Southwick EDC Declares Fiscal Year Goals Met, Plans Business Coffee Series for Fall

SOUTHWICK — June 17, 2026 — Southwick's Economic Development Commission closed its fiscal year declaring two master plan action items complete and sketching out three priority goals for fiscal 2027. Chair Greg Diley announced at the June 17 meeting that a business-owner database and a social media and website foundation had both been finished and accepted by the Master Plan Implementation Committee. The commission agreed to skip its July meeting and reconvene in August, when it plans to hold a formal leadership vote that would move member Serena Fuller into the chair role. Town Planner and Economic Development Director Alvin Allen confirmed that the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission will present two competing versions of a simplified zoning bylaw to the Planning Board on July 14, with phase two — substantive rezoning of the Business Restricted zone and creation of transitional districts — contingent on a pending grant. The commission also voted to spend its remaining $830 operating budget on street signs before the June 30 fiscal year-end, agreed to pursue a quarterly "coffee with the town administrator" series modeled on a Westfield Chamber program, and backed a request to place a congratulatory town-sign message honoring IBS owner Richard Battistoni on the occasion of the business's 50th anniversary.