LEYDEN — Members of the Public Safety Advisory Committee are inviting residents to Town Hall on Wednesday to inform them about their work over the past five months as they prepare to undertake a feasibility study for the town’s public safety departments.
Residents will get a chance to meet consultants from the University of Massachusetts Boston’s Collins Center of Public Management, which is partnering with the town through a $187,000 Efficiency and Regionalization grant awarded in March. Wednesday’s information session will start at 6:30 p.m.
“This is an opportunity for the people of Leyden to come and hear what our committee has been doing, to hear what we have learned so far and to meet some of the staff of the Collins Center,” said committee member Jack Golden. “It’s also an opportunity for citizens to share their thoughts and solutions to our public safety goals. We want to hear what they want in terms of policing, fire coverage and emergency medical service.”
The feasibility study will evaluate the town’s existing public safety services and will identify alternatives for meeting the community’s needs, which could involve sharing services with other towns.
Golden said this information session will help the town kick off the study as it undertakes the “daunting” challenge of managing the increasing costs of public safety.
“This has been a challenging year for Leyden, and hopefully now we’re reaching a point where we can all come together in a positive way to solve the problems that all small towns face,” he said. “It’s an important time to have (residents’) voices heard as we begin the study of these issues.”
Golden said residents can expect quite a bit of time will be spent discussing the Police Department as that is one of the key issues in town at the moment. The department’s longtime chief and captain both retired in October, and the town has been working on an interim shared policing agreement with Bernardston since then.
Policing, Golden said, is “an area of need for us in terms of change,” but the discussion and feasibility study will look at all public safety services in town.
“Public safety is a critical part of our town,” Golden said. “We’re at a point of transformation and we’re asking residents to come and be part of the process.”
Any Leyden residents who have questions for the Public Safety Advisory Committee are encouraged to submit them to publicsafety@townofleyden.com.
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.