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> Opinion > Letters To The Editor > Imagine
I fear we have lost the opportunity of a lifetime.
I fear we have lost the opportunity of a lifetime in regards to the decision made at the East Longmeadow Special Town Meeting on Oct. 27 to not buy the Goldstein farm as "Open Space." I understand, and respect the decision made in the purest form of self government, the town meeting, but am disappointed that more people could not see the upside of this purchase.
With your eyes full open imagine one or more of the following:
1. Imagine the historic commission taking over responsibility for the barn on the property, and perhaps with grant money, converting the ground floor to meeting space, and maybe the loft area to a teen center for our children and grandchildren.
2. Imagine the conservation commission taking responsibility for the windmill, and again perhaps with grant money making it a showcase for wind energy, demonstrating to our children and grandchildren that wind power is not a 21st century idea, but that it has been around for hundreds of years, supplementing available energy.
3. Imagine the laughter of children playing lacrosse on a surface where the ball rolls across the top of grass, instead of bouncing haphazardly on an uneven dirt surface with exposed manhole covers directly in front of the goal.
4. Imagine a bike and/or walking trail around the perimeter where you and your children and grandchildren might spook a deer, a turkey and/or a pheasant or spot a peregrine falcon atop a tall tree looking for food.
5. Imagine the statue of our quarryman taken from a spot where few people go and being placed besides the old quarry on the property with several pieces of brownstone placed nearby.
6. Imagine our children and grandchildren playing soccer on a field that did not have a 15 percent rise in grade from one side to the other.
7. Imagine the Norcross house relocated near the barn on the property and/or the little red school house forming a microcosm of an East Longmeadow lifestyle from long ago.
8. Imagine walking along the stream looking for a deep hole to drop your fishing line, and sitting there with your children and grandchildren sharing fish tales such as those you might have shared with your parents or grandparents.
9. Imagine a raised environmentally safe boardwalk through the wetland where you and your children or grandchildren can walk and perhaps spot a bullfrog, a newt or a salamander, or a rare or precious flower.
10. Imagine a series of modern windmills swooshing and generating alternative power that can be introduced into the grid, thus saving energy costs.
11. Imagine solar power units perhaps raised above the wetland area serving as another source of alternative energy.
12. Imagine children and adults skating on an ice rink fed by the clear water of the nearby stream, and underground refrigerants powered by the wind or solar energy.
13. Imagine children playing baseball in the outfield without having to worry about risking injury from the ball taking a bad hop in a pock marked surface.
14. Imagine a circular staircase rising within the silo on the property to an observation deck, or a reading room where you can take in the peacefulness of open space and watch a sunrise on a clear morning or sunset on a clear night.
Now, close your eyes and imagine that none of this happened, but instead you and I are at a Special Town Meeting considering a 2 1/2 override to make up for a shortfall in the annual budget because of the three new cul-de-sacs on the property that have introduced 50 new children to the school system, and the fact that we are facing a $300,000 per year deficiency in our town expenditures.
One more thing:
Imagine that I waxed this eloquent on the floor of our special town meeting the other night. Oh never mind, even I can't imagine that.
Ned Obernesser
East Longmeadow
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