January 08, 2019 Meeting Minutes
Jan 08, 2019
Attendees:
Sue Carbin
Heidi Stevens
Penny Geis
Earl Meunier
Marc Freedman
Steve McDonough
Topics:
Jon Sinton book talk
David will run slides
Volunteers are asked to show up by 6:00 to help with set-up
Holiday Lights:
Electricity is turned off for the season
Need to organize removal
Pizza Party:
Possible date – March 02, March 16, March 09
Heidi will call Leeds Country Club to find out date options
Jan/Feb Newsletter pieces:
Pizza party
Green tip
Collective piece on Leeds artwork due by Jan 15
Leeds Elementary Security Meeting:
Summary ~ Mr Canata’s idea was good in theory, however NPD nixed due to too many unknown elements
LCA to consider sponsoring CPR class
Penny to look into it
Adjourn at 7:55
Ice Cream Social on the Leeds Green
by Heidi Stevens
When my grandfather was a kid, he and his buddies paid close attention to the ice man’s comings and goings. Large ice deliveries often meant ice cream making was happening. When the ice cream was ready for a big party in a fancy house it was stored on the back porches surrounded by the big ice chunks. Knowing this routine, Pop Pop and his buddies would lay in wait and be sure to get first dibs (sometimes even the whole container) of delicious homemade ice cream. He loved ice cream so much that as an adult he bought two huge freezers full of gallon containers from a shop going out of business. Ate every last spoonful too.
The Leeds Civic Association is making it easy for everyone to enjoy some delicious home made ice cream from Mt. Tom’s. You won’t have to lay in wait, just come down to the Main Street Village Green on Sunday, September 27th at 3:00. LCA members will be scooping up the good stuff. Bring your families and neighbors. The ice cream social starts at 3:00 sharp. Get it while it lasts!
City Council Chambers – Help Slow Down Cars on Main Street
More the Merrier, and More Effective the Result!
September 15, 4:00
Many Leeds residents have expressed concerns about the speeding cars on Main Street in Leeds. Children walk this route to get to school, it has a narrow bridge, and poor sight lines at both the Arch Street intersection and Mulberry Street intersection. Often cars ignore the stop sign at Mulberry altogether. Thankfully, a traffic calming application was submitted last month by Main Street resident, Jason Johnson. On Tuesday, September 15th the Transportation and Parking Commission will consider and vote on the Leeds application (whether or not to undertake a traffic study).
Resident input is important!
- Bringing small children to the meeting and talking about their safety is effective.
- Your remarks can be as long as you like, but shorter rather than longer remarks are always appreciated by the Comissioners.
- The meeting begins at 4 pm with public comment which you are welcome to speak, but it is more effective if you can wait until the agenda item is announced.
- Application discussion is almost always first on the agenda so you don’t have to wait long to hear the results of the vote.
Hotel Bridge Update
The big news from the June 1st community meeting with Workin’ Bridges project manager, Julie Bowers, is that it may be possible to move the bridge to land to make the repairs which would cut the restoration cost considerably. Questions and logistics for such a plan would need to be addressed. One of which is, if Alternative Recycling is willing to allow the bridge to be worked on for six weeks in their parking area. Julie Bowers’ initial conversation with the owner implies that it is indeed a possibility. The question of the gas line being interrupted during the lift and set would need to be addressed. Electric lines, too. The fee to research these details and logistics for the operation would cost $1,000. How the LCA moves forward will be discussed at the next LCA meeting on June 9th.
The city seems to have little interest in opening the bridge temporarily citing liability issues. Bowers will be asking DPW to have Stantec utilize the numbers that Workin’ Bridges uses for loading at occupancy which would be somewhere between 30 and 60 pounds per square foot, which is more realistic for a pedestrian bridge. Thanks to everyone who came to the meeting. A strong show of community support was important. NCTV has released a video of the meeting (see link below). Leeds Civic will continue to advocate to make Hotel Bridge a working pedestrian bridge. New people are interested in helping with grant writing and we’ll continue to fund raise. And, Leeds Civic will keep the bridge entrances looking their best. Thank you, Lora Sandhusen, for adding fresh flowers to the planters on Main Street and Water Street for the summer season.
Video of June 1st community meeting:
Pumpkin Party 2014 Photos (night)
Photos taken by Nick O
Click on thumbnail to enlarge.
Pumpkin Party 2014 Photos
Photos taken by Pamela Cobb
Click on thumbnail to enlarge.
Ward 7 City Councilor Debate Night – October 24th
Please join your Ward 7 neighbors for the debate between city council candidates, Alisa Klein and Gene Tacy. The debate sponsored by the Leeds Civic Association and NCTV (www.northamptontv.org) will be held in the Leeds Elementary School cafeteria, Thursday, October 24th from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. The forum will be moderated by Leeds resident, Penny Geis. We expect a thoughtful discussion about topics that effect Ward 7 residents.
Questions from Ward 7 residents are being collected in advance and will be passed along to the moderator to organize prior to the debate. If you have a question or concern, please consider writing it down and sending it to one of the two options listed below. Toward the end of the debate questions will be opened up to the audience. At that time, if you have a question that has not yet been addressed this will be a good opportunity to have the candidates respond.
We are very happy that our media sponsor is NCTV(www.northamptontv.org). The debate will be rebroadcast at a later date and that time will be posted on the LCA website.
Thanks for your participation!
email questions to: LeedsCivicAssoc@gmail.com
mail questions to: LCA, Box 114, Leeds MA 01053.
Memorial Day Photos 2013
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Memorial Day Ceremony, 2013 Leeds MA