Page 9 - BusinessWest July 11, 2022
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station.
“This is a benefit to every water
ratepayer and helps the town with improved water pressure,” said Fox.
Like nearly every town, Southwick has plenty of paving projects to tackle. Stinehart said town officials plan to use some of the ARPA money to fix roads in town but there’s a hitch. Budgets for road projects are set long before any paving happens.
“Because asphalt is petroleum- based, our paving projects now cost much more than we had planned,” Stinehart said. “The price inflation shortens the length of roads we can cover for that amount of money.”
As Southwick has an open-meeting form of government, big decisions are determined directly by residents.
“Everything we do must ultimate- ly be approved by the voters at the Town Meeting,” said Fox. “I tell people all the time it’s the purest form of government.”
Stinehart explained several areas where voters have decided to make investments in their community.
“We continue to expand our para- medic EMS service which is run by the Fire Department,” he noted. “We’re adding more people so we can deliver that service at the highest level.”
“It’s a balancing act that the Select Board takes
very seriously. would not want to see families who have lived in town for generations say they can no longer afford to stay here.”
Southwick is the lead community for a shared services grant to fund one full time and one part time nurse. In addition to Southwick, the nurses will cover Granville, Tolland, Blandford, Russell and Montgomery and serve
in a visiting nurse-type of role. Stine- hart explained that because of COVID, some people are still reluctant to go to medical facilities for routine treatment. With several towns taking part, the need for the service can be addressed at a more reasonable cost for everyone.
“It’s tough for one small commu- nity to budget for having a nurse on call, but with several towns paying
it becomes more affordable for each town and it’s financially worthwhile for the nurse,” Stinehart said.
When entering Southwick drivers are greeted with a welcome sign that brands the town as a “recreational community.” One notable recreation spot in town is The Wick 338, the moto- cross course that continues to grow in prominence in the sport. On July 9, the course will host the Southwick Nation- al Motocross Championship, which
will be televised nationally on NBC. “Based on ticket sales so far, the
organizers are anticipating one of the largest events ever,” said Fox. “I hope they have good weather for it.”
The town also hosts two popu-
lar golf courses with The Ranch and Edgewood Country Club. Stinehart discussed a new golf game in town that has begun to take off: disc golf.
“The folks at the New England Disc Golf Center have told us people are playing hundreds of rounds of disc golf every week,” Stinehart said. “It’s a relatively new sport that’s gaining in popularity.”
Southwick is still basking in the
glow of its 250th anniversary celebra- tion. Though 2020 was the actual year of the anniversary, COVID forced the town to delay scheduled events and create new ones. In a “making lemon- ade out of lemons” kind of way, Fox remarked that they were able to cel- ebrate the 250th for two years instead of just one.
“In 2020 we had a rolling parade where we drove floats into neighbor- hoods and then last year we held a tra- ditional parade,” Stinehart said. “We’re still selling souvenirs from the event.”
Something to Celebrate
The anniversary celebration was so
successful, the organizing committee had a surplus after all the costs were covered. That money will be used to make improvements to the town green and renovate the memorial to veterans who were Southwick residents.
“It’s a good use of the money and it will improve the municipal center of our community,” Stinehart said.
Reflecting on the anniversary, Fox said even with a two-year celebration, COVID prevented them from holding all the activities they would have liked to host.
At that point, Stinehart quipped, “Well, there will be a 275th anniver- sary.” u
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