APRIL 16, 2026 | FREE
IN THIS
EDITION LONGMEADOW
Resident pushes for dog ordinance amendment Longmeadow resident Sally Hage is taking action by proposing a dangerous dog amendment to the town’s animal control ordinance after an attack left her dog on the brink of death.
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EAST LONGMEADOW
Teachers recognized with Excellence in Teaching awards Four educators in East Longmeadow Public Schools received the 2026 Pioneer Valley Excellence in Teaching award for excellence in and out of the classroom.
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Select Board approves fiber project warrant article By Peter Tuohy
ptuohy@thereminder.com
LONGMEADOW — Longmeadow officials have determined the initial cost the town will face if voters decide to move the fiber project forward at the Annual Town Meeting on May 12. The article requires a ⅔ majority vote to pass. Article 7 on the Town Meeting warrant proposes the town will pay about $8.6 million for the first phase and half of phase two of the $27 million project’s borrowing plan. This would increase average property taxes by about $97 per year for a total of about $2,140 over the loan’s 20-year span. The first phase and first half of the second phase would include the construction of the central fiber hub and the connection to 1,600 single-family homes, 30 commercial units and 20 multi-dwelling units. The Longmeadow Select Board held a joint meeting with the Finance Committee on April 6 to discuss the current borrowing plan for the fiber project. The Finance Committee chose not to recommend the article on the warrant in its own meeting afterward. The committee did not respond to a request for comment as of press time. The financial cost to taxpayers was initially projected by Fiberspring to be between $1.5 million with a 60% take rate and $4.3 million with a 40% take rate on a 30year loan. At the Select Board’s March 23 meeting, Finance Director Ian Coddington informed
The Longmeadow Select Board met alongside the Finance Committee at a joint meeting on April 6. Photo credit: LongmeadowTV
members that state law limits the loan term to a maximum of 20 years, increasing the projected range to between $3.3 million at 60% and $8.7 million at 40%. “If the question is about doing a shorter term borrowing, then for the purpose of this article, the only option that the town has, if they do not want to have it as part of the general fund budget, is a 20-year borrowing through debt excluded property tax,” Coddington said. “That is the only option the town has. Outside of that, when we’re looking at the future projects in the form of funding it through the enterprise fund, that is where we can look at different financing options, if the board or the [municipal light plant] chooses.” The enterprise fund, paid for by the monthly subscriber fee of $90, is projected to cover the project in phases two through five, assuming a 40% take rate is achieved. Select Board member Vineeth Hemavathi said the assumption of a 40% take rate comes from experi-
ences in other Western Massachusetts towns with fiber, where 40% has been the lowest take rate seen, adding that a fiber project has not failed in any town. “South Hadley, who we’re partnering with on this, just finished building out their entire town last summer and they have a 55% take rate already,” Hemavathi said. “More than half the town is already subscribing to their fiber internet.” He said the initial 40% covers all the operating expenses for the enterprise fund and the debt service to build out the rest of the town, which takes up about 80% of all operating costs. About $17.9 million would be borrowed as construction progresses and the project will convert to a long-term loan after construction completes in 2032. The 20-year loan would not begin until after a three-year shortterm loan in which only interest is paid, making the entire loan complete in 2051.
Chair Josh Levine said the approach the Select Board would like to model involves “doing everything we can to limit the impact on taxpayers, which, as [Town Manager Lyn Simmons] was saying, we have the ability to do.” The town’s approach looks to use short-term borrowing with only interest paid at first, then switch to long-term once the project is complete, in order to keep “early costs lower, better matches when revenue starts coming in and results in smoother cash flow and less upfront impact on residents,” according to the Finance Department’s fiber borrowing memo to the Select Board. Fiberspring’s approach is much different and looks to borrow everything as long-term debt from the start and pay “both principal and interest immediately,” according to the memo. Finance Committee Chair ErSee FIBER PROJECT on page 4
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