Mayor Will Reichelt shared a post.

3 days ago

Town of West Springfield
Wondering what Community Development actually IS after we announced Community Development Week yesterday? Watch this video to find out what the Town uses Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for - and why!

Highlights:
Community Development is a different framework for economic development, looking at increasing the upward mobility of residents rather than bricks and mortar.

We spend money in three "buckets" to achieve this goal - all within the Southeast Target Area (Merrick, Memorial, and some of Sand Hill neighborhoods), which is selected utilizing federal census data.

1. Housing : incluing first time homebuyers classes, downpayment assistance, santiary code enforcement, and housing rehabilitation, in order to ensure clean and safe neighborhoods, as well as preserve affordable housing options.

2. Anti-Poverty : social services to address issues that our community faces, including ESL classes, our Refugee Resource Center, Boys and Girls Club scholarships, Head Start Support, and many more. These programs aim to give residents the tools they need to thrive!

3. Infrastructure : street, sidewalk, park, and water/sewer improvements utilizing federal funding rather than our local tax funds, allowing for a focused approach to improving infrastructure within our neediest neighborhoods.

Over the past five years, West Springfield has used CDBG funds to...
- Invest over $4 million in our community overall
- Improve infrastructure with over $1 million locally
- Achieve over 5,000 code enforcement 'touch points' - leading to safer and cleaner neighborhoods
- Improve housing through rehab for over 200 residents
- Help over 1,500 residents through social services like ESL, job training, and Boys and Girls Club summer camp

If you have ideas of how you'd like to see CDBG monies utilized - speak up! Public participation is at the heart of this practice. You can contact the Community Development Office at 413-263-3044 or Director Morgan Drewniany at mdrewniany@tows.org. ... See MoreSee Less

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Mayor Will Reichelt

3 days ago

This Week In West Side

Tuesday: School Committee at 7PM in the Auditorium & Online

Wednesday: Partnership for Education Trivia Night at the Dante Club; email Acting Assistant Superintendent Kevin McQuillan at mcquillan@wsps.org if you're interested in putting together a team.

Thursday: MassDOT public hearing on the resurfacing of Route 5. Hearing is happening at two times an afternoon (1 to 3PM) and evening (6 to 8PM) session. Both will address the same project but aimed to get the widest audience, we also plan to stream this hearing online.

Friday: New Avengers movie comes out...

Saturday: West Side Clean Up Day at the Morgan Road Pavilion at 8:30AM then the Steele Relays at Clark Field at 10AM. We’ll also be hosting the annual Drug Take Back Day at Town Hall from 10 to 2PM. More information on the Clean Up/Earth Day celebrations later this week.

Sunday: Open House at the Mosque on Amostown from 3-6PM

Any questions? Have a great week! ... See MoreSee Less

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