SOUTHWICK — Education and outreach were two themes that came out of a presentation by the chair of the Master Plan Implementation Committee, which updated the Select Board on what master plan goals have been reached since the committee was established.
“The end result was, everyone was in agreement that education was the goal. There’s a lot of [what] you called clutter in some of those recommendations, and that’s what I’ve been trying to stress to you guys,” said Select Board chair and MPIC member Diane Gale to her fellow board members after the MIPC chair Norm Cheever finished his presentation.
Gale specifically answered questions Select Board members Douglas Moglin and Russ Anderson have raised in past meetings about Master Plan Southwick 2040.
Anderson said at a board meeting in early October that many of the 139 original recommendations in the plan were “too detailed [and] way in the weeds,” with Moglin commenting that his idea of the plan was to look at it as a “guiding light,” but it had “evolved a little bit into some very specific metrics and some very specific tasks assigned to boards and commissions that may or may not be within their purview.”
Comments from Anderson and Moglin indicated both had slightly adjusted their views.
“I’ve had my comments in the past, some of them justified, some of them not,” Anderson said. “There was just so much information because [the MPIC] did your job so well, but it was an overload. So, I think it’ll filter out; I think it’ll shake out, and I think we’ll end up with a broad stroke, and that is a good direction.”
Moglin said, “I think some of the other items in the master plan are very achievable, very doable. And there also needs to be some outreach to say, look, a lot of this stuff is already here,” adding that he still considers the plan as guidance during his “decision-making process.”
The Master Plan Southwick 2040 details strategies developed to increase reasons for people to live, work and play in town, prepare the town for changes in the environment, provide infrastructure upgrades, encourage beautification and modernization, build upon existing brand recognition, and support renovation of historical barns and buildings to accommodate cultural events and activities.
To reach those goals, the plan has eight chapters with now 142 “actions” that cover land use, housing, economic development, historical and cultural resources, open space and natural resources, transportation, public service and town facilities, and climate change and sustainability.
Cheever’s presentation to the board was the first since the MPIC was established in December 2024, and he went through a list of items the committee has done, including holding 16 meetings.
During those meetings, the committee established a “liaison approach” to communicate with the 24 lead organizations, which are the town’s various boards and committees.
The committee also implemented a process to allow changes to the plan and a process to measure progress.
When originally approved, the plan had 136 action items, but during the year, the committee added 14 new action items: control invasive weeds, identify solutions to flooding caused by climate change, identify solutions to address extreme drought conditions, and evaluate the realignment of the culverts connecting the Middle Pond to the North and South Ponds of Congamond Lakes.
Other new items are, evaluate all town buildings and open spaces to account for changes in needs based upon technology, age and workforce changes; secure grants for license-plate readers for the police department, and find ways to control speeding on commuter routes.
The committee also realized that the action items would create burdens on some of the boards and committees, Cheever said.
“Not everybody is enthused or happy with what’s going on,” he said.
He said 10% of the members of the boards and committees said the MPIC should stay out of our business. We’ll decide what is important.’”
Half of the reactions were neutral, with comments like: “We understand, but have not figured out who will do the work,” he said.
“And then about 40% are very positive, enthused, and ‘they will get the job done, and cannot wait to help the town grow,’” Cheever said.
He then presented a list of the action items that will be completed by June 30, 2026.
The Agriculture Committee will educate landowners on how to protect their property.
The Economic Development Committee will develop a database of local businesses and populate its website with important data and events. The committee will also open a social media site.
The Conservation Commission has created an Open Space Committee.
The police department will secure grant funding for license-plate readers.
The Council on Aging has already identified safe ridesharing opportunities and increased its engagement of seniors in the Senior Center.
The Planning Board is revising the town’s zoning bylaws and will create a committee to assist it, allow the permitting of alternative housing designs like tiny homes, and limit construction until the zoning bylaws are revised.
Parker, in her role as the CAO, will establish a town-wide newsletter.
During the second year of implementation, the MPIC will assist with the completion of 12 or more action items and encourage boards and committees to modify their action items.
“We’re encouraging more and more modification to enhance the impact of the actions by removing some of the clutter that’s in the action items to make it more impactful,” for the boards and committees, Cheever said.
And lastly, “Grow our outreach communication to assure continued public taxpayer inputs,” he said.
