Page 11 - BusinessWest September 28, 2020

In person or at home...learning is back!
See how
WILBRAHAM & MONSON ACADEMY opened safely and successfully at
www.wma.us/back.
active. I think people are happy to have that option, whether it’s curbside pickup or being able to go out and have a meal outside the home. That’s a big thing for people these days.”
As the town continues to develop a Route 20 renovation plan — including widening driving lanes, adding sidewalks and bike lanes, and more — business continue to see it as an attractive destination, Smith and Pearsall said. That bodes well for 2021, when the process of getting anything permitted in town — and, let’s be honest, life in general — promises to be slightly easier.
Center of Activity
Most schools throughout Western Mass. are currently teach- ing students remotely. But not Wilbraham & Monson Academy, which launched an ambitious plan earlier this year — including
Jeff Smith says getting town business done during COVID-19 has been more challenging than usual, but projects continue to be
approved.
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everything from reconfiguring buildings to implementing strict safety guidelines — to bring students back to campus.
“We worked extensively as a town with WMA to reopen
and allow students back,” Smith said, recalling Head of School Brian Easler working the Planning Board, Board of Health, and Board of Selectmen to produce a comprehensive plan to get students back safely for in-person learning. “I was surprised at the lengths they went and the protocols they put in place to get reopened.”
“We were happy
to see them open because they provide a real anchor to the town center.”
The town had a stake in the plan that went beyond what was best for students and their families, Pearsall said. “We were happy to see them open because they provide a real anchor to the town center.”
It’s a center that has long been the subject of speculation. Two years ago, an effort to allow a mixed-use development in the area of Main and Springfield streets failed to garner the necessary two- thirds approval at a town meet-
ing, falling short by about a dozen votes. Since then, town officials have struggled to balance the
need to fill vacant buildings with general pushback when it comes to change.
Currently, two vacant buildings at the corner of Main Street and Burt Lane have been slated for demolition and develop- ment, Smith said.
“We’ve been working at least the last two years with the owner of the property and getting something viable in place for those buildings,” he told BusinessWest. “If everything goes as planned, that will be a
major change in the way
the town center looks. The
BusinessWest
COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT
SEPTEMBER 28, 2020 11
Wilbraham
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