Bruuer Pond in the 90's-early spring

Here are some "vintage" photos of the pond circa 1994-1997 taken by myself.

Bruuer Pond in the 90's- Winter

I found some "historical documents" in my closet of photos of the pond through the 90's, most likely 1994-1997

This one below is my favorite because I can see my shadow and in the background between the trees you can see the birdhouse in it's second location. The first was on the other side of the stream. The white bridge across the stream is also in the photo!

Shout Out in Article about the Town Meeting!

Wow, gosh, I feel famous being mentioned in a recent article in the Wilbraham-Hampden Times. Thanks Jennifer Powell for having my back! The birds thank you too.

http://www.wilbrahamtimes.com/flipbooks/wht052214/index.html

This is from that page 7 article above:

Awwww "fending off the wolves for the sake of purple birds" is what I live for. I'll be doing a whole lot more of that in grad school. This was just a warm up! 

There was no way I was going to back down, cave in, or give up. I was a total pushover most of my life until a few years ago when I started defending funding for environmental organizations when I lived in California. When you care about a cause there is an inner strength that comes out.

Bruuer Pond May 22, 2014 Visit

I visited the pond today to check out what birds are nesting or have had babies. I saw several Ducks and Grouse! There were a few Crows I couldn't get a picture of. The trails are getting a wee bit overgrown but was so happy to see so many saplings! There is a plan from the engineering dept. in Wilbraham to clean up and beautify the pond, which I am extremely excited about. Thank you to those who voted for that CPA funded project at the town meeting!

Can't wait to see the baby birds soon!

The birdhouse in in there...somewhere

Other views of Bruuer Pond/Sevey Park:

Wilbraham-Hampden Times article mentioning the town meeting

Wilbraham-Hampden Times article featuring the birdhouse. The town meeting was interesting and a valuable learning experience. I had no idea my birdhouse would be so controversial.

http://www.wilbrahamtimes.com/pdfs/wht05.15.14.pdf

Town Meeting Decision Made-Voted Yes!

The Wilbraham Town meeting voted Yes for the project but not after a heated debate that left me shocked

If you attended and voted Yes, Thank you!

There was a long discussion about my bird house project. I wish more town members had read my blog or I needed to take the steps to make them more aware of it.  I was asked why this project wasn't an Eagle Boy Scout project. I had a legit answer to that question, I asked a local scout leader who was interested in his troop possibly maintaining the house, cleaning it out and weeding around the base. My entire budget was scrutinized. Yes $900.00 may seem like a lot for a birdhouse. The CPA funding allows for labor to be considered and that was the bulk of my budget. The rest was for specialty supplies. I had my budget approved by the town committee. I want this structure to last a long time.

I realized I wouldn't back down though.

I've learned from this experience to try and explain better WHERE the funding is coming from as the audience seemed confused and some were pretty angry. 

If you voted no and found this site after please read and come to the dedication day in April 2015. I'm actually a pretty funny and forgiving person.

Here are the details so if anyone is curious about CPA or is interested in pursuing one of these themselves, they have all the information:

Community Preservation Association Details

http://www.communitypreservation.org/

CPA is a smart growth tool that helps communities preserve open space and historic sites, create affordable housing, and develop outdoor recreational facilities. CPA also helps strengthen the state and local economies by expanding housing opportunities and construction jobs for the Commonwealth's workforce, and by supporting the tourism industry through preservation of the Commonwealth’s historic and natural resources.

Over a decade of work went into the creation of the CPA; it was ultimately signed into law by Governor Paul Cellucci and Lieutenant Governor Jane Swift on September 14, 2000. Read more about the history of CPA.

CPA allows communities to create a local Community Preservation Fund for open space protection, historic preservation, affordable housing and outdoor recreation. Community preservation monies are raised locally through the imposition of a surcharge of not more than 3% of the tax levy against real property, and municipalities must adopt CPA by ballot referendum. View a map of all CPA communities, or learn more about CPA adoption.

The CPA statute also creates a statewide Community Preservation Trust Fund, administered by the Department of Revenue (DOR), which provides distributions each year to communities that have adopted CPA. These annual disbursements serve as an incentive for communities to pass CPA. Learn more about the distribution amounts received to date by CPA communities.

Each CPA community creates a local Community Preservation Committee (CPC) upon adoption of the Act, and this five-to-nine member board makes recommendations on CPA projects to the community’s legislative body. To explore CPA projects completed to date, visit our CPA Projects Database.

Property taxes traditionally fund the day-to-day operating needs of safety, health, schools, roads, maintenance, and more. But until CPA was enacted, there was no steady funding source for preserving and improving a community's character and quality of life. The Community Preservation Act gives a community the funds needed to control its future.

CPA Accomplishments To-Date

• 155 communities have adopted CPA (44% of the Commonwealth’s cities and towns)
• Close to $1.2 billion has been raised to date for community preservation funding statewide
• Over 6,600 projects approved 
• Over 7,300 affordable housing units have been created or supported
• Nearly 19,200 acres of open space have been preserved
• Over 3,200 appropriations have been made for historic preservation projects
• Nearly 1,000 outdoor recreation projects have been initiated

Wilbraham Town Meeting to vote on Project Funding May 12, 2014

I am article 28! So excited!

The meeting starts at 6:00 with a fair of clubs and organizations in the area followed by the town meeting. I am not speaking about the bird house unless asked questions. They want this meeting to move along as fast as possible and will just list the CPA projects.

The Old Birdhouse has a Tenant!

I went down to the pond yesterday to find a red bird had made a nest in one of the rooms. I was surprised it was still being used! I hope I can get a picture of the bird so I can identify it.

The View Across the Street

Bruuer Pond in the Snow!

I just wanted to share some pictures of the pond in the snow. I have to trek down there and see if there are any cool bubbles trapped in the ice. I used to skate on this pond as a kid. The pond isn't ever really deep, maybe two feet in the middle.

Dropping off Community Preservation Coalition Funding Forms

I dropped off the Community Preservation Coalition Grant forms (all 11 copies) in late January and will know officially if the proposal is accepted in May 2014. The funds will be granted in October 2014!!!

SO EXCITED!!! HURRAY FOR THE BIRDS!!!