Southwick Selectmen Joseph Deedy, left, and Russell Fox, right, discuss improvements that will be made to the Southwick War Memorial with State Rep. Nicholas Boldyga, second from left, and State Sen. Michael Knapik, second from right, this morning. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
SOUTHWICK – The town War Memorial will receive accessibility improvements this year thanks, in large part, to funding from the state’s community development fund.
State Sen. Michael Knapik (R-Westfield) and state Rep. Nicholas Boldyga (R-Southwick) met with selectmen Russell Fox and Joseph Deedy at the memorial this morning to announce that $25,000 would be given to the town for upgrades.
Following this year’s Memorial Day ceremony, the town was made aware that the state-installed sidewalks on College Highway triggered the need to bring the War Memorial up to code. The memorial is located on the grounds of the Southwick Congregational Church at the corner of Depot Street and College Highway.
“This is a good day for Southwick,” said Fox, noting that after improvements the memorial “is going to be even better.”
Building and Grounds Director John Westcott said he has already hired engineers to design a plan for accessibility. A concrete sidewalk that circles the memorial and has walkways from the memorial to the sidewalk, and from the memorial to the church parking lot where there is handicap parking, is a major component of the improvement.
“The sidewalk apron will be much bigger,” Deedy said.
“We’re going to go even further than what’s required to make it easier for the Gold Star mothers to be escorted, as well as for wheelchairs,” added Fox.
Knapik said he and Boldyga were happy to collaborate to bring the state and town together.
“The legislature created a program two years ago to help communities with their war memorials and monuments and Nick and I were looking to see if there was something we could do for Southwick,” said Knapik.
Boldyga said he has attended numerous services at the Southwick War Memorial and he has seen the difficulty people have in traversing the narrow gravel pathway.
“We have veterans come to the memorial and they are sometimes disabled and have difficulty,” said Boldyga. “This will be great for accessibility.”
Westcott said once the design is submitted, he will give copies to the church and local American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars chapters for review. Fox said the project would likely be done this fall.
“Hopefully it will be completed in time for Veteran’s Day,” he said.
In addition to the $25,000 from the state, a $5,000 grant will also be used toward the cost of improvements.
