Rec. department becomes passport-processing site

Longmeadow this past fall introduced an unusual feature to its parks and recreation department: the processing of U.S. passports.

Municipalities that issue passports typically have done so through the office of the town or city clerk. But the U.S. State Department, as part of a review following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, stopped authorizing new permits for government offices that also issued birth certificates, out of concern about documents being manipulated. Town and city clerk offices that were already issuing passports prior to the 2003 directive were allowed to continue doing so.

On May 1, however, a new State Department directive will require that a passport program be located “in a separate physical space from birth document issuance functions,” with separate staffing.

Longmeadow was not among the cities and towns that have used the clerk’s office as a site for processing passport applications. According to Longmeadow Town Manager Robin Crosbie, the idea of having the Parks and Recreation Department process passport applications was appealing as a way to enhance customer service while generating some extra revenue. The town receives $25 for each of the 10 to 15 passports that are processed in a typical week.

“The other part of it is that people love it,” Crosbie said, noting that parents can apply for passports at the same time they are enrolling their kids in recreational programs. Parking, she said, is plentiful, and the service attracts residents from neighboring communities, including Springfield and Enfield, Conn.