Sharon Update

                                                        --- News from the Source---

12-17-2006

Where's George?

Last night Mr. Bailey appeared before the Historical Commission to persuade them to vote against the MBNA proposal to purchase the 11.2 acre parcel between Billings and Glendale/Glenview Roads. Last week he was again before the BOS with the same purpose. He has also been appearing all over Town- before FinCom and the Selectmen on every opportunity pushing and plotting to get this proposal denied.

Does he have a personal agenda regarding a certain individual who has fought for decades to save this last piece of open space in the densely populated Town Center from inappropriate development?

When he cast the deciding vote of the CPC resulting in the 3-3 decision against this proposal on November 1, was he acting as a representative of his appointing Board, the Selectmen? or himself? When asked by the Advocate after the November 28 BOS meeting why he had not informed the members of the BOS about the successful efforts of the MBNA to lower the price from 1.15 million to 850K before the CPC vote on November 1 he suggested it wasn't his job to inform them.

What exactly is the job of the Chairman of the CPC anyway? I am confused. Is it to call the developer and suggest to him other ways to access and develop this land? Is it to suggest that certain individuals who sought court opinion and relief regarding a "stub" next to her property should be "punished" and the Town take this land by eminent domain.?

Or is it to provide an objective forum to review the merits of a worthy proposal that meets the very criteria the CPA was designed for?

I'm confused.

11-05-2006

Shannon, Ye Hardly Knew Us

The news that Shannon Daggett was finally relieved of her duties at The Sharon Advocate came as no surprise to anyone who has actually read the paper expecting news or dealt with her expecting an actual journalist (much less an editor). She was quickly co-opted into censoring out of the paper the criticism of a select few, and willingly creating false “news” and editorials attacking others.

Had she bothered to visit the town on more than a handful of occasions and actually get to know the people she was supposed to be covering, perhaps she might have turned around a newspaper from what has become a rag. Alas, she’ll have to do a little soul-searching and decide if she wants to learn a modicum of journalistic integrity in her next job.

Her parting ramble on the Advocate Editorial page was surprisingly candid – she made it clear she never learned her way around town (both literally and figuratively), was lazily contented to receive all of her news and opinions from a handful of people, considered moving the Advocate’s office from Needham to Norwood as being local to Sharon (and to think the Sharon Advocate was once actually operated in Sharon!), and didn’t have a single insight to offer us.

Sharon is a wonderful town with many wonderful people. It’s a shame the Advocate insists on doing the bidding of petty politicians.

11-05-2006

Selectmen Chastised for Poor Communication at Brickstone “Hearing”

November 1^st witnessed the latest marketing presentation by Brickstone. Having tried previously to convince area residents that us knowing more about them is somehow more important that them knowing anything about us (note to Brickstone: if you want to learn anything about the Town of Sharon and what its residents want, you’re going to have to meet with people beyond the Selectmen and the Executive Secretary), they proceeded to try to impress residents of Bay Road that their nifty-looking cartoon showing no traffic or safety concerns was somehow a better reflection of reality than the personal experience of Bay Road residents who have regularly assisted victims of traffic accidents and injuries occurring on this winding scenic country road.

Residents of Stoughton, Canton, and Easton were also in attendance and chastised Mr. Heitin for not even thinking to reach out to surrounding communities who would be heavily impacted by the extraordinary development proposed by Brickstone.

Most troubling perhaps was Heitin’s claim, late in the hearing, that Brickstone is unwilling to sell the land to the Town. If true, then the current Board of Selectman has somehow managed to negotiate away an option that Mr. Spagat voluntarily offered the Town in a first meeting with then-BOS Chair David Grasfield and ConCom Chair Peg Arguimbau shortly after acquiring the property. Given Heitin’s (and Gelerman’s) failure to secure a simple P&S from the Striars for Rattlesnake Hill despite what was purported to be months of conversations (look for a substantive record of them, other than the inflated bills from Gelerman’s office … we dare ya!) – and in contrast to the ConCom’s success in securing a $12M P&S just months prior, this is very troubling.

Also suspicious was the non-response to the final question posed by Richard Mandell who asked the BOS if they or any town employee had had secret meetings with Brickstone and/or received any plans or proposals from the developer. All three members of the Board of Selectmen turned suddenly silent, shrugged, and looked to Town Counsel Dick Gelerman (see “Legal Seagull” below) to answer for them! Boys, do you really need to pay Dick $120/hour to claim that HE isn’t aware of any meetings that you’ve had (I believe the Nixon administration called this silly ploy “plausible deniability”) and then explain the formal Freedom of Information Act request process?! Do we really need to sue our own town government to get simple answers to simple questions? That’s supposed to be the purpose of public meetings. It makes even the average citizen wonder what the Selectmen are trying to hide.

11-05-2006

Community Preservation Act – The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Community Preservation Act began with a noble-sounding purpose – the preservation of communities. Being crafted by politicians, however, that “preservation” quickly grew beyond preserving open space and historic buildings, to the recently oh-so-popular “affordable housing” (at least, as the State defines it, not as a real person trying to afford housing would) and the ever-popular, or populist, category of recreation. And that, sadly, is The Good part.

Being the product of the Massachusetts State Legislature, such a noble seed quickly shows how good sound bites can produce bad results. Like a mugger who offers to return a small portion of the contents of your own wallet if you simply thank him profusely for his “generosity,” the Legislature shrewdly crafted a scheme whereby, not only would they raise fees (in this case those paid at the Registry of Deeds, i.e., by folks trying to buy property affordably), they would make it so that you actually had to vote to raise your own taxes via a surcharge if you wanted to get some portion of your own money back! That’s Bad, plain and simple. 

What viewers of Sharon Cable finally had the opportunity to see this past week, however, was The Ugly. When the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) was formed, George Bailey shared his vision of the perfect process for adjudicating such an important resource  Unfortunately, all the presentations about thoughtful safeguards to ensure prudent oversight of these precious funds and all of the months of painfully tedious meetings went swiftly out the window when the BOS, in their perennial style, claimed an 11^th hour, super-secret, need that was supposed to trump the fiduciary responsibility of the CPC.  Thank heaven for the thoughtfulness of at least a couple of the CPC members as Robert Young and Peg Arguimbau demonstrated profiles in courage amidst a predetermined drama.

It’s not simply that the CPC supported the Horizon’s For Youth acquisition – at the proverbial 11^th Hour, without an application even having been submitted, despite Mr. Bailey’s supposed protective process – it was the absolutely GROSS double standard to which the Massapoag Brook Neighborhood Association was subjected that will make any viewer of the proceedings sick for the sad state of our little democracy (but please don’t take our word for it – view the meeting yourself via the Sharon Cable replay). One neighborhood was strung-along, grilled, critiqued, nay-sayed, and eventually abandoned, while another was given a free pass without details or even an application. At the CPC’s second meeting in a week – the result of that supposedly rigorous process that requires a confirming vote – confirmation was given despite an ongoing vacuum of communication from the BOS as to the actual value and intended use of the lands that the CPC funds would be paying for within the larger parcel. There were troubling hints as to what has clearly been discussed behind closed doors for future use, re-use, development, and exploitation of the remainder of the parcel.  Is it really the purpose of the CPC to spend $1M+ dollars that we “proactively” taxed ourselves to preserve 4.6 acres of wetlands that can’t be developed anyway? That’s the kind of acreage that the ConCom, to their great credit, usually protects for free or minimal dollars. Which leaves the very desirable 4.65 acre waterfront parcel (also containing significant water-related setbacks) – is there anyone who would pay $1.2M for what is, at most, 2 buildable lots in the 2-acre zoning that exists? (Yes, you can always raise the specter of a 40B, but given how many monstrosities are already queued up ahead of this land, we have more to fear from the Selectmen than we do from Mr. Intoccia at HFY … unless they’ve already worked out a deal with him to develop the land that they just won’t get around to telling you about until after the Debt Exclusion vote.

What’s lost by the questionable deliberations of the CPC? For the moment, probably the chance to preserve a 10+ acre parcel in the environmentally-sensitive center of town (where the zoning is ½ acre lots, by the way). Even more importantly perhaps, what’s lost to anyone who watches the CPC “make sausage” in their meeting of 10/24/06 is the notion that committees, initiated by noble-sounding state statutes, and who can point to their frequent meetings and impressive looking procedures and regulations – can be trusted to produce good and fair government unless and until they are led and populated by people of good will and integrity. To his credit, Robert Young challenged the group, asking: “Am I the only one who’s disturbed that the Board of Selectmen didn’t come to us at any point in the last several months?” But perhaps Arnie Cohen said it best when he replied: “It’s really horrible that it’s being presented to us this way, but that’s the way it is.” Business-as-usual for the BOS and their selected representatives.

HFY deserves to be preserved … CPC doesn’t. This one was ugly!

08-31-2006

Override Talk Already

Last night was the first School Committee meeting of the 06'-'07and we pick up right where we left off after the defeat of last May's override. If this was any indication of the year to come, attention everyone, hold on to your wallets. Fees are going up for bus riders and recreation users. Fees for Drama, Chess Club and other extracurricular activities are on the table. When pondering what Town money might still be available for this year Now part-time Superintendent Jackson said only $500K would make a difference.

The hand wringing or should I say doom and gloom goes on. Even after the Reserve Fund transfer of last June for $300,000 to cover their deficit. Even after they received an additional $289,000 of unexpected circuit breaker funds for special ed. What did they do? Immediately spend over $200k to hire back staff. Where will the money come to pay the health insurance for these people? From our pockets.

One item that wasn't discussed last June or last night was the new teacher contract. Rumor has it that the raises total 3% for 3 years, minimum. A great negotiation you say? Not one word about adjusting the health insurance plan like the Selectmen have begun to do in their sector. Not after the Finance Committee showed where the town could save $1,000,000 a year just by making the insurance benefit more in line with what you and I have. Don't expect any other town unions to step up now and be reasonable when they see the school contract.

But the best part of the evening was to hear that planning for an override next May is underway. The figure thrown by new School Committee member Glen Allen was $2 million dollars.

As I said hold on to your wallets. Better yet, Plan now to attend next May Town meeting and Election. Let them hear from you, again. And plan to bring a friend or two.

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Last modified: 10/08/07