. to provide an overlay district that would provide for mixed uses.

Leduc said, “That is something we are working together on for future uses for their complex. It would have more mixed use than our traditional industrial zone. Mixed services, retail, restaurants, along with industry. It would open up other opportunities then traditional manufacturing.”

According to Leduc, Thorndike Energy LLC also has an inter-

est in green energy production from their hydro units.

The mill is currently generating approximately 800 kilowatts of hydroelectric power. The site is completely powered by this renewable energy source with excess power exported to the local community.

Not only does the green energy benefit the town, Leduc thinks once this project becomes a mixed use overlay district, it will allow for jobs and people to take part in the building.

“The history that revolves around it and the jobs that it provided in the heyday, it still has some nostalgic to it. The first effort is to reuse it, not to demo that kind of a building. Getting it back to providing jobs not just to local village but to the region. It potential could provide a lot of jobs to the region,” Leduc said.

She added, “I think by providing other opportunities for maybe some restaurants or entertainment or making it a destination, that would be great to bring people to Palmer. That route gets well-traveled and if people could stop for a little bit and stay in Thorndike, whatever we could provide there for people to stay in Palmer for a little bit instead of passing through.”

Monson

Monson continues to work on

reutilizing its two mills, the Omega Mills and the S.F. Cushman Woolen Mill which was originally built in the early 1800s and was one of the first wool carding facilities in the US.

Monson Conservation Agent Toni Uliana said the town has been working with Westmass Development and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission to conduct an environmental assessment of the complex.

The Omega Mill, 21 Bliss St., has been on the unpaid tax list for Monson for over 20 years, according to Uliana.

The LLC that used to own the building dissolved in 2021.

Uliana said, “The town would love to take that building so that we can do redevelopment of the site for something better. The town would end up being responsible for the cleanup if there are any contaminants or hazardous materials present on site from its former use of a metal processing place.”

The property is the site of an old woolen mill which then the Omega company did electroplating chemical cadmium cyanide there.

She added that the company that owns the S.F. Cushman Woolen Mill, at the corner of Cushman and Gates Streets, is still paying taxes on it but is not sure there are any plans right now to redevelop that building.

Clockwise from top right: S.F. Cushman Woolen Mill, Monson, Riverside Paper Company, Holyoke, Uniroyal Building, Chicopee, Omega Mill, Monson, Ludlow Mills Clock Tower, Ludlow. Facing page: RiverMills Center, Chicopee.

Reminder Publishing photos by Tyler Garnet & submitted photos

REFORM ACT CREATES DIFFICULTIES FOR COMMUNITY

By Doc Pruyne dpruyne@thereminder.com

Shutesbury Police Chief Kristin Burgess has a passion for community policing, a more personal style of law enforcement that suits residents in her small town of Shutesbury. Unfortunately, the Police Reform Act of 2020, which requires all officers, including part-timers, to be trained to the same level, is squeezing small town budgets for both traditional police work and community policing.

Burgess’ focus on building relationships is a cornerstone of community policing.

“It’s important to think outside the box, to get to know people on a very human level,” Burgess said. She took residents by surprise.

“People would say to me, ‘Wow, you’re really a human.’ I thought to myself, ‘Am I perceived as not human?’ Almost. I am perceived as this entity in a uniform.”

Many people find an officer’s uniform, badge and gun intimidating. Past legal troubles may ignite fear of officers, as do media reports of police brutality. Burgess’ answer was a new focus for her department. Rather than punitive interactions, the Springfield resident sees more value in becoming deeply familiar with residents’ daily and weekly habits, their patterns of behavior. A deviation in the pattern may signal a

addiction. Burgess is pleased to report that he’s working a job and moving in a better life direction.

The follow up took extra hours and energy. The payoff is a better outcome for a local family.

need somewhere for assistance.

One community policing practice Burgess developed is the Monday Club for at risk seniors.

The chief or an officer may stop at an elder’s home, check their medications, that no mishaps occurred and the household is safe.

She observes the walkers in town, when they’re out and about. Bicyclists often ride by at a favorite time. Burgess keeps track of when they zip past Town Hall. The inti-

By Cliff Clark cclark@thereminder.com

There are dozens of former legistlators who stepped away from the spotlight and returned to private life. While some have retired, most have resumed the career they were pursuing before their public service, and few others have branched out into new directions.

We asked those who responded what they missed about their service, and what they didn’t miss.

Eric Lesser

Eric Lesser served in the state Senate between 2015 and 2023 representing his hometown of Longmeadow, and neighboring communities in the Greater-Springfield area. In 2022, he ran an unsuccessful race for lieutenant governor. He is currently senior counsel with the global law firm WilmerHale, but he also still teaches at the University of Massachusetts, performs volunteer work in Longmeadow and does pro bono civil rights work.

Since leaving office, Lesser has missed working with the community groups and was especially proud of his work to help communities overcome the hurdles they faced during the coronavirus pandemic.

While politics has always been rough and tumble, he said politics has become “crazy.”

“The politicization over the last

mate familiarity with the rhythms of the town gives her a sense of when something is amiss.

Laws are broken, traditional policing is still in the mix, but Burgess also models a more personal approach when taking a resident into custody. She recalls coaching a young man arrested on drug charges on how to dress for court and what to expect during the proceedings. She drove him to court.

“Sometimes I’m very tired,” Burgess said. “Yes, we are social workers. We are sometimes therapists that listen. We are sometimes relatives that come in and assist. Sometimes we’re Meals on Wheels. But at 3 o’clock in the morning who else is going to show up and hand out flashlights to those that don’t have them.

Right? If there’s no one else, it’s okay if it’s me.”

The relationship-based model of community policing also plays a role in city police departments. Amherst, Northampton and Greenfield have instituted community responder initiatives. Responders wear an identifying teeshirt, but do not carry weapons. They receive training in de-escalation techniques and sensitivity

to racial and

The benefits are plain. Homeless people, the mentally impaired and those who fear law officers are less likely to create a disturbance, turn violent or suffer additional trauma. Lethal weapons are kept out of a home setting.

The new responder model in city departments suggests that Burgess’ concept of community policing has utility in many enforcement settings — but the practices seem ideal for small municipalities. Small towns have less violent crime than urban areas, fewer traffic stops and less property damage. The relative rarity of major crimes provides a rationale for officers who listen, deliver meals, do wellness checks and build relationships with members of the community instead. Burgess acknowledged community policing is labor intensive. Building relationships takes time. Therein lies the difficulty

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

eight years is more strident than before,” he said.

He doesn’t miss the overnights he spent at the Statehouse, but fondly remembers the conversations he had with fellow legislators during the long nights and early morning votes.

Don Humason Jr.

Don Humason Jr. served in the state House of Representatives between 2003 and 2013 as the representative for the 4th Hampden District before being elected as a state senator in 2013. He served as a state senator, representing the 2nd Hampden and Hampshire district, until 2020 when he resigned to run for the mayor of Westfield.

He won the election in 2019, but lost to current mayor Michael McCabe in 2021.

He currently is the town administrator for Chester.

Since leaving the statehouse, he said he most misses his colleagues.

“I also miss advocating for the issues that were important for the entire state,” Humason said.

As for what he doesn’t miss: the driving.

“With 11 cities and towns in my senate district, I wasted a lot of time in my vehicle,” he said.

He also doesn’t miss the “legislative pace” in the Statehouse, which he described as “glacial.”

As one of only a handful of Republicans in the legislature, he

said the Democrats “control just about everything.”

Mike Knapik

Mike Knapik began his public service career in the mid-1980s serving on the Westfield School Committee, before serving briefly as a legislative aide to House Minority Leader Steve Pierce.

From 1991-1994 he served in the state House of Representatives representing the 4th Hampden District, which included Westfield and Montgomery.

From 1995 to 2013, he served in the state Senate, representing the 2nd Hampden-Hampshire District, which included 11 communities.

Currently, he serves as the vice president for Government and Community Relations for Baystate Health.

Knapik said he misses the personal connections with those he served with, and those he served, while in the State House.

“I miss the daily interaction with constituents, including seniors, veterans and local officials — most of whom were committed to making their communities better places to live, work and raise children,” he said.

He also enjoyed interacting with the business community to understand their needs to assist with economic development and job creation for his constituents

and district.

“I was also fortunate to have a great staff over my years in public life who shared my enthusiasm for public service and supporting the citizens of my district. It was also an honor to work with great colleagues across the region and state who were committed to moving Massachusetts forward,” he said.

And what doesn’t he miss?

“It goes without saying, I don’t miss the commute and traffic on the trip to Boston. I hold out hope our west-east [passenger] rail will be a reality some day! I also don’t miss how some of the platforms of social media have provided an outsized voice for critics of the government process,” he said.

“I was extremely fortunate and honored to serve the citizens of Western MA and am eternally grateful for that opportunity,” he added

Aaron Vega

Aaron Vega served in the state House of Representatives representing the 5th Hampden District from 2012 to 2020.

He is currently serving as the director of the Office of Planning and Economic Development for the city of Holyoke.

“My position is really the front lines of local government, where the rubber meets the road, so to speak, on policy, budget and initiatives. often supported through

state grants.,” Vega said of his current service.

He described being the 5th District representative as an “amazing experience.”

“I got to learn so much and work with so many great people. I definitely miss the people, not just my colleagues in the House but also the passionate advocates and the administrative staff under each secretary that work hard every day to better the commonwealth.

“In addition to the people, I miss looking at the ‘Big Picture’ in regard to policy and being able to work on large transformative policies in state government,” he said. However, there is plenty he doesn’t miss.

“Even though I enjoyed the campaigning activities, I don’t miss having to raise money for my campaign,” Vega said.

James Welch

James T. Welch served in the Statehouse from 2005 to 2011 before successfully running for state Senate in 2011 and serving until 2021 representing the 6th Hampden district, which includes West Springfield, Springfield and Chicopee. He is currently working as CEO/executive director for the Associated Subcontractors of Massachusetts.

When asked what he missed

See LEGISLATORS on page 16

Police Chief Kristin Burgess practices community policing in her town of Shutesbury. Reminder Publishing photo by Doc Pruyne See POLICING on

A look at industries past and present

By Trent Levakis tlevakis@thereminder.com

HOLYOKE — The city of Holyoke’s rich history the last 150 years has been filled with highlights from being an industrial leader within the region to embracing those looking for a place to settle. As 2023 marks the 150th anniversary of Holyoke becoming a city it was time to look back on the Paper City’s roots and what has made Holyoke the city it is today.

The city’s history goes further back than just its 150th birthday as the area that eventually became known as Holyoke was used by Native Americans of the Algonquin and Iroquois tribes for hunting and fishing. European settlement came after this point and was first settled on the land in 1745. Holyoke was incorporated as a town in 1850 and later as a city in 1873.

As time went on and the population grew, the area’s foundation alongside the Connecticut River began. According to information about the city’s history shared through the Holyoke Public Schools, the first of several dams was constructed in 1848 by a group of wealthy Boston businessmen to take advantage of a 57-foot drop in the river level. The waterpower created by the dam was transferred to planned industrial sites through an extensive series of 3 level canal systems of 7.5 miles of hand dug canals and raceways to bring that power to machine mills and factories.

The businessmen also planned and built a system of gridded rectilinear streets one of the first cities in America to implement such a system — factory worker housing and building lots for grander homes for factory owners, giving Holyoke the moniker of being the first planned industrial city in America.

Eventually as industrial Holyoke grew, they became the dominant manufacturer of paper, giving the city its classic “Paper City” nickname. According to city history, there were at one point more than 25 paper mills in operation throughout the city, annually producing the greatest tonnage of paper of any city in the world.

The city was booming as the industrial revolution was in full swing. According to the city, during the 1900’s there were more millionaires per capita in Holyoke than anywhere else in the country. Although in present day there are only a select few paper companies remaining in the city who operate under different circumstances than a century ago, the dam, canals and much of the industrial architecture that was created remains intact.

“One of the interesting things about our industrial area of the city is it’s also intertwined with lots of residential, which back in the day when the paper industry when that was thriving it made sense. People didn’t have cars 100 years ago, people were able to walk to work. A lot of the amenities were right there. It made sense then,” said Director of the Office of Planning and Economic Development Aaron Vega.

The history of paper related to manufacturing continued with a strong base of paper converting in place of the former paper manufacturing. Today, Holyoke continues to strongly reflect its industrial history with many of the mills and associated housing still standing in and near downtown.

“Paper was Holyoke’s bread and butter,” said Greater Holyoke Chamber Executive Director Jordan Hart.

In addition to the industrial hometown, Holyoke also retains a reservoir system that is home to much of the Mt. Tom range and home to other natural assets. Today, over 60% of the energy used in the city comes from hydropower, now a state-of-the-

art dam system on the river.

One thing to be on the lookout for Holyoke’s industrial future is the potential addition of hydrogen production. Vega said the city is very excited about the idea of hydrogen production and using hydrogen to offset natural gas for a greener future. One company has already begun to set up shop in the city and are looking to expand its operation in the future.

“We’re hoping to work with a couple of the large [hydrogen production] companies, one of them named Infinity. We’ve applied with Infinity to a federal grant and if we get that federal grant they will locate in Holyoke,” Vega said. “They actually manufacture fuel cells and electrolyzers that create and then uses hydrogen, so we’re definitely learning toward the manufacturing, we’d love to be a hub of manufacturing hydrogen materials and products.”

Because of the growth of the paper industry, Holyoke’s population grew by over 100% between 1860 and 1880 and was established by working-class immigrants. The first wave of mill workers who immigrated to Holyoke were 31 people predominantly of Irish heritage.

Immigrant populations continued with significant populations of French Canadian, Polish, German and, most recently, a wave of immigrants from Puerto Rico since the 1970s. Today the city is dominated by Irish and Puerto Rican culture as the city still hosts the annual and massive St. Patrick’s Day Parade as well as multiple different celebrations throughout the year for Puerto Rican holidays.

As of the 1970 census, only 3.7% of Holyoke’s population was of Puerto Rican heritage, while

today nearly half of Holyoke’s population is of Puerto Rican heritage. This is the highest percentage of Puerto Rican population in any city outside of those in Puerto Rico itself which has created a rich culture and unique asset for the city’s makeup.

The city also shares smaller Latin populations that diversify the city’s culture even more. Vega, whose father migrated from Ecuador and became a social justice leader in the community, said Holyoke has always reflected the country’s history very much.

“My dad would always say Holyoke really reflects America’s history. The industrial revolution, immigration and migration. It all sort of encompasses Holyoke’s story. So when we look back at the 150 years of Holyoke being a city, I think we should be really proud of the fact that we’ve been placed with immigrants, French and German and Irish, and that we continue to be a welcoming community to the Latino community which really found it’s way into Springfield and Holyoke and Western Massachusetts as farm workers in the ’60s and ’70s. We’ve always been a community that tries to welcome people and try to give them an opportunity to move up the economic ladder. That’s something we should be proud of,” Vega said.

While Holyoke still goes by its “Paper City” nickname, a more modern one for 2023 may be “Rolling Paper City” as it has embraced the legalization of cannabis and has become a hub for cannabis cultivation and manufacturing in Massachusetts since it was legalized in 2016. The shift in industrial focus has benefitted Holyoke after stretches of vacant mill buildings and lack of con-

sistent economics left the town with a hole the paper industry was once filling.

Hart added how once the paper industry fell off the city was left with a surplus of factory space. Luckily the cannabis industry and the economic rejuvenation of the city has begun to take advantage of these spaces.

“What we’ve really been seeing is the cannabis industry which has become such a new anchor,” Hart said. “In terms of the abandoned factory buildings, the cannabis industry has been able to come in and revitalize these buildings.”

Since then, Holyoke leaders have been focused on economic growth and are seeing it throughout the city as it has been seven years since legalization.

Vega said he does believe there was an oversaturation of the market since its legalization but that this year it was settling back in. He cited the closing of Truelieve in Holyoke and other communities dispensaries or production facilities closing this year as examples of the market. According to Vega in total the city has five dispensaries with two new ones coming, two testing labs and four grow facilities.

“I call this a year of reckoning for the cannabis industry,” Vega said. “The market is definitely leveling out, so I think what

we’re going to see over the next two years is some of the smaller, some of the more social equity economic empowerment companies, sort of smaller craft companies will come to fruition.”

Vega referenced the popularity of craft beers as an example of what could happen in the cannabis industry for special brands and smaller batched product. He also added ongoing projects in Holyoke such as the building at 1 Cabot St. that has been dubbed a “marijuana mall” should become more common as well. Currently, 1 Cabot St. has become a marijuana cultivation hub as the former mill building has at least four cultivation and or manufacturing companies already inside and has ongoing renovation of the third and fourth floors.

“I think that’s actually the best model that’s out there,” Vega said. “I think that [the building’s owners] are doing exactly the right thing. They’re saying, ‘I don’t need one angry tenant because if that angry tenant leaves I’m out of luck,’ so being able to work with a lot of smaller companies this way you’re under one roof.”

Vega added a more equitable cannabis industry would help smaller businesses get in the

See INDUSTRIES on page 6

Shared-use path work continues

By Trent Levakis and Ryan Feyre rfeyre@thereminder.com tlevakis@thereminder.com

For those who enjoy the outdoors, shared-use paths are a beating heart of the Western Massachusetts landscape.

They function as a more accessible and environmentally friendly tool for transportation, leisure and experiencing the different landscapes. In many ways, they are a connector of towns and cities; people and places; spiritual and physical.

Many communities have embraced the importance of these recreational tools while others are in the process of designing and constructing more in hopes of better connecting the commonwealth and surrounding region. A lot has been done so far, there is still more work to be completed before Massachusetts’s shared-use paths are completely conjoined.

Current projects in the process

Amanda Lewis, the director of MassTrails, told Reminder Publishing there are over 100 miles of shared-use paths in Western Massachusetts, which are paved surfaces that are both firm and stable and “accessible to all,” including those who bike, walk or cycle.

“These can be a part of a larger regional network, or they might be just a standalone shared use path that is within a community,” Lewis said.

According to Lewis, there is a MassTrails team that meets biweekly consisting of representatives from the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the Department of Conservation and Recreation. These representatives are part of agencies that plan, design and build trails throughout the state.

Recently, Lewis said the team has put together a priority trails network map that showcases what trails are built throughout the state and which ones are in various stages of planning and design.

According to that map, there are 125 miles of trails in Western Massachusetts, and about 60 miles of trails within that vision are already built. Around 30 of those trails that are not built are currently in the planning or design phase, according to Lewis. “There’s a concentrated effort on about four regional trail systems in Western Massachusetts,” Lewis said.

In completing these trails, the hope is to connect various areas of New England, including eastern Massachusetts to Western Massachusetts.

connections are completed, you can ride from Vermont into Williamstown and then down all the way to Pittsfield and beyond eventually,” Lewis said. “That’s an exciting network that’s available for people to ride…it’s about 15 miles right now.”

Another big regional trail network underway right now is the New Haven and Northampton Canal Greenway, also known as the Manhan Rail Trail. This one stretches down from Southampton to Westfield, as well as the Southwick border, before then running all the way to New Haven in Connecticut.

Right now, the trail is finished in Easthampton and Northampton, and back in the winter, Southampton purchased a 3.5mile defunct railbed from the Pioneer Valley Railroad Co. for $340,000, which now allows the town to design and construct the Southampton Greenway, thereby connecting the Manhan Rail Trail and Westfield’s Columbia Greenway. According to Lewis, the town is currently working on the design phase now with the help of Mass Trails. Lewis said that the New Haven and Northampton Canal Greenway will be an economy booster and also an environmentally-friendly mechanism for transportation.

“It’s becoming long enough and it’s connecting enough to become something that connects people from where they live to where they maybe need to be,” Lewis said. “People can get on their bike instead of into their car.”

The other two big regional networks is the Mass Central Rail Trail, which aims to connect Western Massachusetts to places like Hardwick and Boston, and the Connecticut River Walk and Bikeway, which runs through Springfield, Holyoke, Agawam, Chicopee and West Springfield. Lewis said the latter network is not fully developed yet, but there is a vision where 22 miles of trails connect all of those communities.

the Norwottuck Network, a nonprofit organization from Florence, the buildout of the Mass Central Rail Trail would bring $182 million annually in economic growth, general health would improve, and annual trail usage would quadruple.

More specifically, there would be four to five million more people using the trail regularly and would lead to over 1,250 jobs.

According to the report, 55 miles of the trail are officially open with roughly 20 miles in the planning or construction stages.

“You build a long trail, and it’s going to have a meaningful economic impact in various realms for communities along the way,” said Craig Della Pena, the executive director of the Norwottuck Network in Florence. “Not just urban areas, but also suburban and rural areas too.”

Along with rail trail development, bike-ability in the region has been a focus for many municipalities as they have attempted to establish environments welcoming of bikers as benefits can be seen both environmentally and financially to communities.

In Holyoke, the city’s statewide funded partnership with Mass in Motion has given them a coordinator from the group focused on healthy living and active living in the city. Holyoke’s Mass in Motion Coordinator Stephanie Colón told Reminder Publishing works with the Office of Planning and Economic Development often in making sure the city has walkable and livable portions within its downtown.

“It’s really interesting because I live in the city so I work not only as my role in this job but like as an advocate for my own city,” Colón said.

In terms of the growing efforts in the region of establishing more bike friendly ways of riding through the city Colón added the Safe Streets for All program funded through a state infrastructure law. The program will award approximately $5 billion in grant funding to support regional, local and tribal government’s efforts to prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries.

One of these trails is the Ashuwillticook Trail, which includes work done from Pittsfield to Williamstown and up through Adams and North Adams. Lewis said this trail was originally 11 miles, but there were some extensions built into Pittsfield.

Recently, Lewis said there was work done to extend Ashuwillticook up to North Adams from Adams, while Williamstown just finished a shared-use path around 2.5 miles that will also connect with North Adams.

The Mass Central Rail Trail, meanwhile, is a 104-mile envisioned corridor that would connect Boston with Northampton. Many of these sections are complete, but Lewis said the state is starting to figure out how to connect the more challenging sections, right now. Places like Belchertown, Hardwick and Clinton are the ones specifically in the midst of that process.

Colón said through her position she has been involved in working with the Bike-Pedestrian Committee who are an advisory committee to promote walk-and-bike-ability in the city and advise in situations like this on what is best for Holyoke.

“It’s basically making sure that there’s bike lanes when streets are made or redesigned,” Colón said. “When people are able to walk or bike from place to place, that vibrancy connects to

“The hope is that once the

INDUSTRIES

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

“We’re encouraging communities to apply for grants and we’re offering technical assistance to help tat along with each community,” Lewis said.

According to a study done by

if the federal government pulled the drug out of class one and decriminalized it. He added there are many companies that want to further test cannabis for medical purposes and to learn more about its impact but due to its class one listing, it is not possible in the scale it

See TRAIL on page 15

“I think that we’re in a good position for that with our testing labs and our grow facilities to sort of look at what are the opportunities when it comes to CBD and other aspects of cannabis. Not just the THC and the getting high part, but more the medical field, I think we will be really well situated for that,” Vega said.

The Manhan Rail Trail in Easthampton. Reminder Publishing photo by Ryan Feyre

Barnes is an economic driver with promising future

By Mike Lydick mlydick@thereminder.com

WESTFIELD This is a histor-

ic year for Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport. It was 100 years ago that a group of Westfield business leaders and early aviation enthusiasts started developing a “flying field” on land owned by Vincent Barnes.

Unlike other airports in the area that began during the same era, such as the Agawam-Bowles Airport and the Springfield Airport, Barnes has not only survived during the past century but it’s also thrived. Much credit goes to the early founders who saw aviation starting to come into its own in the early 1920s, and realized the economic benefits of an airport in Westfield. It was formally dedicated Oct. 12, 1923, as Westfield Aviation Field.

The original 27-acre tract near Southampton Road on the city’s North Side about 1,000 square feet of level, unobstructed land was expanded to 51 acres when Vincent Barnes leased his land to the Westfield Chamber of Commerce for $1 a year to create a public airport. In the 1930s, the city bought the airport and in 1936 renamed it to commemorate Barnes following his death.

What started as a grassy field now encompasses 1,200 acres, with 3.5 million square feet of pavement and two intersecting runways, one 9,000 feet long to accommodate a wide range of civilian and military aircraft that use Barnes 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Just three miles north of

downtown, the airport is a major asset to Westfield. It generates between $1.1 million and $1.2 million a year in fees for the city and property taxes paid by aviation-related businesses.

With an annual operating budget of about $1 million, Barnes provides $100,000 to $200,000 in revenue for Westfield, said Christopher Willenborg. He became manager of the airport’s civilian side for the second time in 2020 after previously serving from 1999 to 2008.

“We try to carry our own weight,” Willenborg said. “We don’t want to be a burden on the city budget — and over the last several years, we haven’t been.”

He said in the next three to five years the airport could become an enterprise account with its own budget, giving Barnes greater control over spending as well as revenue.

A major employer and an “economic engine” for the city, for Western Massachusetts and the state, Barnes is the fifth largest airport in Massachusetts and a major transportation gateway to the area.

“For individuals coming here — whether for business or pleasure — Barnes is a gateway to our region,” Willenborg said.

A 2019 statewide airport economic impact study by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s Aeronautics Division found that Barnes generates 2,100 direct and indirect jobs, with an economic output of $236 million a year.

William Gonet, chair of the city’s three-member Airport Commission,

said the airport is a “little aviation hub” with a powerful economic impact.

“It’s clearly an economic driver for the community,” he said.

“Without Barnes, Westfield would be much poorer.”

Gonet said Barnes is successful because of “a great commission. one of the best airport managers in New England, great cooperation from the City Council and the mayor and a strong aviation community. It’s a win-win-win. Everybody’s winning because everybody’s cooperating.”

Westfield Mayor Michael McCabe said the airport is “invaluable” to the city with its strong economic impact. The mayor said Barnes’ large footprint, along with its leadership, team, has contributed to the airport’s success.

“There’s room for new hangers and expansion of existing business and the airport leadership is open to innovation and relentlessly pursues opportunities available to them,” said McCabe. Willenborg said construction of a new taxiway this summer

will open up three hangar development parcels. The estimated $1 million cost is being funded by MassDOT’s Aeronautics Division. The project will leverage approximately $10 million to $12 million of private sector investment for new hangars and directly increase airport revenues.

Part of the airport’s success story is that although it started as a civilian airfield, it’s now also a military base.

The 104th Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard — established at Barnes in 1947 occupies 200 to 300 acres of airport land. A major advantage of having a joint civilian-miliary airport is staffing costs for the control tower.

Barnes is one of 280 airports around the country with lower levels of activity where controllers are contract employees, not Federal Aviation Administration employees. The FAA subsidizes the entire cost of the contract tower controllers, partly because

POLICING

FROM PAGE 4

introduced by the police reform bill of 2020: officers cost more now. Under the reform bill parttime officers must be trained as many hours as full-time officers. A Bridge Academy offers parttime officers a chance to train another 200 hours to reach parity with a full-timer.

Burgess has been in dialogue with state Sen. Jo Comerford (D-Northampton) to address the havoc the reform bill wrought in small municipalities and preferred not to comment further. Chiefs in other police departments, dealing with the new difficulties of hiring staff, were happy to detail the fiscal crunch they experience.

Denise Wickland, police chief in Williamsburg, has a department with three full-time officers — one more than in previous years — and a number of part-time officers, who also have full time jobs elsewhere. Two part-timers wouldn’t go through the Bridge Academy and were lost. Wickland advertised for part-time replacements. They had no luck, even though the department would pick up the $10,000 tab for the academy.

“I do not think any reasonable human being would want to go attend a full-time academy just to work one 8-hour shift per week,” Wickland said. “That is an enormous cost to small towns like ours, to send a recruit through the academy.”

Lacking applicants, Wickland combined several part-time positions to create one slot for a fulltime officer. She anticipates the Selectboard and residents will acknowledge a fourth full-time officer is necessary after the parttime positions go unfilled for a

year or two. The departmental budget will increase significantly.

Cummington hosted a public meeting to explain the staffing challenges and a jump in policing costs. Chief Michael Perkins’ department had a $73,000 budget in 2022. This year, he was made a permanent town employee. Hiring even one other officer, however, would consume the departmental budget.

“For round figures, I used a salary of $60,000” for a full-time officer, Perkins said. “If that’s a fulltime employee they are eligible

for health insurance and contributory retirement, [which are] the hidden costs associated with it.” Part-time officers earn few benefits while full-time officers add about $10,000 in perks. That’s a big expense for small departments. Cummington’s police chief also noted that in modern policing the paperwork is time consuming. Part-time officers face a steady challenge in filling out all the forms.

A department may catch a unicorn, hire a part-time officer, but the challenge then is to keep them. Small towns can’t afford to

match the wages of larger agencies, such as the Boston Police Department. The BPD notified departments around the state they would be poaching officers wherever they can be found.

“We cannot compete,” Wickland said. “If we take the time and effort and money and invest that in an individual or candidate, to come work for us, they can become certified and then the doors are open They can easily jump to an agency that can pay them a lot more than we can.”

Burgess, who employs eight part-time officers, also sees the

necessary changes to policing in small towns and cities. The warrior mentality needs to be a thing of the past.

“The overall goal is to be a guardian,” Burgess said. “My job is to watch over and protect to be a guardian of the community as a whole.”

Police chiefs and Western Massachusetts legislators are pushing for solutions to the staffing difficulties incited by the police reform act of 2020. Until further funding arrives, however, small towns will likely see unwelcome increases in public safety costs.

Business aviation has always been one of Barnes’ strengths, ever since it started as a grassy field in 1923. This undated photo shows Columbia bicycles — once manufactured in Westfield — being loaded onto a plane.

Reminder Publishing submitted photo

See BARNES on page 13

Chris Willenborg, airport manager, stands in his office at Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport.

Reminder Publishing photo by Mike Lydick

NO LONGER NICHE:

The cannabis industry in Western Massachusetts has changed exponentially since New England Treatment Access in Northampton became one of the first dispensaries to make a recreational sale on the East Coast in 2018.

Some communities, like Holyoke and Northampton, fully embraced the industry and are now experiencing the positives and negatives of a more saturated market. Others, like West Springfield, are just starting to make their mark on an industry that is becoming more ubiquitous by the day.

According to Aaron Vega, the director of planning and economic development in Holyoke, there was a lot of interest in cannabis in Holyoke in the beginning because the city made the process of acquiring a host community agreement to start a business very easy.

By the summer of 2020, when Canna Provisions became the first recreational dispensary to open in the city, it was reported that Holyoke had more completed cannabis license applications than any community in the state.

The city quickly became a marijuana hotbed, according to Vega. But things have changed since Canna opened.

Current industry status

“The market became pretty saturated pretty quickly here in Massachusetts,” Vega told Reminder Publishing. “And I think because of that, Holyoke has seen a lot less interest, and most of the [cannabis] developments are either backing up or paused at this point.”

As of press time, Vega said Holyoke has three grow facilities, four dispensaries and two testing labs open. Seventy host community agreements have been signed and 36 special permits have been approved by the City Council. According to Vega, a number of

those permits will not go forward, which is very common in multiple industries, not just cannabis.

Beyond saturation, Vega believes recent price compression is a big concern for the cannabis industry as well. A pound of cannabis was going anywhere from $3,500 to $4,000 around

chusetts have recently made recreational sales legal. In the beginning, people from Connecticut and New York were crossing the border to the commonwealth to find their cannabis fix in places

boring states like New York and Connecticut.”

In a Finance Committee meeting back in the fall of 2022, Charlene Nardi the finance director for Northampton — stated that the

The cannabis market in Western Mass. experiences growing pains

By Ryan Feyre rfeyre@thereminder.com

two years ago, but nowadays, it is down to $1,200.

“So that kind of price compression for any product, if you were to lose value in a product in that short of time, I think people’s business plans kind of go out the window,” Vega said.

city currently features 11 dispensaries, after the 12th, The Source, shuttered in December. A more saturated market and controversy surrounding a proposed pot shop in Florence caused the City Council to further scrutinize the industry. In January, the City Council decided to cap dispensaries at 12 with a 6-3 vote.

The new provision does not apply to social equity applicants looking to start a dispensary, which are participants in a state assistance program for business owners from backgrounds most affected by the war on drugs.

During that City Council meeting, some councilors in favor of the cap argued that public health officials warned of risks correlated with having a high number of dispensaries in a community, while others argued that regulation would unfairly alter the market.

Some officials, like Nardi and Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra also argued against a cap. Sciarra said at the time that Northampton should continue to support an equitable and well-regulated cannabis industry that expands the city’s taxbase. Nardi said a cap could hurt small businesses.

The other result of an ever-changing industry is the fact that other states around Massa-

like Holyoke and the Berkshires. But both Connecticut and New York legalized recreational marijuana in 2021, meaning there is now less of a desire for people from those states to cross the Massachusetts border for cannabis.

“I think that’s having a big impact on the industry,” Vega said. “It’s not just the saturation of Massachusetts, but it’s also our neigh-

total cannabis revenue for the city dropped since 2019, mainly because the market is adjusting itself as more businesses in other states come online.

“Until it levels out, I’m still projecting downward revenue for this particular source,” Nardi said at the time.

Northampton is a unique cannabis spot for many reasons. The

“With a cap, the concern is that… we would be boxing out the smaller businesses,” said Nardi. “We would create a market where we would just have the larger businesses being able to afford them, and the whole point of the state with their laws was to make sure that this was available to those who have already [been] disadvantaged.”

Despite this change, Sciarra told Reminder Publishing that the city’s plan from the start was to always treat cannabis like the alcohol market in terms of regulation. She said that Northampton

Dreamer Cannabis in Southampton.

Reminder Publishing photo by Ryan Feyre

contin -

ues to be a leader in the cannabis market but that shifts in market availability, increased competition from other locales and the heavy regulatory environment have resulted in a significant slow in the growth of the local market.

Even with a cooling market, Sciarra said that the industry contributed to filling vacant storefronts in the city, transformed rundown buildings, increased foot traffic, contributed signficant tax reveue for the city for various public services and has created a substantial amount of jobs.

“Northampton went from having a brief corner on the market to being a city with quality cannabis retailers worth visiting alongside the other wonderful businesses and attractions we have to offer,” Sciarra said.

The city’s cap has had no known impacts on the city so far, according to Sciarra, there has been minor interest from potential new cannabis businesses over the past couple years.

The knottiness and added scrutiny of the industry are forcing more businesses to innovate and find other ways to be creative as the market continues to entrench itself in the throes of capitalism; and communities continue to understand how to react.

One thing Sciarra said she will monitor is the state’s discussion around social consumption.

“I know that the next conversation is likely to center around social consumption, and I am following these policy conversations carefully to see how they might impact our city,” Sciarra said.

Industry’s firsthand impact

Kevin Perrier has multiple stakes in the cannabis industry.

He and Volkan Polatol are the owners of retail stores Dreamer Cannabis in Southampton and Honey Northampton, as well as a cannabis manufacturing facility on Welmeco Way in Easthampton. They also operate Budzee, a warehouse delivery service also in Easthampton.

In an interview with Reminder Publishing, Perrier said he remembers back when Dreamer, their first dispensary, opened two years ago and how the industry was a seller’s market.

“We were struggling to get flower and having to chase after manufacturers and wholesale suppliers,” said Perrier, of that time. “And in the course of 12 months, never mind 24 months, it has pivoted to a buyer’s market and the market is fairly flooded with product and saturated with dispensaries.”

Perrier and Polatol have been able to stay afloat because, according to Perrier, they have found a niche in each one of their markets and Polatol has done a good job of keeping a selection of high-quality inventory at competitive prices in each of their dispensaries.

“We’re still seeing growth,” Perrier said. “So, we’re very fortunate in that respect.”

The Welmeco facility is also seeing growth as Perrier and Polatol continue to bring in new brands. Perrier told Reminder Publishing that he believes going into manufacturing was a more economically-sound move than entering the cultivation business, where costs are fixed.

But with manufacturing, as prices for certain cannabis products go down, the input materials are going down, which allows a place like the Welmeco facility to keep consistent margins.

“We have really great brands,” Perrier said, of the facility. “We’re also very fortunate to have a great staff there.”

A notable niche continuing to develop in Western Massachusetts is the concept of cannabis delivery, which is a whole other animal that carries a bevy of restrictions. Perrier and Polatol were early to the party in 2022, when Budzee became the first delivery operator in the state to receive a notice to commence operations.

Since then, Perrier said sales have quadrupled, but it is still a concept that has not reached its full potential yet.

“What we’re seeing is slower organic growth by word of mouth and people experiencing it and you’re seeing an uptick,” Perrier said. “We haven’t pushed it nearly as hard as we could to get the word out and educate the public and things like that, but it works. It holds its own.”

industry is the “two-driver” rule, which basically says there needs to be at least two drivers in the car when a delivery is being made.

“It’s an unrealistic model,” Perrier said. “That’s a big problem with delivery and a reason why there aren’t as many popping up as dispensaries.”

The tricky model is particularly impacting BlazeXpress in Holyoke, a home-delivery service that offers a variety of products like flowers, edibles, vapes and drinks.

Duane Harden, the CFO of BlazeXpress, said he opened the service earlier this year to make it easier for customers to acquire cannabis products and lessen the stigma around the plant. But state laws like the two-driver rule have made it tough on the burgeoning company.

He said the state feels it is necessary to have two drivers to prevent incidents like robberies from happening, but according to Harden, these things rarely happen.

“First of all, nobody knows we’re a delivery service because we drive unmarked hybrids,” Harden said. “But also, nobody in the state has gotten robbed or killed so far.”

buying

non-medical products but still paying a sales tax that they otherwise would not have to pay if they went to a dispensary to buy medical cannabis.

According to Harden, some of these restrictions are hindering their service as well as the people who may have no other choice but to utilize delivery. Many may need cannabis for their daily regimen or health issues, but these regulations are making it difficult.

“They [the state] don’t consider these things,” Harden said. “People really need this in their daily regimen.”

Currently, BlazeXpress delivers to many places like Amherst, Northampton, Chicopee, Holyoke, Springfield and others in Western Massachusetts, but Harden hopes more communities embrace the delivery niche.

“There are communities that have banned delivery, banned dispensaries or banned both,” Harden said. “So, we have constituents from those communities who want cannabis delivered, but we can’t.”

us at ProAmpac.com

The idea of hopping on the phone or computer to place an order and having the order at your house in a couple of hours is convenient, but state restrictions have made it difficult to advertise and educate the public on cannabis delivery.

“It costs you about the same, if not more, to grow that plant today than it did four years ago when people were selling it for five times the cost,” Perrier said. “Electricity and labor have gone up, but you’re probably netting one-fifth of the price.”

“We can’t go on Facebook or Instagram and post something on Budzee to get the word out,” Perrier said. “We’re so limited to how we can educate the public that we’ve allowed it to be a slow, natural progression.”

The other Cannabis Control Commission restriction that is also making it hard on the delivery

BlazeXpress has also felt the brunt of other major restrictions on delivery services. According to Harden, they cannot deliver to campuses and hotels, while other states allow those practices, and they have also had some of their social media taken down because marijuana is not federally legal yet, so it has been hard to get the word out.

Additionally, they only have a license to deliver recreational cannabis, which means people with medical cards who need cannabis for medical reasons cannot get medical-grade marijuana delivered. Instead, these people are

Another obstacle delivery services face is they cannot deliver to people’s workplaces, which means most people are unable to order until after a typical workday ends, which is usually 5 p.m. This makes it difficult for BlazeXpress because the state only allows delivery until 9 p.m., meaning there is a really tight window for companies to take advantage of when BlazeXpress delivers from 1 to 9 p.m., and takes orders from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Financially, these restrictions are making things tough. “This is not a profitable business model,” Harden said, of delivery in Massachusetts.

“But we’re doing this out of the good of our hearts and we see the bigger picture, our mission and the service that we are providing to See CANNABIS on page 11

Colleges provide financial boon to area

By Bill Zito bzito@thereminder.com

AMHERST — The return of students to area colleges brings potential increases in traffic, crowds, wait times for services and also an expected economic boost.

Downtown areas of Amherst and Northampton, already familiar with the changes brought on by the incursion of foot traffic and restaurant business when school starts up.

The student population brings in increase patronage in virtually all areas of businesses, not only in the college towns themselves but neighboring communities where popular stores and venues are situated.

Well before students began unpacking for the fall, the town of Amherst and the University of Massachusetts inked a new strategic partnership agreement bringing $5.5 million into town over a five-year timeline.

The arrangement means additional financial support for town services including fire, ambulance, water and sewer as well as educational incentives for K-12 students residing in housing owned by UMass. At the June announcement, Town Manager Paul Bockelman praised the agreement, calling it “an important step in recognizing our shared needs and concerns,” he said. “[It] sets an exciting new standard for our relationship going forward.”

Far more in depth, Philadelphia-based Econsult Solutions, Inc., an economic consulting firm conducts research on the financial impacts of business and community projects on local climates.

From influences like film production on the economy in Montana to intercollegiate sports in North Carolina, ECI

nancial health of the region.

The ESI report was commissioned by the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts, which represents 59 private, nonprofit institutions. Overall, the report records an impact by the institution members of more than $71 billion, including $2.4 billion annually in state tax revenues. That number also is estimated to support over 320,000 jobs statewide.

The Five College Consortium, consisting of private institutions Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College and Smith College plus publicly funded UMass Amherst

transportation and retail. Student spending under the same categories brought in $119 million to region during the same period.

Back in Amherst, the student population also helps propel new business ventures based upon the extended numbers the college crowds bring with them. Bar and restaurant owners Victoria Torti and Daniela Aniceto began in March with Protocol, their first venture on East Pleasant Street. The plan to appeal to not only the later dining and bar college crowds but the earlier parents and family members. Torti and Aniceto are also close to the opening of their two other downtown stores, a Spring Street whiskey bar and the Amherst Oyster Bar, to open on North Pleasant Street.

near Kendrick Park. At a recent Licensing Board meeting, permits were extended for several trucks wanting to do business in the downtown area on bar nights.

The ECI report also highlights specific contributions brought forth by respective colleges, including Springfield College’s forthcoming Health Sciences Center, Smith’s Nielsen Library and Hampshire’s farm and Community Supported Agriculture program, a provider of more than 75,000 pounds of produce annually.

compiled statistics on what local colleges bring to Massachusetts. Dividing the commonwealth into three regions, the report identified eleven schools in Western Massachusetts and what their contributions are to the fi-

provide upwards of $1 billion coming from the private colleges alone. College influenced visitor spending in Western Massachusetts brought in $12 million in 2022 via the categories of food, lodging,

The downtown area is expected to see increased food truck business as vendors congregate at later hours as college crowd patrons at The Spoke venture out

Brimfield Flea Market a big draw to region

By G. Michael Dobbs Correspondent

BRIMFIELD The Brimfield Flea Market can mean different things to different people. To some it’s a potential treasure trove of items that can’t be found anywhere else. To others it means that three times a year the traffic through the small Hampden County town is slow and congested.

Regardless of both views, the markets, which are described as “America’s Oldest Outdoor Antiques Flea Markets,” bring a huge number of people to the region and make a significant contribution to the economy of Western Massachusetts.

According to Don Moriarty, who owns, along with his wife Pam, The Heart of the Mart field, the Brimfield markets are only second to the Big E in drawing visitors to the state.

Mary Kay Wydra, president of the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, explained to Reminder Publishing that according to computer models, The Brimfield Flea Markets bring in approximately $2.2

million for each of its three annual shows for a total of $6.6 million annually.

She called the shows “world renowned” and events that “shed light on Western Massachusetts.”

Wydra said that it’s not just New Englanders who go to the shows looking for a rare item. The audience comes from around the world.

Moriarty concurred. He knows of buyers from Asia who come with a 50-foot shipping container to load their purchases for trans-

portation back home. He added there is an Australian dealer who brings a similar shipping container to every show and has done so for a long time. There are other dealers from The Netherlands that do the same.

Moriarty added that it isn’t just buyers who come from around the world. There is a dealer he has who comes from Hungary.

Wydra pointed out that an episode of “Flea Market Flip” with Lauran Spenser was shot at one of the shows and that style icon

Martha Stewart has been spotted shopping. She added one of the impacts is the surge in hotel rentals for the three shows a year with accommodations in the Sturbridge area and beyond filling up.

The shows were first started in 1959 and Moriarty and his wife have been operating their field, Heart of the Mart since 1982. There are 20 fields, all owned separately, some with admission charges and some without that make up each market. The hours

for each field are different as well. Parking is also available for a fee at several areas. Visitors should consult www.brimnfieldantiquemarket.com for details before making plans. Moriarty noted the growth of the enterprise. He said that in 1982 the couple had six dealers. By 1984 they had 40 dealers. In the show this May they had 400 dealers renting selling spaces on their property. He said recent shows for him have been “dynamite.” He added, they have been “very very vibrant.”

He explained the May show is always the largest in terms of attendance, while the July market because of the summer heat and potential thunderstorms draws fewer people. The September show, due to cooler temperatures is the second best attended. He added that relations between town officials and the flea market operators is “quite copasetic,” although he admitted there can be “friction” finding the balance between public safety and running the businesses. The next and final show for the season will be Sept. 5-10.

A look at some of the Brimfield Flea Market’s offerings from 2022. Reminder Publishing photo by G. Michael Dobbs

Fares, convenience part of bus ridership

By Sarah Heinonen sheinonen@thereminder.com

Transportation is a necessity in modern life, but for people in the lower Pioneer Valley, where population centers are farther apart, public transporta -

tion can be a lifeline for those who work, attend school or need childcare. Despite this, riders consistently express a need for more frequent runs and direct routes to underserved locations.

In Hampden and Hampshire counties, the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority operates bus service within cities and between metro -

politan areas. “Ridership continues to recover steadily from the declines experienced during the pandemic,” said PVTA Director of Transit Operations Paul Burns-Johnson. “Current ridership has increased to nearly 7 million passenger trips for [fiscal year] 2023, which is about 70% of pre-pandemic ridership, up from a low of 38% in FY21.

CANNABIS

people at Western Mass. At some point, the state is going to get it together with these regulations that make it nearly impossible to be profitable, and we just got to tread the water and survive until then.”

Communities entering industry now

It is only natural that a new industry will come with growing pains, and we are starting to see how some communities are adjusting and learning from the market.

West Springfield was one of those communities that entered the cannabis game late due to some pushback in the past, but the Town Council officially voted for the legalization of recreational sales in 2022.

“I think the fears expressed by some of the public in 2018 did not come to fruition,” Mayor William Reichelt said, in an interview with Reminder Publishing

At that time, Reichelt said, there were a lot of health and traffic concerns relating to the cannabis industry, but those concerns-specifically traffic and parking ones-only pertained to places like Amherst and Northampton in those days because they were some of the first to embrace the industry.

With more places entrenched in cannabis now, those concerns are not as valid anymore, according to Reichelt.

“I understand the fears of the unknown,” Reichelt said. “But now with more places open, I think people are generally more used to it.”

Reichelt, who has been a proponent of the cannabis industry since recreational sales became legal statewide, said West Springfield could be $4 million richer had they embraced the industry early on.

But there have been benefits to waiting and seeing how the

market functions in other communities. For example, because some of those aforementioned risks were generally unfounded, West Springfield was able to implement fewer restrictions on where cannabis businesses can open in town, thus opening the market a bit more.

Beyond that, though, the town also has a cap of three dispensaries, which is something the council wanted. In talking to others in the industry, Reichelt said this cap was a beneficial decision.

“The cap made sense because there needs to be some kind of restrictions so that the [dispensaries] making a significant investment in this business,” Reichelt said. “They don’t want to be like an Amherst or Northampton that has them closing because there’s too much.”

Based on how West Springfield approached the industry, Reichelt believes the town can be successful in the future. Currently, they have two dispensaries set to open in the near future, and they are going to see how things go before a third is considered. But overall, Reichelt is optimistic since places like Memorial Avenue and Riverdale Street are already big retail havens.

“I’m hopeful that, with West Side being a retail capital of Western Mass., we’ll be successful because of location,” Reichelt said.

What’s next?

At this point, cannabis is normalized to the point where Reichelt said very few people showed up for public comment in 2022 when the recreational legislation was introduced. In 2018, however, Reichelt said, the place was packed when the concept was first discussed.

“We don’t have to be afraid of this new industry anymore,” Reichelt said. “People have become more open to marijuana.”

That may be true in many cases, but as the market continues to evolve and expand, changes are going to have to be made to sustain the industry.

With ridership still lagging post-COVID-19, the question is why have riders not returned to full bus usage?

“In surveys, PVTA riders consistently indicate a demand for additional service frequency, later service and better weekend service,” said

According to Harden, there is still some negative stigma surrounding cannabis, which he feels is why restrictions in Massachusetts are oftentimes tighter than in other states where marijuana is legal.

Perrier agrees that some of the state regulations are a bit cumbersome, though he understands why some are necessary.

“I’m hoping things will kind of evolve over time to have a little more practicality to some of the regulations,” Perrier said. “I think there’s a lot of regulations that are perhaps a little cumbersome that have a big financial impact, and that’s why you’re seeing dispensaries and growing facilities close.”

As of press time, some dispensaries like The Source have closed and Trulieve has closed all three of their Massachusetts dispensaries earlier this year. The Trulieve decision came after an employee at the Holyoke cultivation site died from asthma complications due to inhaling cannabis dust in the facility.

Much like other states where marijuana is legalized, like Colorado or California, Massachusetts may continue to see an additional contraction of the market.

Vega appeared cautiously optimistic when talking about the future.

“I’m generally optimistic in that I think it’ll become a permanent fixture and part of our manufacturing sort of fabric that

Burns-Johnson. “They also indicate a demand for more service to outlying communities and for connections to areas outside of PVTA’s service area. For example, riders indicated in surveys a desire for connections from Amherst to Greenfield, as well as service to Enfield and connections to both the [Franklin Regional Transit Authority] and the CT Transit.”

Similarly, comments submitted online to Union Station, a major hub for PVTA buses, overwhelmingly ask for more frequent buses and new routes to underserved places. Nicole Sweeney, commercial property manager for Appleton Corporation, which owns Union Station, said she sees many customers

we have here,” Vega said, of Holyoke’s place in the industry. What we are starting to see, according to Vega, is the industry morph into something that is similar to any other business, where — for example — manufacturing cannabis is just like manufacturing anything else. Because cannabis is becoming more normalized, Vega said Hoyloke will treat the cannabis business like any other.

“There will be a couple of big companies and a number of small companies,” Vega said. “I think some of the smaller companies will find a home in Holyoke, but I wouldn’t be surprised if others closed or never come to fruition.”

Perrier thinks the industry is still going in a positive direction, but it needs to stabilize.

who want a route directly from Springfield to Six Flags, which does not exist. With public demand high, PVTA has invested in some new routes in recent years. The G73 provides a direct connection from Northampton to Springfield with a stop at the Holyoke Mall. The B79 is an intercity route between Amherst and Worcester. From there, people can pick up the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Commuter Service to Boston from Worcester’s Union Station. However, driver staffing shortages had led PVTA to suspend routes, reduce the frequency of runs and change stops in

See TRANSPORT on page 15

“You’re going to continue to see folks pop up, but you’re also going to see folks close,” Perrier said. “That’s just part of the growth period.”

When asked what advice he would give to someone coming into this industry, Perrier said people need to understand that the days of the green rush are over.

“I think you need to go in with your eyes wide open, understand your numbers, understand your bugs, and have something to differentiate yourself,” Perrier said. “The days of just opening a dispensary with a ‘build it, they’ll come’ mentality…that’s not the case anymore.”

Reminder Publishing also reached out to Insa and NETA for this story, but did not receive a response.

he story of Ruth is one of the most popular and poignant stories of the Hebrew Bible: It is where Ruth pledges to look after her mother-in-law and speaks the famous biblical lines, “wherever you go, I will go, wherever you stay, I will stay…” The story of Ruth is a story about human caring and deep devotion and about the compassion and the commitment of a family member and a community to stand by the vulnerable and those in real need.

This too is the story of our community and our Ruth’s House.

EAST WEST PASSENGER RAIL PROJECT CHUGS FORWARD

By Cliff Clark cclark@thereminder.com

While it might be hard to believe, there was passenger rail service between Boston and Pittsfield for more years than not.

In fact, the first service began in 1841 and continued in various iterations until 1971 when Amtrak discontinued passenger service between Worcester and Albany, New York.

And for decades, other than a single, round trip, passenger train operated by CSX between Boston and Albany, there were no substantive discussions by state officials to provide a daily rail service between Boston and Pittsfield.

That changed in 2018, when the state Department of Transportation commissioned the East-West Passenger Rail Study to examine the potential benefits, cost and investments needed to establish daily rail service.

To establish a road map for the study, MassDOT and an advisory committee made up of residents and other stakeholder and asked them to address one question, “How can we connect people in Western Massachusetts with central and eastern Massachusetts using a passenger rail service that provides, fast, frequent, attractive service in a cost-effective and achievable manner?”

To start the process, six choices, or alternatives, were created that

Mass- DOT and the advisory committee could consider.

Each was developed from a “broad set of potential concepts,” according to the report.

The alternatives took different approaches to providing improvements, and achieved different levels of speed increases, travel time, frequency, service quality, costs and impacts, according to the report.

After two years, in January 2021, MassDOT and the advisory committee issued its report and of the six alternatives, chose two of the alternatives, and created a “hybrid” alternative.

The first alternative

It would provide direct passenger rail service between Pittsfield and Boston along shared track between CSX and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, according to the report.

It would provide seven new east-west round trips daily with an average travel time of three hours and nine minutes between Pittsfield and Boston and one hour and 57 minutes between Springfield and Boston, according to the report.

The second alternative

It would provide direct passenger rail service between Pittsfield and Springfield along a shared track with CSX, along an independent passenger track between Springfield and Worcester, and along a shared track and MBTA corridor between Worcester and Boston, according to the report.

It would have up to nine daily round trips with a travel time of three hours and 59 minutes between Pittsfield and Boston, and one hour and 47 minutes between Springfield and Boston, according to the report.

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The hybrid alternative

It would provide rail service between Pittsfield and Boston along a shared track on an CSX corridor, along an independent passenger track with high-speed shortcuts between Springfield and Worcester, and along a shared track with the MBTA between Worcester and Boston, according to the report.

It would have up to nine daily round trips with an average travel time of two hours and 49 minutes between Pittsfield and Boston and one hour and 37 minutes between Worcester and Boston.

The report also estimated ridership for the three alternatives.

Ridership for the first alternative is projected to be between 922 and 1,188 passengers each day.

For the second alternative, projected ridership is between 1,157 and 1,379 per day, and for the third, 1,296 to 1,554 per day.

According to the report, the capital cost estimate is the “key determinate of the challenge of implementation for a given alternative,” and reflects one-time investments in new infrastructure like new or upgraded stations, tracks, bridges, yards, utility relocations, signals, property acquisition, vehicle purchases and professional services.

The projected cost of the first alternative, in 2020 dollars, is $2.4 billion, $3.9 billion for the second, and $4.6 billion for the hybrid alternative, according to the report.

Included in the report were additional costs for the proposed rail line between Springfield and Pittsfield, which would be new track that must meet CSX standards and its right-of-way and would add an estimated $1.5 billion to the overall cost, according to the study.

The report also identified stops in Palmer, Springfield and Chester.

For nearly eight years, the

Palmer-based nonprofit Citizens for a Palmer Rail Stop were advocating not only to resume passenger rail service between Boston and Pittsfield, but for trains to stop in the town that calls itself the “town of seven railroads.”

“We advocated for the line and a stop in Palmer, and it ended successfully [when the East-West Passenger Rail Study was issued],” said Ben Hood, who founded the group with his wife Ann. Hood, who also served on the Palmer Rail Stop Steering Committee, said his group had two functions: to make the case for the proposed passenger rail to stop in Palmer while advocating for the economic benefits for the central and western areas of the state.

“We don’t see this as about getting to the cities [along the line], but as an economic development driver,” Hood said.

As referenced in the report as to the cost of the line, Hood said, “Federal money is the key ingredient.”

He believes the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act adopted by Congress in 2021 and signed by President Joe Biden is part of the mix.

According to a press release from President Joe Biden’s administration in April, the state has already been allocated $585 million to improve public transportation options across the state.

Hood also said the revenues generated by the Fair Share Amendment adopted by state voters in 2022 is the “perfect vehicle” to help fund the project.

Gov. Maura Healey, in fact, proposed in her budget submitted to the state Legislature earlier this year allocating $12.5 million from revenues anticipated to be generated by the FSA.

However, when the Legislature approved her budget, the $12.5 million was omitted.

“The governor said, ‘We’re going to do this’ and the Legislature didn’t come through,” Hood said.

After the Legislature’s snub, Healey and MassDOT restored it in the department’s Capital Investment Plan.

Of the $12.5 million, $8.5 million will be used for track improvements in Pittsfield around its intermodal bus and

train station.

The remaining $4 million is being used to study and design a new station for Palmer or use the former Union Station in Palmer that is now the Steaming Tender restaurant.

Hood said there are several options being studied now for the best location of the station. Most are within a couple of hundred yards of the restaurant, which is located at the end of Depot Road in Palmer.

The other stop proposed along the rail line is in Chester.

For Richard Holzman, the former superintendent of the Gateway Regional School Distict and a board member of the nonprofit Chester Foundation Inc., which maintains the former Chester Railway Station and Museum, the passenger line is an opportunity to reestablish Chester as a “hub of the Hilltowns.”

“We’ve been the hub for about 21 Hilltowns. It was the central place in the 19th century,” Holzman said of Chester, adding that for decades it had five gas stations, three restaurants, and several hotels.

As for infrastructure, unlike Palmer, the station and its platforms have been maintained since the stop was discontinued in the 1970’s.

But some renovations would still be needed.

For those projects, like building new parking areas, Holzman said they are “shovel ready.”

He said the infrastructure needed could be completed in a “matter of months.”

In the short term, the current infrastructure is “more than adequate,” Holzman said.

For decades there has been grumbling from the western part of the state about the lack of attention is gets from leaders in Boston.

Holzman acknowledged the perceived imbalance because of the larger population and number of legislators who represent the eastern part of the state.

“It’s always been a problem here,” he said.

But Holzman said he’s been encouraged by Healey’s focus on the west.

“Healey is focused on this part of the state and we just compliment her view,” he said.

He also sees the rail line as a “relief valve” for the eastern part of the state.

As population densities increase in the east, he thinks individuals and families would begin to consider moving west for its less hectic lifestyle if they can be connected by the rail line.

“The east has to see the impact of its relationship with us,” Holzman said.

“It’s in their enlightened self-interest to do it,” he said of state officials.

While state Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli (D-Lenox) is cautiously optimistic the project will be completed, he still has concerns.

His primary concern is that because the line is now referred to as the East-West Rail, the focus of the project will be on the eastern part of the state – the line between Springfield and Boston.

That is the reason prefers to call the East-West Rail, the “West-East Rail.”

“We need to make sure the focus [of the project] stays in the west,” he said, adding that the rail line is important not only for the Hilltowns but also the Berkshires. He said if the focus of the line is on the east, he is concerned the funding needed for the project will be spent primarily on the MBTA and renovating Boston’s South Station.

“If [the rail project] starts in

Superintendents talk pressures, changes to job

By Amy Porter aporter@thereminder.com

It’s been a rough year for superintendents and school districts in Western Massachusetts, with high turnover, difficulty filling positions, and more districts opting to hire interim superintendents as they struggle to recover from the learning loss caused by the COVID-19 shutdown.

Stefan Czaporowski is entering his ninth year as superintendent in Westfield, after serving as principal at Westfield Technical Academy for four years. Before that, he has been a principal, assistant principal, social studies supervisor and teacher, all in Massachusetts school districts.

Czaporowski said the job of superintendent is becoming overwhelming between the demands of the state, staff shortages, navigating communities, the number of complaints and trying to “do what’s best for our kids at the same time.”

Despite the difficulties, the job remains both challenging and satisfying for many area superintendents.

Thomas Scott, co-executive director of the Massachusetts Association for School Superintendents, said there are several factors contributing to a high

BARNES

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

of the airport’s military aircraft operations.

The 104th has increased its presence as newer, faster and improved fighter planes have been deployed to the unit. Mc-

Cabe said the recent Pentagon announcement that the fighter wing will get 18 F-35A Lightning fighter jets, replacing the aging F-15 Eagles flown at Barnes since 2007, will solidify the security of the Northeast corridor of the nation for two generations.

New fighters mean the fighter wing’s future at Barnes is “very bright,” said Willenborg. “This helps ensure the Air Guard’s existence at Barnes for the foreseeable future — which is very exciting, and very important, for the airport, for the community and for Massachusetts.”

Since the fighter wing is always on standby alert to protect the Northeast, Barnes is required to keep its main runway open

turnover in superintendents. “There’s a lot of turnover. There are 275 superintendents in the commonwealth, with a turnover of 15% to 20% a year,” Scott said. Currently, in the state, there are 35 superintendents new to the position, and 18 who have shifted districts.

Scott said there are also many more interim superintendents than five or 10 years ago, because the pool of superintendents is smaller. Some districts hire an interim when they plan to conduct a search at a more optimal time in the calendar.

“We see an increase [of hiring] from within the district. If you have good strong leadership in the community — a principal, or assistant superintendent — communities would be wise to nurture that leadership,” he said.

Scott said the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents took a survey eight years ago, asking its members if they had it to do all over again, would they pursue being a superintendent. He said 85% said yes. When asked, Scott conceded it might be worthwhile doing the survey again now, after the COVID-19 emergency.

Superintendents talk

and available, no matter what the weather.

“That’s a major responsibility for us,” said Willenborg, but it also gives Barnes a distinction unlike other airports its size.

“It also ensures that our main runway — which has a precision instrument approach — remains open in inclement weather for alert aircraft as well as for civilian operation. Only blizzard-type conditions, with poor visibility and quickly accumulating snow, would close it,” he said.

“There really isn’t another airport like Barnes in Western Massachusetts.”

The first commercial passenger plane a 10-passenger Stinson Tri-motor began flights in 1937. American Airlines followed with DC-3s the next year and several other airlines operated DC-3s at Barnes until 1959. They were phased out as commercial airlines shifted flights to what was then called Bradley Field in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.

The airport’s strength — and its niche from a civilian aircraft operations standpoint — is busi-

Joe

about changes in the job

John Provost, who is beginning his 13th year as a superintendent, is entering his second year in the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District. Previously, he served as superintendent in Northampton for eight years, and before that, in North Brookfield.

Provost said he has seen changes in the job over the last 13 years.

“I think of the superintendent as the person charged with making sure that everyone in the district, students and staff alike are growing, becoming wiser, healthier and freer. In the time I have been a superintendent I have seen the focus of the work shift from being nearly exclusively focused on the intellectual growth of the school community to being equally focused on the intellectual and emotional needs of students and staff, as people have struggled to maintain the human connections that we all need to learn and perform at our best,” Provost said.

Anne McKenzie, who is in her 10th year as superintendent of Hadley Public Schools, came to the job after serving as executive director of the Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative for eight years.

McKenzie said she sees the job

ness aviation and general aviation, Willenborg said. There are 10 different aviation-related companies at the airport, ranging from flight schools to aircraft maintenance repair facilities to the Lifestar air ambulance service.

“We also have aircraft based here that do business in Western Massachusetts and across the country. They buy fuel here for their business jets and also may have maintenance work done,” said Willenborg. “And they pay rent — either directly to the airport, or to landlords that rent hangar space.”

During the past three years, there’s been a significant increase in marketing the airport to the community and to the region. Throughout the year, Willenborg goes to regional and national aviation industry tradeshows seeking more companies to locate at Barnes.

McCabe said as Barnes’ reputation continues to attract new business to the area that need air transportation services.

“With that comes prospects of new housing, a new workforce,

of superintendent as an opportunity to serve others. “I frequently refer to the central office as the central services agency,” she said.

She said she doesn’t believe the job has changed, and what she’s always done, she is still doing.

“Not my experience. The tougher the times, the more opportunity to be of service,” she said.

“This role affords me opportunities to work with staff, students, families, and our school committee to design fun, challenging, and exciting learning experiences; create spaces and classroom/school climates where every person is seen, valued, heard, appreciated, and respected; be a resource and support for families when they need it; and encourage people who are doing some of the most important and valuable work in our society — contributing to the education of young people,” McKenzie said.

Financial pressures

Scott said one reason for the high turnover is due to the current political and social climate. Local school districts expend the majority of the funding in a community, and consequently, they are under greater scrutiny about how the dollars are spent, and must be accountable to the community.

increased economic stability and that ability to grow and diversify our school programs beyond mechanics,” he said.

An example of how the airport stimulates economic development in the Westfield area is Gulfstream Aerospace. It invested $20 million in a new 100,000 square-foot hangar that added 100 new aircraft maintenance technician jobs to its existing 130 employees.

Willenborg said Barnes had both airside and landside infrastructure that Gulfstream needed when it expanded its Northeast aircraft customer support facility about 10 years ago. The airport gets five to 600 transient Gulfstream aircraft that generate landing fees while Gulfstream pays ground lease rental and airport access fees.

A successful partnership also has developed between Gulfstream and Westfield Technical Academy’s aircraft maintenance program at Barnes. WTA trains high school students to become FAA-certified maintenance technicians who can then work at the

Added to that, school districts are a melting pot of a lot of different issues in a political environment that is very toxic. Scott said the diversity and inclusion issues in the community and among the students in the district precipitate a lot of different emotions and feelings.

“It becomes a lightning rod in some communities how the superintendent and district deal with those issues,” he said. Provost talked about the challenge of financial pressures.

“There always seems to be a gap between the resources needed to optimally serve students as we would like to and the funding available for public schools. Finding a way to provide a high-quality education while remaining within a relatively constrained budget is always a challenge,” Provost said.

Kristen Smidy, who has just completed her second year as superintendent at Gateway Regional, came to the position after a decade serving as principal of Hampshire Regional High School and Middle School, and assistant principal in the middle school. She started her career teaching middle school history in Springfield.

See EDUCATION on page 16

Gulfstream facility. “They’ve done just an incredible job working together to create that pipeline for students to graduate from high school and then go work for Gulfstream,” Willenborg said. “It’s a great partnership. It keeps young people in the area by providing great paying jobs, and also provides Gulfstream with skilled technicians.”

In addition to aviation mechanics, flight schools at Barnes are training tomorrow’s pilots — about 250 each year.

“A lot of workforce development for the future of aviation is taking place right here — and that’s pretty exciting,” said Willenborg.

Gonet said a lot of money has gone into making Barnes a firstclass airport. He said it’s possible in the future that another terminal could be built to serve regional airlines, returning commercial service to Westfield.

“As things change, as the growth happens, we’ve got a lot of good opportunities at Barnes. There’s a lot of land and the future looks promising,” he said.

Springfield’s downtown revival is ongoing

By Lauren LeBel llebel@thereminder.com

SPRINGFIELD — From sold out shows to new restaurants and developments, Downtown Springfield has been an evolving destination for its residents and visitors over the past several years and in planning for the future, this revival is only on the up.

Regarding the city’s economic impact, Springfield Business Improvement District Executive Director Michelle Grout said, “I don’t even know if it’s quantifiable especially with COVID. While things were ramping up and the renaissance was well underway, COVID kind of knocked it down quite a bit and then really brought us to a place where we needed to just dig deep and come back.”

She continued, “We were very grateful during those — let’s say — two years that we really only lost four restaurants due to the impact of COVID and since then we gained eight new restaurants that are prosperous and doing well, mostly in the downtown dining district.”

This also led to the city’s investment in outdoor dining. Grout said she recognizes every restaurant and their valued contribution to the “vibrancy of creating a destination downtown.”

Mayor Domenic Sarno added on to Grout’s point and said his administration has been able to aid restaurant row with the creation of outdoor dining.

Some of the locations Sarno referenced include Nadim’s, Red Rose, White Lion, Jackalope, The Fort, Dewey’s Jazz Lounge and All American Bar, Grill & Patio, many of which are new.

In June, Downtown Springfield experienced one of Western Massachusetts’ biggest weekends in recent history, with events such as the Ironman, Bruno Mars performing at the MassMutual Center, along with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, all during Springfield Restaurant Week. Over the span of four days, the city drove over $3.5 million in economic impact. Grout said the total estimated attendance across all events was around 27,000.

“I think MGM [Springfield] has contributed greatly to the

resurgence of downtown,” Grout said.

The resort and casino are approaching its five-year anniversary, as it opened on Aug. 24, 2018.

MGM Springfield President Chris Kelley said they have an “extraordinary story” as some of its tenure was impacted by COVID-19.

Kelley shared that MGM Springfield has contributed $405 million in taxes and payments to the state, city and surrounding communities since opening. This includes over $120 million in payments directly to the city of Springfield.

“Over 50% of MGM Springfield’s operational spending is with Massachusetts-based businesses,” said Kelley. “We have also spent $33 million on local goods and services.”

MGM currently has 1,500 team members, which is up from 94 during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Kelley noted that they also have countless volunteers that contribute thousands of hours.

On Jan. 31, MGM Springfield opened its new sportsbook. As the company is always looking at ways to improve and expand, Kelley said they will be focusing more on entertainment and what MGM can bring to patrons, such as Free Music Fridays.

Kelley shared that they are “very optimistic” for the future, along with the growth they are experiencing now.

Sarno explained that MGM Springfield is a $1 billion investment. When events take place, it means hotel rooms have to be booked and restaurants need to serve.

Kelley said, “The global pandemic was not something we want to experience again [but the city] all came together [and it] set us up well for revitalization

“We [MGM] are grateful to be a part of this comeback story.”

Over the last five years, Grout said the city has invested “a tremendous amount of money” to the downtown parks including Riverfront, Stearns Square and Duryea Way. “That was in tandem with MGM and plays a major contributor as well,” she shared. With those parks fully renovated and accessible, Grout said

they are “desirable locations” for events such as the Springfield Pride Parade, Worthy Brew Fest and Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival, which Sarno said “thousands of people” attend. Grout said Jazz & Roots moving from Court Square to Stearns Square has solidified it as a destination, which she believes has attracted more people.

Another well-attended event is the annual pancake breakfast that is put on by the Spirit of Springfield. This year’s pancake breakfast was one of the largest in a decade, Grout shared. “I think that it speaks to the community that they want to be downtown They enjoy the vibrancy,” she added.

“People are hungry for happiness and these events make people feel good When the city looks good, people feel good and they’re more apt to come down,” Grout said.

“The success of the Springfield Thunderbirds has been a tremendous asset to economic development in the downtown. Their rise to the Calder Cup series was amazing,” she shared. “The contribution it made to downtown from attendance, enthusiasm It was a proud moment to say you’re a Thunderbirds fan.”

Grout said that she thinks the Thunderbirds drew people in that did not normally participate in the American Hockey League. With countless sellouts this past season, Sarno — a season ticket holder — praised the team for its accomplishments.

“The place is poppin’ downtown when they’re [in Springfield],” he said. “Red Rose when the T-Birds are here, you can’t get a spot there.”

Sarno noted that the Thunderbirds average well over $15,000 each game.

Grout shared that the Common Wealth Murals continue to be a contributing factor to the city as well.

“While the initial installation was in 2019, they have invested year [after] year in Springfield and are contributing an additional two murals to the downtown this year,” she said. “If you only find one reason to come downtown, come check out the murals.”

In January, Springfield hosted its second Red Sox weekend which was “huge” for the downtown, not only economically, but perception wise as well, Grout said. She shared that herself and her team heard many participants say they couldn’t believe how nice, walkable and well-lit the city was, along with the food. “It made us really excited,” she added, and is hopeful that Red Sox weekend comes back.

Other attractions include the museums, libraries, Basketball Hall of Fame and more. Grout noted that the investment in the Springfield Museums over the past three years has been “amazing” with the addition of a new planetarium.

“There’s so many opportunities down here for everyone,” Grout said.

Sarno said the new Big Y Express Fresh Market that opened in Tower Square has sent a big message and is well respected, as many forget that downtown is a neighborhood.

The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority is currently in the process of constructing a new garage — set to be complete in fall 2024 — on the state’s dime, Sarno said. In addition to that, Grout said there will be the development of a community plaza which will contribute greatly to programming, retail opportunities and serve as a nice

gathering place, managed by the MassMutual Center.

The city of Springfield is working “diligently” now, doing a repaving project on Dwight Street and East and West Columbus avenues to be completed this year, explained Grout.

“The infrastructure and utility upgrades throughout the south end will continue to support the growth of downtown,” she said.

While the south and north end is not in the Springfield BID, she said they are a “very important and vital part of the downtown.”

Sarno added that he is working to “liven” the south end area with updates to the sidewalks and walkways.

“The other major contributor is the residents The market rate housing,” Grout shared. “In the past couple of years, Silverbrick and Overland lofts have contributed over 100 new units to the downtown, with Overland Lofts leasing out before they were even online. Silverbrick is at full capacity and now 31 Elm [St.] — from what I understand — is almost fully leased as well and they’re not even online.”

Kelley shared that MGM Springfield has contributed $16 million to the ongoing construction at 31 Elm St.

“The property owners play a big role in the downtown. They subscribe to the Business Improvement District as an organization and they see the value that it brings to the table and how it also contributes to the idea of downtown as a destination,” Grout said.

She went on to recognize some of the businesses that have chosen to invest in Springfield, including Chase Bank which made a “major swing” for the city.

At 113-115 State St., future development is expected with quite a few proposals and bids for that property, which Sarno said will be announced soon.

He noted that the city is dealing with developments all the time, in which they strive to be business friendly.

Overall, Grout said people living, working and playing downtown contributes to the economic vitality of the city.

She shared that there are so many people who say they do not come downtown, however, she is giving them reasons to come here. “It is a vibrant, beautiful place. If they haven’t been on Worthington Street, if they haven’t been to The Fort, if they haven’t taken in a show at Free Music Fridays at MGM, if they haven’t participated in the fireworks or the pancake breakfast or the downtown holiday lighting, the ice invasion These are all fantastic reasons to come back and give us another try.”

Kelley emphasized the feel of being downtown and described it as “wonderful.”

When looking at all of this, Sarno said his administration has been able to accomplish a lot with more coming down the road. “Mojo is coming back to the city of Springfield,” Sarno said.

The Loophole Brewing location at 51-59 Taylor St. features aview from the outdoor patio, overlooking the beer garden and Duryea Way. This is one of the several new businesses that has opened in Downtown Springfield in 2023.

Reminder Publishing photo by Lauren LeBel

livability.”

Colón added the committee is a central part of her work as they work on outreach to the community. Often Colón is writing grants for the city to try and get in order to continue adding to the city’s streets including pedestrian lights, raised sidewalks and more bike lanes.

Colón said while downtown Holyoke is not the location for the city’s trails and more wooded areas, walkability is still important. She explained ongoing work with schools in the district to create and promote Safe Routes to School, another state program.

“That partnership is really great because our goal is to expand on Holyoke and making our streets more walkable and livable. That relates directly to health and how people are experiencing life. Not having the ability to walk anywhere does affect your health in a lot of different ways that people don’t see. Your mental health, your physical health,” she said.

For economic development, a walkable and bikeable city often means more business for businesses in downtown. Colón said they want downtown to be robust and have economic impact for the city and having the flexibility can lead to more people in the area.

“We want Holyoke to be a city where tourists can come to and also where we’re keeping residents here and not pushing them out,” Colón said.

Colón added Holyoke’s many one-way streets in the downtown area create some challenges in developing more bike lanes in the area. While it isn’t impossible to ride your bike in downtown Holyoke, many side street parking spaces and sidewalks showcase some of the issues in trying to later implement more bike lanes.

“It definitely is challenging because the way the city was set up years ago to now want to include bike lanes,” Colón said.

As you leave Holyoke there are bike lanes and nice options for travel out of the city and connecting to other communities in Hampshire County. A bike ride up Northampton Street can lead you to Easthampton and Northampton, two other communities also focused on bike-ability.

Northampton Planning Director Carolyn Misch has been with the city in different capac-

TRANSPORT

the past few years.

“PVTA is absolutely heroic in getting people where they need to go,” Sweeney said. “There will never be enough routes or enough buses to satisfy everyone.”

The price of bus travel may also be a factor in ridership. Fares were last raised in 2018, with a 20% increase. A single ride is $1.50, while a one-day pass is $3.50 and a 31-day pass is $54. There are discounts for those under the age of 13, over age 65 or those with mobility impairments.

Sweeney cited a brief period of fare-less rides in December 2022.

While buses were free to ride, ridership through Union Station increased by 54% over ridership the same month in 2021.

“If you can remove some barriers, people will absolutely take mass transit,” Sweeney said.

She added that many of the people who took a bus to Union Station for the first time because the bus was free, spent money with the shops and vendors at the station, increasing their revenue as well. “It would be a huge benefit to the economy.”

However, Burns-Johnson said that fares comprised just 17% of

ities since 2000 and said concerted efforts to create a bicycle plan started in the early 2000s. A plan was ultimately incorporated into an overall transportation component for the city’s sustainable plan originally adopted around 2008.

“Part of that plan included an analysis of dangerous intersections, dangerous road segments, ways that the city should be thinking about addressing bicycle safety,” Misch said. “That helped direct infrastructure improvements by the city so from that time forward we felt like it was important to have a plan and analyze what our resources are, what our beneficial resources are, where we’re lacking, where we need to make improvements and how do we prioritize those.”

Misch added there has been constant work to build from where they started with their bicycle infrastructure network not only for the flexibility it provides, but also for the environmental positives that come from a concerted change like this.

“It’s critical to the question and goal of reducing our carbon footprint. Making sure that we’re creating spaces that are safe for people to use alternative means other than their car, knowing of course that we’re still going to have cars, but we want to make sure that we’re providing space equally across all modes of travel, so bicycling and bicycling infrastructure is a really key component of that,” Misch said.

Misch said prioritization plans created to establish areas of need in the city led to grant funding for design and development. For example, the first project done through this plan was previous Pleasant Street improvements according to Misch. “We added little segments of bike lanes. That was done with complete streets funding. As we sort of went through that prioritization list we were told we then had to redevelop our prioritization list and plan so we got funding from the state again to have an outside consultant to help us look at what we’ve accomplished, but here are the things we still need to accomplish,” Misch said.

Last year the city developed a new Complete Streets Project Prioritization Plan updated consistent with the Tier 2 municipal requirements of MassDOT’s Complete Streets Funding program. When the program first began in 2016, Northampton received $400,000 in 2017 and $78,605 in 2020.

One of the top-ranked priority projects the city is looking at is

PVTA’s total revenue before the coronavirus pandemic.

“PVTA has always relied on state and federal funding to provide the funds needed to operate the transit system. We are hopeful that the commonwealth will continue to provide the level of funding needed to ensure a more robust transportation service.” Pandemic-era funding through the federal pandemic relief CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan Act “allowed PVTA to absorb the loss of revenue in the short term,” he said.

Aside from federal and state subsidies, PVTA has recently applied for grant funding through a partnership with the Franklin Regional Transit Authority and the Amherst Council on Aging, to “provide improved connections for seniors and people with disabilities between Amherst and Greenfield with stops in the towns of Shutesbury, Leverett, Sunderland and Deerfield,” Burns-Johnson explained.

One of the other reasons there are not more bus routes in the Pioneer Valley is because “We don’t have a robust public transportation culture like they do in eastern Massachusetts. People are just now realizing” that they can take public transportation places they once associated with the need to drive.

The bus is not the only form

new bicycle lanes on New South Street from the bridge over the Mill River to the bridge over the New Haven and Northampton Canal Greenway Trail. This project includes bicycle lanes to eliminate the gap from the latter bridge to Main Street, a distance of roughly 600 feet.

This would require the removal of 14 on-street parking spaces on the west side of the street. The continuous bike lane would provide a safer connection to downtown for hundreds of residents who live along the South Street corridor. The estimate cost fort the project is $60,000.

Other projects listed as priorities include added bike lanes and traffic calming measures in the city, and adding downtown bicycle parking to be added to downtown due to a “dearth of covered bicycle parking.”

Ride share program Valley Bike offered a unique ride sharing approach to bike-ability in the region and was having success until the programs main service provider, Bewegen Technologies Inc., defaulted on its contact. Northampton was the lead community who was the contract agent between the vendor and Valley Bike.

“We are now in the process of needing to issue what’s called a request for information to understand which bike share vendors out there can provide us the services and what those services would cost so that communities can figure out how much money needs to be raised or identified,” Misch said. “All the leadership of all the cities and towns want a bike share that can succeed, and they want a new vendor to come and operate, but there aren’t currently funds so we can’t go out to bid for a vendor until we know we have the money in the bank.”

Misch said Northampton feels there should not be just one community in the driver’s seat for a regional program such as this.

“Bike share is part of the regional transportation system, it should be a regional entity that runs it and ultimately the best thing would be to have it integrated to our existing transportation system,” Misch said.

Conversations have been ongoing on what the best model would be for this solution. She added that none of the cities feel one community should be left in charge, so collaboration is expected in returning the regional ride share.

Overall, the region is focused on a greener and more flexible future for bike-ability due to its many positives to communities.

of regional transportation in Western Massachusetts. While PVTA customers make up between 80% and 90% of ridership that goes through Union Station, the remaining riders are split roughly evenly between intercity bus lines such as Peter Pan and Greyhound, and rail carriers Amtrak and CTRail’s Hartford Line, according to Sweeney.

Train passengers “tend to skew older,” Sweeney said, in part due to the cost of rail travel as opposed to bus travel. While some people use trains for their daily commute if they work in Hartford or New Haven, most rail passengers are traveling out of the region. People who have a hybrid work environment will sometimes take a train once or twice a week into New York City and work locally the rest of the week, she said.

“People ask all the time, ‘Can I get a train to Boston?’” Sweeney said. “People want to eat there, and they want to take a train to do it.”

Sweeney said that Union Station has partnered with the Amherst Rail Society and Springfield Schools to bring children to the station with their families.

“They get to see how beautiful the building is, and they might say, ‘Oh, I could go over there and catch a train to wherever, or go to my left and hop on a bus.’”

the most about his tenure, it was the people: “All the great people I met and worked with over the years.”

He doesn’t miss all the “outlandish conspiracy theories that were developed by the prevalence of Facebook and other social media.”

Stan Rosenberg

Stan Rosenberg served in the state House of Representatives for Amherst and Pelham from 1991 until he won a special election for the senate seat vacated by former U.S. Rep. John Olver. He served in the state Senate until 2018 where he served as president between January 2015 and 2018.

He is currently principal of his firm New Horizons Consulting.

EDUCATION

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13

Smidy described her job as focusing on the kids, on the academics, on what the kids need; working with the community and the School Committee, really listening and responding to people’s priorities and needs, and understanding the obligations of the state.

“My job is to really listen, take it in and respond accordingly,” she said.

Smidy said superintendents are under “a ton” of pressure about money, especially with an end in sight for Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, a pandemic-related federal aid fund, especially for small districts such as Gateway that did not receive the increase in Student Opportunity Act funds that many cities did.

“The school budget takes up 50 to 60 (or more) percent of a lot of these small town budgets. In my role, we’re advised to advocate for the district. I’ve tried to partner with the communities. The community appreciates it,” she said.

COVID-19 impact

“Since COVID, it’s a pretty dysregulated environment, and we have not come out of that. What we see in kids and adults, the normalcy of how they communicate and react with each other is not what we’ve seen prior to COVID,” Scott said.

Sheila Hoffman, who took the job as superintendent in Agawam Public Schools in December 2020 after serving several months as interim superintendent, said she started in the middle of the COVID-19 shutdown.

“A whole group of us we call ‘COVID superintendents’ because we all started in July 2020. We talk about it informally at

Joseph Wagner

Joseph Wagner served in the State House representing the 8th Hampden district from 1991 until 2022 when he announced he would not seek reelection. Wagner said when announcing he would step away that it was time to look forward and to embrace new challenges in the next chapter of his life.

Ben Downing

Ben Downing served in the state Senate from 2007 to 2013. He represented the Berkshire, Hampshire and Franklin district until 2013, before it was redistricted to the Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden district, which he represented until 2017. In February 2021, he announced his campaign for governor in the 2022 election, becoming the first

Mass. Association of School Superintendents meetings. Quite a few of them started in July 2020.”

“The first two years of my job were nothing [like] what a superintendent did previously,” Hoffman said.

She said the job refocused on operational safety, safety concerns for staff and students, and mental health, wellbeing and physical safety because of the virus — “A lot of things that have never been done before in schools.” Hoffman said this past year was the first year the district returned to the core of instruction and learning.

Czaporowski believes a lot of the changes in the job came during COVID-19, with people taking opposite sides on issues, like masks or no masks. “Superintendents are going to implement state standards — they’re 50% of the budget. We have to follow state mandates, but sometimes that creates conflicts with members of the community.” He said those conflicts place superintendents between “a rock and a hard place.”

He said since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the time demands on the job of superintendent have also increased.

“Before COVID, we had boundaries. Now it’s a 24/7 position,” he said. Czaporowski said during the pandemic shutdowns, the Westfield School Committee met 59 times, whereas normally it “would be lucky” to have 20 meetings in a year.

Czaporowski said there is also a gap between the learning loss students experienced during COVID-19 and society’s expectations. “Everyone wants immediate turnaround and recovery,” he said. He believes between the mental health and social emotional issues and the learning gaps, “It’s going to take 10 years to get back to where we were.”

Czaporowski said it would

candidate to enter the race. He later withdrew from the campaign.

Downing is currently the vice president for public affairs at The Engine, a Boston-based venture capital firm that specializes in breakthrough inventions.

Linda J. Melconian

Linda J. Melconian served as the first woman Majority Leader in the history of the state Senate. A member of the Democratic Party, she represented the greater Springfield area as its state Senator from 1983-2005. She is a senior fellow at Moakley Center for Public Management at Suffolk University. Melconian teaches and develops program opportunities connecting business students with government on campus.

Reed Hillman

Reed Hillman served in the

help for the Department of Education to give districts more time to recover. He said state Sen. John Velis is trying to address some of the mental health concerns, and he believes that addressing behavior issues and students not coming to school ready to learn has to be a priority.

Provost said it’s a very difficult job with long hours and tremendous challenges. “Although I’ve tried to avoid talking about it, COVID definitely had an impact. That has impacted people in their own personal lives, and superintendents in their professional lives, and has a lot to do with the turnover. It always was a position with a lot of turnover — in the past 5 years, that process of turnover has accelerated.”

Social Media

Larkham said with the mental health challenges that are being discussed nationally, what she is wrestling with is not only the connections to COVID-19 but to social media.

“We say COVID as a kind of a catch-all that turned into a perfect storm for young people. How much more time were students spending on social media? For one, they were isolated, due to social distancing recommendations,” Larkham said.

“If we keep pointing solely to COVID, we’re putting the emphasis on the wrong syllable. I fear that some of the habits we developed then might actually be contributing much more. We can’t recover from something that we aren’t even trying to stop.”

Larkham believes it is important that students wrestle with things, their meaning and purpose. She said the challenge will be “predicting the impact of rapidly changing technologies and how best to prepare students for the intellectual and ethical demands of interacting with these technologies in ways that are pro-

state House of Representative from 1991 to 2004. In the House, Hillman represented the First Hampden District, consisting of the towns of Brimfield, Holland, Palmer and Wales, all in Hampden County; precincts B and C in the town of Ware, in Hampshire County; and the towns of Sturbridge and Warren, both in Worcester County He declined to seek re-election to the seat in 2004, and was succeeded by Palmer Board of Selectmen Chairman Todd M. Smola, a fellow Republican and Hillman’s former aide. Hillman is currently an adjunct professor on the criminal justice faculty at Mt. Wachusett Community College.

Stephen Brewer

Stephen Brewer of Ware was a member of the state House of Representatives from 1987 to 1997

ductive, healthy, wise, and benefit society.”

Smidy also believes that social media is contributing to the problems.

“Resilience comes from persevering through obstacles and challenges. Social media is contributing to the perception that everyone else’s life is perfect,” she said. She worries that kids are looking for validation from their interactions on social media, which are often false and fabricated. Hoffman said that the new technology and tools that were developed during the COVID-19 shutdown will help with planning for teachers and provide more opportunities for students; what she calls “learning to bring us into the next two years.”

“What we learned through COVID-19 are things that we’re trying to leverage now, to make changes, and not sliding back. I think teachers have done a really nice job balancing that; using them as tools in the classroom but not the only tool, with a focus on relationship building — using different ways to deliver content,” Hoffman said.

Job satisfaction

Scott, who previously served as a superintendent in the eastern Massachusetts communities of Concord and Carlisle for 11 years, said he still hears from “an awful lot” of people who find the job challenging but very satisfying.

“When you do the work and you see the good things that come as a result of that, there is a lot of satisfaction. There are people who want to tackle complex issues,” Scott said, adding that a lot of superintendents have previously gone through the ranks as teachers and principals. “They’re ready for taking on that challenge.”

Despite the pressures, Smidy said she is enjoying the job. “The

before serving in the state Senate until he retired in 2015. While in the state Senate he represented the Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin District. He is retired.

Gale D. Candaras Candaras served in the state House of Representatives from 1996 to 2006, when she successfully ran for the state Senate. She served there until 2014, representing the First Hampden and Hampshire District, which covered her hometown of Wilbraham, a portion of the city of Springfield, the towns of Longmeadow, East Longmeadow, Ludlow, Granby, Hampden, Belchertown and a portion of the city of Chicopee. She was succeeded by Eric Lesser. She has retired as a practicing attorney.

job is hard. I am enjoying it. I feel really fortunate to be in this community,” she said.

Hoffman grew up in Agawam and went through the schools there. She said as a superintendent in her hometown, it makes her deeply committed to the work. Her friends, the people she went to school with who stayed in Agawam, are raising their children, who are in the schools right now. She said she will be making sure they are given all the tools to be successful.

“I am very excited to start a new school year, happy to be in the community I grew up in and committed to the work and the people,” she said.

“As superintendent, I have the ability to guide the education of students throughout the entire pre-K [to] post-12 continuum. This is a unique feature of the position, and one that I find most exciting. Having worked in a number of districts, I can say that every community I served had the same basic priority — to ensure its schools prepare its young people to seize the opportunities that await them in the real world,” said Provost.

“What keeps many of us in the field is trying to do what’s best for our own students. A lot of us are seeing the potential of the future, and we’re working towards that for our students. We want to prepare them,” Czaporowski said, adding, “I think we are increasing the quality of education all the time in Westfield.”

Larkham said while some people “are off” the job of superintendent, she still likes it. Asked what she likes best about it, she said, “Working with people, partnering with families, identifying ways to solve problems together, providing educators with the resources they need to inspire students, working with talented and dedicated people ... all of it, really.”

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

Springfield, I’m afraid it will run out of money,” Pignatelli said.

To avoid that from happening, he has suggested “earmarking” or targeting the funds infrastructure improvements between Springfield and Pittsfield.

To make commuting by rail more convenient, he said, once the trains are rolling, they must have features that allow for those using the trains to “live here and

work there” like ensuring the trains have high-speed Wi-Fi connectivity for commuters to be productive.

Pignatelli, like Hood and Holzman, said line would also help fight climate change. “It will help get cars off the road,” he said. And he also sees the rail line as an “endless economic development opportunity for the long term.”

Pignatelli, Hood, and Holzman agreed getting the project moving is important for the future of the state.

“This is a generational, oncein-a-lifetime investment,” Pignatelli said.

Holzman summed it up and said, “We’re at a crossroads. There’s not any choice. We can’t afford to not do it.”