EAST?LONGMEADOW – The East Longmeadow Town Council met on Sept. 11, upon which time Town Manger Denise Menard offered an update on a series of topics discussed in the town, one of them being the towns highly debated trash pick–up concerns.

$16,500 Grant

Menard shared that the town was awarded a $16,500 grant through the sustainable materials recovery program. She noted that this has to do with reducing waste and increasing recycling. Additionally, Menard said she believed last years grant was around $13,000, and that she believes the town’s efforts may be increasing in recycling which explains the added funds.

New Homes

At the Aug. 21 Town Council meeting, Menard was asked how many new homes were built in the last year.

Though she wasn’t able to provide statistics on 2018, in 2017 the Building Department reported 19 new homes were built, 14 new condos were built, and one other building which was either an industrial business or any kind of use that didn’t fall under the home or condo category.

Menard also shared the numbers for 2013, which had 41 homes, four condos and two other new constructions.

“This is a community that certainly is growing,” she said.

West Nile

Menard received a notification from the State Department of Health that there are four new human cases of West Nile virus reported in the state. She said that this means the human totals for the state are up to eight or nine, and while she doesn’t believe any are located in a close community, Menard encouraged townspeople to be aware and cautious.

$33,528 Premium Credits

The town has received $33,528 in premium credits in workers compensation and property insurance costs applicable to premiums for next year. Menard explained it as “sort of a discount, sort of a reward,” and that it came from being proactive in trying to reduce workers compensation claims.

Menard continued, stating that there is a priority to do more training for town employees and that they are hoping to host training in–house to give other communities the opportunity to come to East Longmeadow and see what the town is offering while still keeping their employees in town.

Walgreens Vaccinations

Menard announced that the town has entered into an agreement with Walgreens, and they will be providing flu shots, pneumonia shots and TDap shots on Oct. 10, 2-6 p.m. in the Town Hall parking lot. The shots will be provided to all those who participates at no cost.

Republic Services Waste Disposal

Members of the Health Department met with Menard and Republic Services, East Longmeadow’s trash company, to discuss the issues that the town has been dealing with related to their services. Republic told Menard that they have made a number of staffing changes that they believe will help address the townspeople’s concerns. Also, Republic has agreed to meet jointly with the Health Department and Menard every 60 days to keep on track.

After a question from a Town Council member, Menard addressed concerns of the blue stickers that have been popping up on resident’s trash around town.

“Our contract has always said that the trash company will only accept 35 gallons of trash from any residential property, anything over that has to be in a green bag,” Menard explained. “They [Republic] haven’t enforced that.”

Menard continued, sharing that the town didn’t have clear answers why the trash budget has been going up year after year, and come to find out, not only was Republic taking copious amounts of trash from residential homes over the 35-gallon limit, but they also were taking trash from small businesses. She noted that the blue stickers were a way for people to begin to be educated on the process of waste removal moving forward.

“Anyone who gets a sticker gets a letter from the town that says here’s why you got the sticker, here’s what you can do,” she said.

Menard stated that Rocky’s is in possession of 35-gallon trash buckets, so if residents are looking for a place to purchase the regulation buckets, they can be found there.

Republic is not conducting the stickering on each route every day, as it is time consuming for the drivers. Menard did explain, however, that on each blue sticker there should be something checked off to explain to a resident why their garbage wasn’t taken. Additionally, the town will receive a copy of a picture of the barrel with the blue sticker.

“There will be a high level of detail,” she noted.

Meeting with Hampden

On Sept. 10, Department of Public Works Superintendent Bruce Fenney met with Menard and Rick Green from Hampden’s Planning Board to discuss possible sewer and water expansion to Hampden. Green had requested the meeting with Menard, and she said she was willing to listen to his concerns and ideas. Menard explained that Hampden is looking to the future and finding a plan for their community. Fenney told Green that Hampden should look into doing a line straight from Springfield, and Menard suggested that Green talks to the DEP, to which she alluded Green believed to be great ideas. She continued, stating that she thinks this meeting was “a discovery piece” and that certainly if she and Fenney were asked to attend a planning meeting in Hampden for further discussion they would happily do so.