SOUTHWICK –The fun-filled four-day event, Southwick Days, kicked off on Thursday night. Carnival rides, delicious food, and live music were flowing through the night as expected.
Besides the usual activities Southwick Days has to offer, there was one particular organization that was on a mission of its own. Supporters of preserving North Pond on Congamond Lake, were present to show what the project means to them. Conservation Commission Coordinator Dennis Clark expressed his thoughts.
“As long as I’ve been on the Conservation Commission, this has been the number one priority,” said Clark. “Everybody on the commission is 100% in favor and realizes the value of preserving this crown jewel of Southwick.”
Conserve North Pond supporter John Whalley discusses the importance of preserving the land. (Photo by Greg Fitzpatrick)
John Whalley, who has developed the plan of finding matching donors to raise the money to preserve the land, will not rest until the goal is reached.
“I’m just determined to make this happen,” said Whalley.
Several members of the Town of Southwick, including Clark and Whalley, have named the project “Conserve North Pond”.
The official kickoff of “Conserve North Pond” was right in the midst of the festivities on Thursday night. A tent was set up with a long table, along with “Conserve North Pond” banners in big red lettering in an effort to capture the attention of the many attendees walking by.
In attempt to try to educate the community more about the importance of preserving North Pond, there was also a map of the pond and its 146 acres that it is made up of.
Just recently, members of the “Conserve North Pond” campaign were able to ride a boat through North Pond and take a video of what the area has to offer to the town of Southwick as well as the environment surrounding the pond. The video was put on display under the tent, played on a loop for people to continuously see. The computer monitors that the North Pond supporters had at their booth were provided by Whalley Computer.
Clark expressed how beneficial it was to have the official kickoff of the campaign at Southwick Days and to have their resources on display.
“Great timing, great spot to get it out there to people,” said Clark.
The kickoff to “Conserve North Pond” is just the beginning of the hard-driven project. After Southwick Days conclude the supporters will take the campaign to their new headquarters.
Located at the former Bead Shop on 491 College Hwy, “Conserve North Pond” will have its own place of business. Clark stated that the expected official opening of the store will be on August 6.
A banner was hung just under the tent to support the campaign. (Photo by Greg Fitzpatrick)
The hours of business will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The “Conserve North Pond” store will feature the map of North Pond, the re-looping video, as well as brochures created by Franklin Land Trust. Another key element that the North Pond supporters will be including is bringing interested individuals on tours around North Pond.
The tours will allow members of the community to see all of what North Pond has to offer on a daily basis to Congamond Lake.
As there is much anticipation from Whalley, Clark, and others about the official startup of the “Conserve North Pond” store, there are other factors to the campaign that still have to be addressed.
With regulatory appraisals required to be made for the North Pond property, the newest appraisal for the land is set at $4.9 million. The appraisal was conducted by Realty Advisors out of Longmeadow on July 5.
Knowing what the current appraisal is at, Whalley is now determined to start his campaign to find 20 donors to donate $50,000 each in order to help preserve North Pond.
Franklin Land Trust has been helping the supporters of “Conserve North Pond” every step of the way and is in the process of having a place for interested to donors to donate their money onto the website. People can also donate right at the headquarters.
