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Feb. 13 meeting: bleachers, trash pickup, Allen Pond Dam
Visitors bleachers to go
Selectmen Feb. 13 authorized a private contractor to remove the visitors bleachers at Turco Field for reuse by the company. There is to be no cost to the town.
Town Administrator Michael Boynton said the bleachers do not meet code and noted a past liability problem with home bleachers that have since been replaced.
Boynton said he's waiting to hear back from the citizens' group that has been raising money for an artificial surface and other improvements for Turco. (Replacement of the visitors bleachers is not in the group's plans.)
The Friends of the Walpole Community Athletic Complex told selectmen at the board's Jan. 16 meeting that they are planning to award a contract in April. The project, has been re-engineered to create a $1.5 million first phase, in line with the $1.2 million in cash and pledges and $200,000 in services committed as of January. Here's the Friends' site (http://www.walpolefields.com).
Tuesday night. Boynton said the town must have assurance before the project begins that the Friends have the money to complete it.
At their meeting, selectmen awarded a $4.3 million, five-year contract to low-bidder Russell Disposal of Somerville for curbside trash and recycling pickup, starting July 1. The company gets good marks from several cities and towns including Cambridge, according to Boynton and selectmen Chairman Joseph Denneen. Its bid was $8,000 lower in the first year than the town's current contractor, Waste Management, Boynton said.
The board heard a presentation by GZA, the engineering firm hired to check Walpole-owned dams under a statewide directive issued after last year's trouble in Taunton. There are no real problems at Turner and Memorial ponds, but the Allen Pond dam needs further analysis because of spongy areas at its downstream base. Because of the homes nearby, the consultant recommends the dam be categorized as "high hazard," not because of its condition, which is "satisfactory," but because of damage potential.
Boynton noted the dam was built in the 1950s after a hurricane-swollen Spring Brook flooded downtown Walpole. A warrant article for May Town Meeting includes $60,000 for further review of Allen dam.
March 13
Walpole Woodworkers
With plans to sell its East Street property for development of 250 rental units under Chapter 40, Walpole Woodworkers will be leaving Walpole, Town Administrator Michael Boynton said at Tuesday night's selectmen meeting.
Boynton said he was disappointed that the longtime Walpole business did not sound out the town before letting officials know two weeks ago of the plans for its 16 acres on East Street. Noting how close the site is to downtown, Boynton said that "we never had a chance to come up to bat."
The situation is a "bummer," selectmen Chairman Joseph Denneen said. But on the chance the company might consider an overture from the town, the board postponed a vote on whether to endorse a study committee's recommendation to build a combined fire and police facility on Stone Field. Present at the meeting for a station discussion, the fire and police chiefs said the Woodworkers' site could be suitable for a new public safety facility.
Under the state's Chapter 40B, the anti-snob-zoning law, developers can bypass town zoning and regulations in return for setting aside 25 percent or more of the planned units for publicly subsidized housing.
"This is a big one," Boynton said at the start of a discussion that brought up the 300-unit Gatehouse 40B rental complex on Route 1 near the Foxboro line.
The choice confronting the town is whether to approach the Woodworkers' site as a 40B, he said, adding that under that process Gatehouse was denied by the town for good cause but approved on appeal by the state. The alternative is Chapter 40R, the state's smart-growth law, which encourages cooperation between the community and the developer.
"We have to make a decision as a community on what route to take... on the involvement the town may or may not have with the proposed development," Boynton said.
Police Chief Richard Stillman said that while the East Street proposal might now be for 25 percent subsidized units, that's the figure Gatehouse used before getting state approval for 50 percent. The density of the Gatehouse complex has led to "some significant problems for the community," he said.
Fire Chief Timothy Bailey said he is concerned about a proposed single way in and out of the East Street complex. And given the number of units on a site that contains wet areas, he said he's concerned about the possibility of buildings of three or more stories that pose problems for firefighters and ambulance crews.
Boynton said Woodworkers executives see an application being filed this summer for East Street. The company also would be leaving its three acres and warehouse -- the former Ingersoll Rand building -- on School Street within a couple of years, town officials said, and is looking for a smaller facility with retail space in the area.
Woodworkers executives told town officials they will be moving their manufacturing operation to Maine to be close to the source of their wood supply. The company makes upscale outdoor furniture and fixtures sold nationally through a catalogue and website.
At the suggestion of Selectman Michael Caron, the board put off a vote on a combined police and fire facility on Stone Field for two weeks to explore East Street possibility. Noting the size of the combined facility in an area where a senior center and library are planned, Caron said he didn't think he could support the facility in its current form. Selectman Al DeNapoli said he is "torn," recognizing a need for a new police station but uneasy at the prospect of "monster" buildings.
Selectmen agreed that something like the new Norwood combined fire and police station -- about the same square footage but a story higher than the Walpole proposal -- is not what they want here.
Boynton said the rationale for the combined facility is that it saves money. Given that, Selectman Christopher Timmons said, it has to be built close to downtown because that's where the fire department has to be.
Thomas Bowen, a member of the selectmen-appointed public safety facility committee, noted that its recommendation in January makes it the second panel to recommend a combined downtown facility. The first was the municipal facilities study committee, which reported on all town buildings two years ago.
What's the alternative to endorsing the plan, Bowen asked selectmen. A third study committee?
Selectmen have a placeholder article on the May Town Meeting warrant for a combined facility, which would require an override vote at a later town election to move forward.
Comment (http://www.walpolenews.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28)
1A used cars, Bill Ryan resigns, library update, reverse 911
On a 3-2 vote Tuesday night, selectmen approved a used car sales license with 11 spaces for 1391 Main St.
The application first came before the board last summer. For the board, the request raised the question whether it is more important to be business friendly or to push the transformation of Main Street (Route 1A) south of town.
Selectman Cathy Winston said the 10 used car licenses on a 1.9-mile stretch of 1A are already more than enough. She read a letter from Town Counsel that indicates that over-saturation could be grounds for rejecting an application. Chairman Joseph Denneen joined Winston in voting no. Michael Caron, Al DeNapoli and Christopher Timson voted for the license.
No station discussion
A selectmen's discussion on whether to endorse a study committee's recommendation for a combined police and fire station on Stone field was put off again. The reason this time, Town Administrator Michael Boynton said, is that when tape was placed on the ground to show the building's footprint, people were surprised at how big it would be. The police and fire chiefs will be talking it over with the architect, Boynton said.
Bill Ryan resigns
A letter of resignation from William Ryan from the station study committee he chaired and from the capital budget committee was read by Denneen at the start of the meeting. Ryan, a former selectman, wrote he was resigning because the way a town position was filled was based on politics, not fairness and honesty. The letter did not go into specifics.
Library project update
Library Director Jerry Romelczyk told selectmen that Walpole has moved up in the past year from the 40s to 26th on the list for a state grant to cover part of the costs of a new library at Stone and School Streets. With 12 to 16 communities to be told their money is ready this year, Walpole could get the word in the fiscal year that begins July 1, he said.
Walpole's grant would be $3.4 million toward what's estimated to be an $11 million project. Legislation that has a good chance of passing would add 15 percent to library grants to cover construction inflation, he said.
Once the town is informed its grant money is ready, it has six months to decide whether to accept it, he said, noting that perhaps a third of communities on the list end up not doing their projects. The Town Meeting vote could come in 2008.
An override would also be needed, perhaps for $6 million. In addition to what could be a state grant close to $4 million, library fundraisers hope to bring in $1 million in private donations, he said.
In the meantime, plans are to spend $10,000 to hire the state-required project manager and perhaps $20,000 for schematic drawings, he said, with the money coming from a trust fund, not the town.
It's expected that there will be an open competition to select an architectural firm, he said. Comments have been favorable on the current design for the library interior, but critical of what the building would like from the outside, he said.
Reverse 911
Selectmen got a presentation on a "reverse 911" emergency warning system recommended by the town's Local Emergency Planning Committee and for which $7,500, the annual cost for the service, will be requested at the May Town Meeting.
The system would allow police, fire, schools and other designated officials to send a voice message to phones townwide or on specific lists. The system could be used, for instance, to call an evacuation or notify parents of a school situation. According to the provider, it would take between five and seven minutes to get a two-minute message to every household, much less than that for a smaller message to a smaller number of homes.
The system provides for automatic repeat calls, and allows emergency personnel to ask people to confirm receipt and compliance by pressing a phone button. The system handles cell phones and allows residents with unlisted numbers to enter their information privately.
April 10: Development focus
Town Administrator Michael Boynton asked selectmen Tuesday night to back him in focusing economic development efforts on "what sits in front of our nose" -- downtown, East Walpole and the Walpole Mall.
Boynton said he wants to swing attention that's now aimed at hitting a $100 million homerun toward filling empty storefronts. "We've gotten a bit far ahead of ourselves," he said.
Boynton said he's been getting that message from members of the Walpole Chamber of Commerce. We should look at areas that are screaming for attention, he said.
In large part because of its loss of industry, Walpole has a number of areas ripe for redevelopment, he said. But residential neighborhoods have grown around much of that land, he noted. If we get bogged down in such areas, we lose focus on downtown, he said,
The one specific area he mentioned was state correction department land across Route 1A from the prison on the Norfolk town line, part of a current study by the MAPC in part to identify development possibilities
Boynton did not get into it, but South Walpole residents who favor leaving the land wooded are concerned that the next step could be an effort to extend the Walpole sewer that now ends near the industrial park south along Route 1A to hook up with some sort of major development at the former Pondville Hospital in Norfolk.
Boynton noted that state Sen. Jim Timilty, D-Walpole, is concerned that if the town gets prison land for development, it could jeopardize the mitigation money the state provides for hosting MCI Cedar Junction.
"We don't want to start something that we will be sorry for later own," Boynton said. He added he favored continuing the MAPC study because it will also be looking at the potential for the stretch of salvage yards along Route 1A.
In a non-related discussion, Boynton said that Algonquin Gas Transmission Co. is beginning the permitting process to replace its existing 24-inch pipe with 36-inch pipe from Bellingham to Weymouth. The line's route through Walpole crosses a major electricity corridor near the industrial park; a company has expressed interest in building a natural gas-fired power plant near the junction.
Without mentioning the power plant, Boynton said the increase in pipe size is not connected to any project. If the permitting process goes smoothly, work on the line would begin in two years, he said, cautioning that it could be disruptive.
Selectman Al DeNapoli reported on a meeting with Patriots officials on their plans for Patriot Place at the stadium in Foxboro. The officials were receptive to requests to underwrite added police and fire costs Walpole will incur because of the development, he said.
DeNapoli said he came away with an understanding of the "full enormity" of Patriots Place: including 14 restaurants, a 14-screen cinema and retail outlets -- a Christmas Tree Shop and Bed Bath and Beyond among them. He told the officials they're being naive in their belief that the only impact of the project on Walpole will be on game days.
The Patriots will also support exploration of turning the Interstate 95 interchange at Coney Street into a full four-way connection, he said.
Redevelopment Authority
Two selectmen objected strongly Tuesday night to a proposed Walpole Redevelopment Authority because it would be largely independent of town control.
But Paul Millette, vice chairman of the town's Economic Development Committee and Don Walsh, the town's economic development officer, responded that a WRA would allow the town to gain control of the South Street Superfund site. They say the owner is talking Chapter 40B housing and a solar power plant.
The economic development committee and board of health are backing an article on the May Town Meeting warrant that would create a WRA. The proposal is aimed at allowing the town to take the Superfund land, but under state law, a redevelopment authority cannot be confined to a specific site.
However, Don Walsh, the town's development officer, explained, under the statute, action of a WRA would have to be bound to a site-specific redevelopment plan that was approved by selectmen, the planning board and the state as well as by the WRA board.
Selectman Chris Timson said he's been getting more calls from townspeople on the WRA proposal than on any other Town Meeting issue. An attorney, Timson said he'd spent a day reviewing the law and court decisions, in part to see if the "doomsday scenario," a runaway redevelopment authority, is a real possibility.
With 50 or so communities in the state with redevelopment authorities, the one case Timson found of relevance involved a long-running dispute in Hull that left prime property on the ocean vacant for years.
The Hull Redevelopment Authority, selectmen and planning board approved a redevelopment plan that called for subsidized elderly housing on the site. Later, selectmen embraced an alternative that called for a casino and expensive housing. Selectmen told HRA board members who stuck to the original agreement that they were fired. The HRA members took their case to court and won.
As illustrated by the Hull case, the risk is that a redevelopment authority would stand by an original agreement even if other town officials see something better coming along later.
After his review, Timson said his remaining big concern is that a WRA apparently could take land by eminent domain and perform other actions within the development plan without Town Meeting funds or approval. The necessary money could come from the developer chosen for the project under the plan.
Walsh agreed with Timson's point. The intent is to avoid drawing on town funds, he said, noting that under the law, a redevelopment authority is an independent entity.
It is that independence that would allow the WRA to take the Superfund site without the town taking on any liability for a cleanup. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency supports the concept, and it's especially important because the property owner has not been cooperative, according to WRA proponents.
If it were not for the potential liability, the town could move to take the property for back taxes. Town Administrator Michael Boynton told selectmen Tuesday night the bill now totals $1.2 million.
After almost two decades of involvement, the EPA is several months away from ruling on how extensive the site cleanup will be -- a decision that will depend on what future uses are expected on the property. Tyco, the conglomerate that is expected to foot part of the bill, would be drawn to an industrial plan like a solar power plant because it would involve a less expensive cleanup than the mixed use plan by the town's Superfund committee, Millette said.
Millette, who was a member of that committee, said he would expect its thorough report would form the basis of a redevelopment plan for the site. The plan calls for municipal use (perhaps a police station,) housing and light industry.
If Town Meeting approves a redevelopment authority, selectmen would appoint four WRA board members, the state would name the fifth. In the June 2008 election, townspeople would pick four board members for staggered terms, with the effect that in future elections only one board seat would be on the ballot each year.
That arrangement would mean it could take years for townspeople to regain control of a board, Selectman Cathy Winston said. There are no checks and balances -- and only the WRA board would have the power to dissolve the authority, she said, calling that provision "frightening."
Selectmen Chairman Joseph Denneen said he's not comfortable with the WRA proposal, and that it would not be appropriate for his board or any board to give up control to an independent authority.
Walsh responded by asking how much control the town has over a property owner. A redevelopment authority would be more responsive to the wishes of the town, he said.
Selectman Al DeNapoli spoke favorably of the proposal. "There's a hue and cry for economic development, but every time something comes up, there's something that pushes it back."
Selectmen will vote whether to recommend adoption of the article before Town Meeting convenes.
Tuesday night, selectmen voted unanimously to endorse articles that would allow fast track reviews of development at the Walpole Mall and the Siemens facility, but not at the South Street Superfund site.
Those votes are in line with the finance committee recommendations. Walsh said the unwillingness of the South Street owner to participate would block fast track review for the Superfund property even if there were not other concerns.
Redevelopment Authority
Two selectmen made pointed remarks at their board meeting Tuesday, May 8 about the town Economic Development Committee's efforts to win Town Meeting approval for creation of a Walpole Redevelopment Authority. (Selectmen voted 5-0 May 1 to recommend that Town Meeting not approve the article.)
The strongest criticism May 8 came from Selectman Cathy Winston and focused on email sent to Parent Advisory Council members that urged them to forward a message to selectmen demanding that the board back a WRA as a way to bring in new development and taxes to support schools. "I am very upset by the email," Winston said, adding that EDC members apparently see their role differently than she does as a member of the appointing board.
Speaking before Winston, Selectman Chris Timson said the EDC and selectmen are "arguably, at odds" and "really need to be on the same page" on development priorities. There should be more regular contact and reporting to make sure we're going in the same direction, Timson said.
Selectmen Chairman Joseph Denneen cut off the discussion, noting that the WRA proposal would be on Town Meeting floor tonight. Denneen assured the board the issue would be discussed further and that he would have more contact with the EDC.
EDC Chairman Larry Pitman already had requested a meeting be scheduled.
In addition to the WRA proposal, the EDC is backing articles on tonight's second and likely last session of spring Town Meeting that would allow fast-track review of any development plans submitted for the Walpole Mall or the Siemens campus off Coney Street.
Selectmen and Town Administrator Michael Boynton said Tuesday night that it's a loss for the town that Christine Cochrane is no longer the photographer for the Walpole Times. Cochrane and the Times have parted company with the acquisition of the locally-owned newspaper by Community Newspaper Company, a segment of Gatehouse Media, (http://www.gatehousemedia.com) a national chain that owns more than 100 weekly and several daily newspapers in metropolitan Boston, including the Daily News Transcript, Brockton Enterprise and Patriot Ledger. The acquisition was announced last week.
As Tuesday's board meeting neared an end, Boynton and selectmen said they wanted to thank Cochrane publicly for the way her photos in the paper, "artistry in film," reflected the town. They also said thanks for all the pictures she gave the town over the years, including many in the annual Town Reports.
In addition to the loss of Cochrane, who worked for the paper for 19 years, Selectman Cathy Winston said she's saddened to see the Times "swallowed."
(As a former colleague of Christine, I too want to say how much I appreciated her photography, professionalism and good spirit. -- Tom Glynn)
At selectmen's request, conservation agent Landis Hershey on Tuesday, May 22, outlined for them he procedure that the conservation commission will be following on a proposal to build a 40B housing complex on what is now the Walpole Woodworkers site on East Street.
At her suggestion, the Fairfield Group has applied now for a decision from the commission on which portions of the property are subject to the state wetland law. The commission's public hearing on that application begins June 13.
The outcome of the application will determine how much of the property is buildable and influence how many units can be built. Fairfield will then have up to three years to get back to the commission with an application showing actual construction plans.
A consultant for Fairfield has already prepared for the commission's review a plan showing wetland lines. The consultant maintains that a stream on the property is seasonal, thus not subject to the setbacks under the state's Rivers Act.
While the state's Chapter 40B, the anti-snob zoning law, does not exempt projects from the state's Wetland Protection Act, it does exempt them from local wetland bylaws. Walpole's requirements for a 25-foot no-disturb buffer around wetlands and protection for isolated wetlands do not apply to a 40B, Hershey said.
Selectmen Michael Caron and Christopher Timson asked Hershey to convey to the commission a suggestion that a consultant be hired to review Fairfield's submissions on the town's behalf. (Usually, a developer covers the costs of such an arrangement.)
Timson said an independent consultant would help make sure the town has a solid position if the process with the Fairfield Group should become adversarial.
South Street
Representatives of the state Attorney General's office and the Department of Environmental Protection have briefed Walpole officials on the town's potential liability under state law should it acquire the South Street Superfund site for back taxes, Town Administrator Michael Boynton reported to the board. (Federal law provides strong protection against lawsuits in such situations.)
The state can offer Walpole written assurance that it would not take the town to court over issues that could arise after acquisition, Boynton said.
Selectman Timson, who was at the briefing, noted that a main concern of Chairman Joseph Denneen and other board members has been the possibility that a third party -- a private citizen -- could sue the town over a health or environmental problem if Walpole took ownership. The state offers insurance that would cover the town in such situations and would pay half of the policy cost, Timson said, adding that the price of the coverage wasn't available at the briefing.
Boynton said that the state law would make it exceedingly difficult for a third paty to prevail against the town in court -- the plaintiff would have to prove that the town actively contributed to a contamination problem, he said.
During the briefing, town officials got a message that Tyco, the potentially responsible party that could be on the hook for part of the cleanup costs, would prefer to negotiate what's to be done with the town as owner rather than with the current owner, Boynton said.
It was also mentioned that the time for such negotiations is before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issues the plan, which will specify the level of the clean-up, Boynton said.
This spring, the town's Economic Development Committee proposed that Walpole create a redevelopment authority that could acquire the Superfund site without exposing the town to liability. But selectmen and a majority of the finance committee opposed the idea, noting that a redevelopment authority would have considerable power independent of direct town control. The measure was buried without discussion at the May Town Meeting.
June 19
Stadium parking at Boyden?
Estimating that it could bring in $80,000 a year, Selectman Chris Timson asked his colleagues on the board June 19 to consider the possibility of opening the lots at Boyden Elementary School and the South pool for paid parking for Foxboro stadium events. The revenue potential for the town, Timson said, is the equivalent of the property taxes a very large commercial building pays.
Selectmen noted that town zoning for that area does not allow commercial lots. If zoning were to be changed to allow the town to charge parking fees, residents also might be able to charge to park cars on their property. A zoning change requires a two-thirds vote of Town Meeting.
Timson said the town could impose fees on private parking lots if they were allowed. Town Administrator Michael Boynton noted that some residents seem to have been charging for parking during recent football seasons.
Selectmen were not sure of the specifics, but noted that residents operated paid lots until the town shut them down several years ago. (The town enforced the zoning bylaw after getting complaints from neighbors about all sorts of problems.)
July 17
Housing production plan
A consultant working on a new zoning bylaw is to be given the added task of developing a housing production plan, a document that would give the town more control over proposals submitted under the state's Chapter 40B.
Selectmen voted Tuesday night, July 17, to transfer $17,000 from the reserve fund, subject to approval by the finance committee, to pay for the extra work.
A production plan requires approval by the state. Once approved, in any calendar year in which a town produces state or federally subsidized dwellings equal to .75 percent of its total housing, it could turn down 40B projects for 12 months after reaching that number. For Walpole, with a total of 8,200 dwellings, .75 percent works out to 62 units. For creating 123 units in a calendar year, Walpole would get a 24-month reprieve.
Under Chapter 40B, developers can bypass local zoning and other rules until 10 percent of a community's total housing is subsidized. The 472 40B units in Walpole amount to 5.8 percent of the town's total dwellings, 348 short of the state goal.
The production plan approach was adopted by the state amid growing criticism of the projects and methods of some 40B developers. Town Administrator Michael Boynton told the selectmen Tuesday night that 35 communities have sent letters backing the board's call for a moratorium on "unfriendly" 40B projects, ones planned without support or input from the community. Sen. Jim Timilty, D-Walpole, has submitted legislation calling for a three-year moratorium, Boynton said.
One advantage of a production plan is that it gives a community a better chance of heading off big 40B projects, selectmen have noted. Most of the subsidized dwellings in Walpole are in the 300-unit Gatehouse complex on Route 1.
Discussions continue with proponents of building Chapter 40B housing on the Walpole Woodworkers property on East Street. The Woodworkers told town officials in March the project could be 250 rental units.
A 16-unit 40B is under construction on Oak Street at South. Boynton said Tuesday night that there's been no word from the state on whether it will back a proposed 40B on Baker Street abutting the Walpole Country Club.
Selectmen Chairman Al DeNapoli said it makes sense to combine the zoning and production plan tasks. The state requires that a production plan show what sections of town are favored for 40B housing and what specific town-owned land could be set aside for 40Bs. Here's a link to the state plan rules.
Library plans
Selectmen approved spending $10,000 from private donations to hire a project manager, required by the state, for the proposed library at Stone and School streets. The money will cover the manager's services through January, overseeing the production of final drawings and cost estimates. Library Director Jerry Romelczyk told selectmen fundraising has been going very well.
Mitigation money
Boynton noted that Governor Patrick approved the $750,000 sought by Walpole's lawmakers and endorsed by the Legislature to compensate the town for hosting MCI Cedar Junction. Noting that last year's $750,000 went entirely to capital projects, Boynton said he's telling department heads to plan no additional hiring.
The term NIMBY (Not in My Backyard) came up in two discussions at the July 31 selectmen's meeting -- one about "Friendly" 40Bs, the other about commercial projects that would increase the town's tax base.
NIMBY arose first in a presentation by representatives of a new housing coalition that convinced Walpole selectmen to vote unanimously to join. The Municipal Coalition for Affordable Housing (MCAH) is dedicated to having communities rather than developers take the lead in creating units that count toward the state Chapter 40B goal that at least 10 percent of homes in every community be built with government subsidies.
Josh Degen, a Groton selectman, explained that the idea behind MCAH is to help municipalities head off big, inappropriate 40Bs by taking the lead in creating qualifying housing that better fits the community.
In an apparent reference to the Gatehouse apartments on Route 1, Selectman Michael Caron said that 40B creates 200- or 300-unit complexes that don't integrate into the community and that require a higher level of police response.
Degen and MCAH director Richard Heaton, a former Bolton selectman, said the way to avoid inappropriate projects is to use provisions of state law allow a community to work with developers to create "friendly" 40Bs. (In Walpole's case under one such provision, after a year in which 62 qualified units came on line, the town could say no to 40B proposals for 12 months; for 123 units, the town could get a two-year reprieve.)
As a first step, the town needs a housing production plan that among other benefits, would allow some existing housing and apartments that were built with some sort of government subsidy to be counted toward the 40B goal, Degen said. Selectmen Chairman Al DeNapoli responded that Walpole is already at work on a production plan. (The board approved $17,000 last month for a consultant to draft the plan.)
The state requires a community to specify what town-owned land it would propose for friendly 40Bs. Action under that provision, the MCAH representatives noted, is likely to bring out a NIMBY response, something a community should be prepared for.
MCAH charges no dues and imposes no obligations on its members. Its web site -- http://mcahinfo.org -- contains links to some news stories about 40B.
In addition to the vote to join MCAH, Walpole selectmen agreed to put in a plug for the association in a letter they'll be sending all communities in the state updating progress on their call for a moratorium on unfriendly 40Bs.
Commercial projects
Later in their July 31 session, selectmen met with their Economic Development Committee to talk about priorities and communication. (The meeting was called in the spring, after selectmen became vexed at vigorous lobbying by the EDC for a redevelopment authority.)
Selectman Caron noted it's easier for some proposals to win support than others -- the Walpole Mall expansion or Siemens, for instance. But other possibilities, he said, are "very contentious" -- reuse of Bird Machine or a power station, for example.
EDC member John Hasenjaeger then asked selectmen just how they would want a proposal for "a power plant or XYZ" to be focused on. "That's the million-dollar question," he said, without drawing a response.
The way it works now, Hasenjaeger maintained, is that when a proposal surfaces, people in the vicinity tend to be "vehemently" against it. They're the ones who show up at the hearings -- maybe a dozen people out of 24,000, he said.
Noting the earlier remarks regarding location of friendly 40Bs, Hasenjaeger continued that it is unacceptable to most thinking people in town that "we simply react to NIMBYs."
"How are you getting consensus so we can move forward?", he asked selectmen.
Town Administrator Michael Boynton explained that when it comes to governmental actions, everyone's a stakeholder and "you want to hear from everyone." People who own property around a proposal site have as much right as anyone to have their say, he said.
"The minute you call a stakeholder a NIMBY, you set up a project for failure," Boynton said.
Boynton indicated that events are unfolding that could determine the course of the salvage yard stretch along Route 1A south of downtown. Economic Director Don Walsh has been making headway talking to some owners, Boynton said, but also indicated that a project is being considered by one owner along the line of existing uses.
EDC member Ken Fettig said that extending the Route 1A sewer line south to the Walpole Industrial Park and the salvage yards area would help get better uses and revenues for the town. He noted that conclusion was supported this spring by MAPC staffers who took a look at the 1A stretch. Seventy-two acres of salvage yards now bring in a total of $45,000 in property taxes a year, he said.
In response to a question, Walsh said the site of the vacant blue former gas station across Main Street from the Kahana is about to see some action, if not of the intensity sought for downtown.
Discussion at the meeting gave a hint that something might be in works for the long-closed Kahana restaurant.
Consultant sought for recreation plan
Selectmen voted Tuesday night, July 31, to advertise for consultants to develop a master plan for the town's playing fields, including taking a look at three or four potential new sites.
The three potential sites listed in the request for proposals (RFP) are all town-owned: the 168-acre Adams Farm, 142 acres on the north side of South Street on either side of Washington (DPW and wells) and 33 acres at the end of Summer Street (the water tank land abutting Cobble Knoll and Concord Drives.) The RFP does not identify specific areas within the sites.
A fourth site also might be looked at: the 94-acre MWRA parcel at Main and Winter Streets next to the prison,
DPW Director Bob O'Brien told the board the list of potential sites is the result of a whittling-down process in which other locations considered over the years did not make the cut because of limitations. Allen Dam, for instance, was ruled out because the Army Corps of Engineers won't allow a field there.
But there are issues with sites that made the cut. Noting that townspeople have opposed creation of playing fields on Adams Farm, Selectman Cathy Winston questioned its inclusion in the RFP and said she would vote against such a proposal. Winston also said that the end of Summer Street is not up to handling field traffic.
Town Administrator Michael Boynton said a newly available map of the topography at the MWRA site shows that there could be some construction challenges if that property is chosen.
Boynton noted that the now-capped Lincoln Road landfill is not on the list. While the cap is designed to facilitate creation of fields, regulatory complexities mean that such a possibility is years away, he said. He also noted that the space behind Turco Field at the high school is not in the RFP, but could be revisited sometime.
At another point in the discussion, assistant Town Administrator Jim Johnson said the conversion of Turco to artificial turf now under way will have a "huge impact" on meeting the town's field capacity needs.
Parks Superintendent Bob Leblanc said that 75 percent of the consultant's work will be directed toward the existing fields -- configuration, maintenance and scheduling.
The RFP says, "The consultant shall work with representatives of various sports activities and user groups (Little League, Soccer, Softball, Lacrosse, School Department, Municipal Officials and Committee members, etc.) to gather feedback for an assessment of the Town of Walpole's present and future needs relative to parks and recreation."
The RFP envisions a consultant coming up with a recommended plan six months after signing on. Town Meeting appropriated $35,000 in May for creation of the plan.
A report by town staffers concludes that opening the Boyden school and South pool lots for paid parking for Patriots games would be break-even at best. Selectman Chris Timson, who had suggested the possibility, said at the Aug. 14 meeting that if the idea is not a money-maker or doesn't have support on the board, it's not worth spending more time on.
But in the discussion that followed, questions arose about a couple of key assumptions made in the staff analysis, and another selectman indicated he liked the idea.
The discussion ended with selectmen saying they want to hear more from the staff and will take the matter up at their next meeting.
In June, Timson estimated the town could take in $80,000 a year if it charged for Pats parking. His estimate was based on 200 spaces at the two lots.
Assistant Town Administrator Jim Johnson said at the Tuesday night (Aug. 14) board meeting that the staff analysis puts the number of spaces at 103 -- no parking on grass and no double row in the center of the Boyden lot. Town Administrator Michael Boynton said that with all the talk about fields, parking shouldn't be allowed on the grass at Boyden. Selectmen Chairman Al DeNapoli noted that spaces on grass couldn't be plowed.
Based on that number of spaces and $25 a car, the report says the revenue would just about cover operating costs, Johnson reported, not counting start-up costs. Charging for parking at Boyden would require a zoning change, he noted.
Timson wondered how the numbers would look if the town charged $40, more in line with other Pats parking. He also noted that fans' cars are squeezed in "like sardines."
Selectman David Sullivan told Timson, "I'm with you."
But Selectman Cathy Winston said South Walpole residents don't want to go back to the days when men returning to their cars urinated in the street in view of families.
Timson said that charging for parking could bring in more than a good-sized new building would pay in property taxes, noting one such proposal was to come up later in the meeting.
That proposal comes from Charles Zarba, who want to erect an office building that would replace the former Remy warehouse on Common Street just before Route 1. James Brady, his attorney, told the board the two-story building with 65,000 feet of floor space would be similar to Zarba's Executive Center next door on Route 1. C Scott's, the shop at the corner, might relocate into the new building, he said.
The new building would bring in $65,000 a year in property taxes on property that now pays just over $13,000, Brady said. He assured two neighbors that there would be a minimum of 120 feet of wooded buffer along the proposed parking lot.
Zarba is asking the fall Town Meeting to change zoning on a piece of the parcel that's now zoned residential. Tuesday night, he received a unanimous vote of the selectmen to allow a piece now dedicated as open space to be used for parking. That change requires approval of the Legislature, usually routine, Brady said.
At the close of the meeting, Boynton said the town has considerable free cash -- $4.7 million. Selectmen then went into closed session to discuss acquisition of real estate without specifying the property.
The Oct. 15 Town Meeting will not take up townwide rezoning as had been anticipated because a proposal will not be ready in time. As a result, Town Administrator Michael Boynton told selectmen Aug. 28, there could be a call for a special Town Meeting in late fall or early winter. That session also could be asked to approve a specific project under a state program aimed at promoting mixed use near train stations if the proposal is ready, Boynton said without identifying the location.
At their Aug. 28 session, selectmen closed a fall Town Meeting warrant with 12 articles.
An article from the school committee to use $166,000 in prison mitigation money for its operating budget could prompt discussion. At selectmen's meetings, the talk has been of using the money as usual for capital projects.
Selectmen have an article on the October warrant that would create a debt reserve fund from part of the town's $4.7 million in free cash. The mitigation money is part of the free cash account.
Also on the warrant is an article that would rezone land off Route 1 as part of the plan for an office building in Walpole that would replace the warehouse now used by a moving company and other business on Common Street.
An article requests Town Meeting to endorse a housing production plan that would give Walpole flexibility in meeting the state's Chapter 40B housing requirements. The production plan is not ready yet. Boynton said that as part of the effort, landlords are to be surveyed on rents.
At the Aug. 28 meeting, Boynton told the board that after years of trying, an agreement has been reached to release to the town $130,000 that can be used to help complete roadwork in the Pine Brook subdivision off Route 109. The money was deposited in the 1990s by the developer company, which no longer exists, he said.
Completion of the work is estimated to cost $125,000 beyond the $130,000. The planning board is expected to have further discussions with the residents, he said, noting that the costs could be shared.
Town Administrator Michael Boynton told selectmen Tuesday night, Sept. 11, that a group of young people have been causing problems outside Blackburn Hall. When the group, mostly 13- to 16-year-olds but with some in their 20s, has been asked to move on, the youths head for Morgan Field, the pool and elsewhere nearby. Police move them on, but they're back in 20 minutes, he said.
The youths are using profanity, smoking and acting inappropriately, at times in front of children taking part in recreation activities in Blackburn. The behavior, which includes urinating on the hall's outside walls, has been going on days and nights for about two months, he said. Efforts to reach out to the parents haven't worked so far, he said.
Assistant Town Administrator Jim Johnson said custodians are out two or three times a day cleaning up after the youths. He's been sworn at by group members, Johsnon said, and so, he added, have recreation director Josh Cole and Boynton.
Boynton said he hoped that the reopening of school might end the problem. Otherwise, at some point, parents are going to be invited to pick up their youngsters at the police station, he said, and raised the possibility of citing youths for disturbing the peace.
Selectmen voted Tuesday night on their recommendations for action on articles on the warrant for the fall Town Meeting Monday, Oct. 15.
The board went along with a change that Industrial Road not be included in a road repair article. Assistant Town Administrator Jim Johnson said that if a power plant is to be proposed at the end of the road, getting the developer to pay for roadwork could be part of the negotiations.
Selectmen endorsed another capital article that would provide $25,000 for the town-owned Deacon Willard Lewis House, site of the Walpole Historical Society's museum. The article also would provide $40,000 for sprinklers in the portable classrooms at Old Post Elementary School and up to $60,000 for planning smoke and heat detectors for Bird and Johnson middle schools.
Recommendations of selectmen are generally in line with the advice to Town Meeting from the finance and capital budget committees. The exception is the 10th and final article on the warrant that would rezone land off Common Street near Route 1 for parking for an office building proposed on the site of a moving company warehouse. Selectmen voted unanimously to recommend approval; the FinCom, after what Johnson described as a long discussion, reports it will not make a recommendation until Monday night.
The town acquired the land from Charles Zarba for overdue taxes and then sold it back to him when he was the only bidder. He plans to combine that parcel with other property he owns to create the office site, similar to his Route 1 Executive Center next door. Selectman Cathy Winston said Tuesday night that she had gotten a call from someone who characterized events as a "sweet deal." In response Winston and other selectmen noted that they agreed to sell the parcel in an open meeting, advertised the auction and set a minimum bid of $136,000 -- the total of the tax bill plus an independent appraiser's valuation of the land. The proposed building is expected to bring in more than $100,000 a year in additional property taxes, selectmen said.
In other business, selectmen voted to offer the developer of Pine Brook Estates -- Starlight Drive and Old Town Road off Route 109 -- an agreement under which the town would not seek further recourse in return for his authorization for a bank to release $130,000 held as a guarantee for completion of roadwork.
It would take $240,000 to get the streets in shape to meet requirements for their acceptance by the town, town officials said. After almost a decade of effort and five years after filling a formal claim, getting the $130,000 is about all the town can do, selectmen said, acknowledging that leaves $110,000 or so to be raised, whether by the town, abutters or a combination.
One abutter objected to the possibility of the neighborhood residents having to foot a bill for what he said was an error by the town in not requiring a bigger deposit by the developer. That brought a response from town officials that today's price would cover deterioration of what was not finished to begin with and years of cost increases for asphalt -- a petroleum product.
During open forum, Rustic Road residents said the rush-hour exclusions are being ignored by motorists cutting from Coney Street to Route 1 and other violations are numerous. One resident said more frequent appearance by police might help; another that a sidewalk is needed. A plan by Walpole Mall to relocate its Coney Street access closer to Rustic would worsen the situation, she said.
Town Health Director Robin Chapell outlined a campaign to encourage residents to recycle more. Over 70 percent of households recycle, but the total volume has declined -- maybe because of better packaging, maybe because some residents have grown lackadaisical. Recycling, she noted, saves money and trees, and cuts down on carbon emissions.
Competitive Power Ventures, the company that wants to build a 550-megawatt gas-fired power plant at the end of Industrial Road, made its first public presentation Tuesday night, Oct. 23, asking selectmen to negotiate toward an agreement on payments in lieu of taxes. CPV project manager Orlando Martinez said that a power plant's tax bill is linked to its revenue in a given year. Representing CPV, Atty. James Brady said the plant would be the largest single taxpayer in town -- an indication the annual payment would be upwards of $1 million.
The 100-plus residents in attendance did not have an opportunity to speak. Selectmen Chairman Al DeNapoli said there'll be a public forum at the high school soon. Later in the session, CPV said the town's tentative date of Nov. 14 would be too early.
CPV will go before the zoning board of appeals in a few months for a special permit to allow the plant, Brady said. The project also goes before the conservation commission and planning board. The target for completion of the plant is late 2012.
Martinez said that modeling has started to determine the height of the plant's two stacks, likely to be close to 250 feet, about the same as at Hollingsworth & Vose. With a 14-acre footprint, the plant site is about a half-mile away from the nearest neighborhood, he said.
The plant would have two 950,000-gallon tanks to hold very low sulfur diesel oil, enough to handle a three-day disruption of natural gas. Because the plant is to be located in the water protection district, each tank holding oil would be built inside a second tank and within a containment bowl.
Town Administrator Michael Boynton was applauded by the audience when he said the best way to protect the aquifer is not to bring in oil in the first place. He noted Algonquin Gas is well along in plans to increase its line that passes Industrial Road from 24 to 36 inches in diameter.
Boynton also questioned why CPV plans on drawing 200,000 gallons of water a day from the Walpole system. A plant of similar size in Bellingham is licensed for between 20,000 and 40,000 gallons a day, he said.
In response to a question from the board, Martinez said CPV could receive siting approval from a state panel. But the company doesn't want to go that route, he said. "We want to be part of the community."
DeNapoli, who called the proposal "a serious project with serious issues," said personal attacks have already begun with "rumors and lies." The only time he's spoken with Martinez previous to Tuesday night, he said, was in January when CPV came to town, saying Walpole was one of the 35 or so coomunities it was looking at as a potential site.
Selectmen granted a parking license for Hercules Plaza Tuesday, Nov. 20, after owners and an abutter reached agreement on screening.
Under the agreement, in addition to arborvitae, a six-foot stockade fence will be built, with the plaza and abutter splitting the cost.
Hercules Plaza and an abutter have been told by selectmen to come back Nov. 20 with an agreement on screening new parking spaces or else the board will make the decision for them.
In a meeting Nov. 6 during which a majority of the board expressed puzzlement at different aspects of the situation, selectmen declined to approve a license for 26 parking spots for stadium events at the plaza on Route 1 southbound on the Walpole/Foxboro line.
According to statements for the plaza and the Water Street abutter, the parking plan originally was approved through a special permit from the zoning board of appeals, which required the erection of a stockade fence to screen the new spaces from the Water Street home.
Then in 2004, the fall Town Meeting amended the zoning bylaw to state that in situations where the previous rules required both a special permit from the ZBA and site plan approval from the planning board, only one approval would be needed -- from the planning board.
Requested by the planning board, the 2004 amendment eliminated protection for abutters that had been required under the special permit process. Under the new bylaw provisions, an applicant is no longer required to post a legal ad in a newspaper and no longer required to notify abutters by certified mail. The amendment disappeared the requirement for a formal public hearing and limited the right of appeal within the town process solely to the applicant.
When the town building commissioner found that a chainlink fence was erected instead of the stockade fence, the plaza was asked to appear before the planning board. That board, an attorney for the plaza told selectmen last week, decided on its own that the way to rectify the problem was to plant some arborvitae. In a later visit by the town planner this summer, the attorney said, it was noted that the shrubs were smaller than what the planning board ordered -- a shortcoming now rectified.
But on being shown pictures of what's there now, a majority of the board said the plaza has to do a better job of screening for the neighbor. As the licensing authority, selectmen have an obligation to the public, Chairman Al DeNapoli said. Noting that the plaza has spent $80,000 to get this far on its parking plan, DeNapoli wondered why it's spending money on legal representation rather than additional screening for the neighboring home.
At the Nov. 6 meeting, the abutter told selectmen she had no idea that the planning board was altering the original special permit until it happened.
Four selectmen voted to give the applicant and the neighbor until their next meeting to reach an agreement on additional planting. The board noted that the timing would allow a license to be issued before the next Patriots home game.
Selectman Cathy Winston disagreed. Some of the responsibility lies with the homeowner, she said, suggesting the resident could do some planting on her property while waiting for the plaza's arborvitae to grow in.
Walpole Mall
Acting as road commissioners, selectmen have endorsed the Walpole Mall's plan to add a turning lane and traffic lights on Coney Street as part of its expansion plan.
The Coney Street entrance is to be signalized and moved east so that it lines up with the mall roadway along the front of stores. Coney Street will be widened on the mall side to add a lane for left turns and a wider sidewalk. All of the work will be paid for by the mall.
Mall representatives told selectmen Tuesday night, Nov. 6, that the lights' orange phase will leave adequate time for Hale and Sandra Road residents to get in and out. Mass. Highway believes that the new entrance will be far enough away from Route 1 so that the mall and highway traffic lights will not have to be synchronized, the representatives said. As a condition of its approval, the planning board requires that a hearing be held a year after the traffic plan goes into effect to review how it's working.
Mall owners' representative Richard Costanzo told selectmen that more will be spent on revitalizing the mall than was spent on its purchase two years ago. With big malls coming in Foxborfo, Westwood and Dedham, it's "like a race," he said.
Walpole Mall is expanding just north of the existing stores on property acquired from Lexus of Norwood for $13 million. Demolition of the former Lexus buildings is to begin in two weeks, a mall representative said.
Noting a large number of complaints from townspeople on the date set for a power plant forum, Selectman David Sullivan said at last week's board meeting (Nov. 20) that "it seems like we're pushing too fast." Chairman Al DeNapoli responded that the Nov. 27 date lessens the conflict with the holiday season. And if the forum were not held until January, there would be weather issues, particularly for older residents he said.
DeNapoli doubted that not enough notice has been given for the forum Tuesday, which begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Walpole High School auditorium. Judging by the number of people who have called and complained, he said, "the word is out."
If there needs to be a second public forum, he said, there'll be a second public forum.
Selectman Michael Caron said he would be ready to vote on the plant at the board's next meeting, Dec. 4. But DeNapoli noted that the project elements are not final and said he wouldn't want to vote until the plan is firm.
Town Administrator Michael Boynton said if the plant presentation is the same at the forum as what was made public Oct. 23 ,"I don't want to see it." He referred to "heavy water use" and storage of 2 million gallons of oil on top of the aquifer.
So far, Boynton said, out of all the emails he's received, not one has been in favor of the plant. "The overall flavor that is coming in right now is one for a cessation of the process." Later, he added, "The perception out there is that we are working to bring it in."
Denapoli said that the board knows there are a lot of issues "and a lot of misinformation." The situation will only fester if the forum were put off until January, he said.
"I haven't made up my mind," he said. "I sit here with responsibility for the whole town."
It would be irresponsible to deny a hearing to a project with such revenue potential just because there is a group in opposition, he said.
Property tax rate
Selectmen Tuesday night (Nov. 20) accepted a recommendation from assessors that will increase the annual tax bill for the average single-family home by $37.
The average home will be assessed at $456,072, down slightly from the previous $457,328.
The new tax rate is for fiscal 2008 -- July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2008. The FY 08 bill for the average home will be $4,939; for FY 07, it was $4,903.
As required by statute, assessments are based on sales during calendar 2006 -- the slide in home prices began when the year was half over.
While residential bills are going up less than 1 percent, taxes on commercial property are rising by 9 percent, and on industrial property, 15.6 percent. Those increases reflect that the value of business properties rose while home prices fell in 2006.
A standing-room-only audience in the high school auditorium Tuesday night made it clear that townspeople do not want a power plant in Walpole. Citing risks to health, environment, the aquifer and property values and questioning whether the company behind the proposal is in for the long haul, speaker after speaker indicated they are not enticed by the million-plus dollars a year a plant might bring the town.
In a session that ended at 12:15 a.m., a question was asked now and again on what the town can do to make Competitive Power Ventures go away. CPV staffers gave no response that indicates they might just drop the proposal for a 580-megawatt gas-fired plant in the face of all the local opposition.
When selectmen sitting on the stage were asked why they don't vote no on the proposal now, Chairman Al DeNapoli and Chris Timson, both lawyers, responded that the situation is complex. Earlier that day, Timson said, he found waiting for him at Town Hall an analysis by town counsel on the ability of a power plant developer to take a state route, bypassing the town.
Under state law, a plant developer can go over the head of a municipality to the state's Energy Facilities Siting Board, which by statute has the responsibility to promote "reliable energy supply for the Commonwealth with a minimum impact on the environment at the lowest possible cost." (A WalpoleWords poster notes a similarity to the state's Chapter 40B process for affordable housing. The energy facilities board handbook is here (http://www.mass.gov/Eoca/docs/dte/siting/shandbook.pdf).)
Tuesday night, CPV project manager Orlando Martinez said it's the company's intent and interest to obtain the necessary approvals from Walpole. But he said nothing that would rule out going the state route if Walpole rejects the plant proposed for the Walpole Industrial Park.
A discussion of the plant is on the agenda for the selectmen's meeting Tuesday, Dec. 4, right after open forum.
Last week, DeNapoli said he has not come to a decision on the plant yet and would want to see a final plan before voting. DeNapoli and Timson, the two selectmen who met with CPV a year ago, were criticized at the forum for not telling the company to go away at that time.
The selectmen do not have an up-or-down vote on the plant. Instead, the question before them is whether the town will enter into negotiations with CPV for annual payments in lieu of taxes (Pilot). A CPV chart at the forum indicated those payments could approach $2 million a year, but CPV representatives did not ballpark a number verbally. Selectmen have to weigh the possibility that if the town says no to Pilot negotiations, it could lose money and bargaining points in the event CPV turns to the state.
At the forum, CPV's presentation stressed how much cleaner new gas-fired plants are compared to the previous generation of gas plants, let alone coal. Townspeople stressed that the plant would pump tons of pollutants, including sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, into the air. With 250-foot stacks, the plant would tend to impact an area six to twelve miles away, according to the CPV presentation.
A CPV consultant explained that backup diesel oil would be stored in a tank inside another tank and in a concrete containment big enough to handle more than the stored volume, Residents said accidents happen and it doesn't make sense to put 1.9 million gallons of oil on top of the aquifer. Noting this summer's mandatory water restrictions, townspeople asked how the town could provide CPV with the requested draw of up to 200,000 gallons a day. CPV said enough water would be stored on site to avoid conflict at peak times. Noise from the plant in the nearest neighborhood would be about equal to the background noise there; the only visible emission from the plant would be water vapor and only in cold weather, CPV consultants said. Residents were dubious.
Townspeople asked if there would be a similar forum once more detailed information is available. CPV's Martinez responded the town review process will offer opportunities for information and input and that the company plans to post in formation on the internet.
On the motion of David Sullivan, selectmen voted 4-0 Tuesday, Dec. 4, against negotiating with Competitive Power Ventures for payments in lieu of taxes (Pilot) for a 580-megawatt gas-fired power plant at the rear of Walpole Industrial Park.
Chairman Al DeNapoli, who said two weeks ago that he wanted to see a final plan before voting, explained Tuesday night that for him two "dead-end" issues were apparent in CPV's presentation at last week's forum: 2 million gallons of backup diesel oil to be stored on top of the aquifer and a draw of up to 200,000 gallons of water a day. "I didn't see from their presentation a benefit that would offset the risks." Later he added about CPV, "Where they are now, it's time to pull the plug."
Michael Caron said that in the past week, he's been contacted by more than 200 townspeople on the power plant: "205 votes against, zero for."
DeNapoli cautioned that the board's 4-0 vote against Pilot negotiations does not in itself block the plant. Noting the land transaction would be between a private owner and a private company, Chris Timson said that state law provides an opportunity for CPV to try to bypass the town. "Be aware of that."
CPV had this response Wednesday: "“CPV Walpole is disappointed that Walpole officials are making decisions prior to the submission of any formal plans to the state or town. While CPV acknowledges that is difficult to maintain balanced dialogue in the present climate, we will continue to work with the community wherever possible. We also look forward to renewing constructive discussions with the Board of Selectmen and other officials in the months ahead.”
Town Administrator Michael Boynton said at Tuesday night's selectmen meeting that his conversation Monday with the general counsel of the state Executive Office of Environmental Affairs leads him to believe bypassing the town wouldn't be easy. To date, the Energy Facilities Citing Board has ruled in favor of a utility only three times, Boynton said.
The board also voted 4-0 on another Sullivan motion to inform the landowner of its decision not to negotiate. Selectman Cathy Winston did not participate in the discussion because she is an employee of the owner, S.M. Lorusso & Sons. Timson indicated that based on a year-old email, there's a possibility the owner might not sell in the face of the opposition.
Sen. Jim Timilty, D-Walpole, and Rep. Richard Ross, R-Wrentham (who represents South Walpole) pledged support at the Tuesday night meeting. Timilty said he's discussing strategy with his counterpart from Brockton, where a plant is also being proposed in the face of concerted local opposition. Ross said that with an impact radius of 12 miles, pollution from a Walpole plant would be regional problem, including for his hometown and for his daughter's asthma.
The board's vote was greeted with applause from several dozen townspeople. "I appreciate the applause," DeNapoli said, "but there are those of you who were ready to spit on me otherwise," he said, referring in part to conduct of some at the high school forum and to misinformation aimed at the board and staff that continued into the selectmen's open forum just before the 4-0 vote.
Stating that the effort against the power plant requires cooperation, DeNapoli advised, "Don't poison your message by the venom you're spewing."
The fire horn that has long sounded daily tests at 6:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. has fallen silent for good, a victim of technology.
The horn stopped working a month ago because of complications resulting from a switchover to a radio system for businesses that previously had been hard-wired to the fire station. Making the horn compatible with the new system would cost some money and a require ongoing maintenance, Chief Timothy Bailey told selectmen Tuesday. There's no need for the horn because firefighters have radios to call them back to duty, he said.
Selectmen approved the chief's request to silence the horn permanently. There's "a little bit of nostalgia" involved, Town Administrator Michael Boynton noted.
Christmas tree pickup
The town will chip discarded Christmas trees at curbside again this year, but the service will be reconsidered well before the holidays in 2008.
Especially with snow banks, the service is a workman's comp. expense waiting to happen, Selectman Cathy Winston said, noting that a town worker was injured in recent years. Selectman Michael Caron responded that calling off chipping, especially so close to Christmas, would cause an uproar.
Winston agreed not to press the issue now, but promised to bring it up again before the Night Before the Fourth.
Selectmen's goals for 2008
At their meeting Dec. 18, selectmen approved goals for the coming year. They're posted here (http://th.walpole.ma.us/BOSGoalsObjs.htm) on the selectmen's web pages.
Housing production plan
In a step to give the town more leverage over 40B proposals, selectmen are aiming to submit the town's proposed housing production plan to the state in early January. Once it's approved by the state, the existence of the plan will allow the town to say no to 40B proposals it considers too big or otherwise unfriendly. There's a further condition to gain that benefit: The town would have to increase its "affordable" housing stock by 62 units a year, putting it on track to meet 40B's 10 percent "affordable" goal in 10 years.
The consultant's plan envisions most of the 620 "affordable" units to be built in the coming decade would be rentals. Under 40B, all rental units in a complex, subsidized or market-rate, count as "affordable." But in a condo or single-family development, only the subsidized units count.
Of the 620 units, 100 would be for seniors. Consultants note the growing elderly population and a waiting list for elderly housing. They also note that for the majority of 65-and-older households in Walpole, incomes fall into the $40,000-$49,999 range; in comparison, for the 35-54 age group, the median household income is $89,220.
As required by the state, the draft production plan lists specific sites that might be suitable for 40B housing. The list is based on a 2000 Walpole housing study. Selectmen noted at their board meeting Dec. 18 that as with any location, what if anything gets built on a listed site depends on the owner, a specific proposal and review.
On Dec. 18, selectmen indicated at least three of the nine sites will be dropped from the list before the draft goes to the state: the state power plant land across Main Street from the prison, the town water tank land east of Cobble Knoll and Concord Drive and a tract off South Street planned for a business park.
The other sites are Walpole Housing Authority land at Albany Road, town land south of Lincoln and Plain, town land east of Chandler Avenue and Cedar, town land off Bullard, private land off North west of Brook, and private land at Sunnyrock Drive and North.
Here's a link to the 65-page consultant's draft. (http://www.walpolenews.com/production.pdf) It's a 7 MB pdf file. The aerials of the listed sites in this version are in black and white rather than the original color; the property lines are obscure.
Spring Town Meeting could be asked to approve creation of a corporation for the redevelopment of the South Street Superfund site and the salvage yard area along Route 1A (Main Street) south of downtown.
Selectmen Tuesday night, Jan. 8, gave a green light to a request by the town's Economic Development Committee to prepare a Town Meeting article to create an economic development and industrial commission (EDIC.)
Unlike a redevelopment authority -- a proposal from the committee that was shot down last year -- a commission as authorized under state law would be limited to working on specific sites and in accord with plans pre-approved by Town Meeting.
Last year's redevelopment authority proposal was aimed at acquiring the Superfund site for back taxes in a way that shielded Walpole from any claims alleging harm from contamination. An EDIC would offer similar protection.
Owners in the salvage yard area are open to possibilities, town economic development officer Don Walsh told selectmen. An EDIC could line up state or federal money to help determine the extent of contamination there and develop a cleanup plan. One possibility would be for the EDIC to acquire the land with a developer's dollars, he said.
Walsh said that the property owners cannot take on an extensive cleanup on their own to get the land in shape for the type of of development the town wants. The area -- 72 acres -- now produces $45,000 in property tax revenue a year.
Economic Development Committee Chairman Larry Pitman told selectmen that extending the sewer south along Main Street is essential for winning desirable development.
If the town is not pro-active, the area is likely to develop in ways contrary to what the town seeks, Town Administrator Michael Boynton said, adding that Allied Recycling is already investing in that direction.
Rezoning
Selectmen are scheduled to attend a planning board Town Hall public forum at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 10, in an effort to iron out an agreement on what gets presented to a special Town Meeting on rezoning March 10.
At the selectmen's meeting Tuesday night, there was long discussion among selectmen, planning board members and townspeople on the planning board's rezoning draft that in its present form would not remove "noxious" uses from the zoning bylaw.
Planning board members pointed out Tuesday night that it has been their intent all along to first of all clean up the current bylaw to make it consistent and user friendly. A request to change substance in the bylaw would come at a later Town Meeting.
That approach, planning board vice chairman Nancy Mackenzie reminded selectmen Tuesday night, is intended to avoid obstacles to acceptance of the thorough rewrite effort.
But townspeople, including Town Meeting representative Cliff Snuffer, told selectmen and the planning board Tuesday night that the planning board's strategy would backfire: zoning changes likely would not receive the necessary two-thirds Town Meeting majority in March if they do not include the elimination of noxious uses -- coal elevators and tank farms among them.
The big one, Town Administrator Michael Boynton noted, is a provision of the existing bylaw that allows "any lawful use" within the industrial zone through a special permit. That provision, others have noted, could be the basis of an application to build a power plant off Industrial Road.
After a planning board forum a few weeks ago, selectmen understood that the planning board preferred that selectmen take the initiative if selectmen wanted changes in use at the March Town Meeting. At the selectmen's request, Boynton drafted proposals for changes -- had "a field day" as he put it Tuesday night. In apparent response, planning board chairman Jack Conroy sent a letter to selectmen (http://www.walpolenews.com/planning Letter.pdf) (pdf) warning that among other risks, seeking use changes in March could derail the rewrite.
Boynton said he met with Conroy earlier Tuesday and it appeared the planning board chairman is willing to sign on to limited changes to the table of allowed use in March.
Boynton said he can't see that a request to dump a noxious use like a coal elevator would get in the way of Town Meeting approval of the rewrite.
MacKenzie said the planning board shares the goals as the selectmen. "There's nothing sneaky about it," she said. "We just want to get it done right."
The discussion ended short of an agreement on whether the rewrite and the use changes would be a single or separate Town Meeting articles. That issue is to be talked about more at the Thursday forum.
Here's a link (http://th.walpole.ma.us/Plan.htm) to the planning board's web page that has links to the current zoning bylaw and potential changes.
-- Tom Glynn
On Jan. 3, 2007, Town Administrator Michael Boynton sent an e-mail to the selectmen's secretary about a coming visit by a company interested in building a power plant in Walpole: "Cindy, we better post this meeting." But Competitive Power Ventures responded that its representatives could not attend an open meeting posted for Jan. 11 "because they 'do not control the land' yet," Boynton wrote in an email Jan. 9. In that memo to selectmen, he added that development officer Don Walsh and he had relayed to CPV "that private meetings are not possible, and that at a minimum they should come in to talk about their concept and type of facility they are interested in bringing to Walpole. They are supposed to get back to us today. I will keep you posted."
Selectman Christopher Timson emailed Boynton back 96 minutes later. "Rather than put up a barrier to the initial meeting, I would suggest that the Selectmen have two representatives attend the meeting... Let's try to present our Town as one that will work with a developer." An hour later, Selectman Al DeNapoli emailed Boynton: "I agree with Chris." Three hours after that, selectmen Chairman Joe Denneen emailed Boynton that based on CPV "not wanting an open meeting at this time, I am calling off Thursday's power plant meeting." (The exchange of email (http://www.walpolenews.com/email.pdf) (.pdf) was made public as a result of a public documents request by opponents of the power plant.)
In place of the posted public meeting, CPV got its closed session in January. Two of the five selectmen, Timson and DeNapoli, attended -- less than a quorum. In some cases, not necessarily in this one, a meeting at which a quorum of a board is not present is exempt from requirements of the state Open Meeting Law.
In the emails, Boynton did not spell out why a get-together between town officials and the potential developer of a big and inevitably, controversial project should be public. Eleven months later, a Town Hall meeting room was packed with townspeople angry that selectmen had eased the way for CPV and then allowed a months-long information vacuum.
Through the spring, CPV maintained that Walpole was one of many communities it was looking at as a potential site and thus maintained there was nothing to talk about.
According to a letter (http://www.walpolenews.com/letter.pdf)(.pdf) Dec. 19 from a lawyer for S. M. Lorusso & Sons, the owner of the site where the plant would go, CPV made its first approach in the autumn of 2006. Company President Tony Lorusso, according to the letter, told CPV he would not respond until the company met with the town. After that meeting took place in January, "Mr. Lorusso was still undecided whether to enter into negotiations for the site until he spoke with Mr. Boynton who advised him that there was support for the proposal among certain Town officials, and that it was worth a closer look by the Town. It was only then, and based upon the interest expressed and related by Mr. Boynton, that we began negotiating with CPV in earnest, culminating in the option agreement," the lawyer wrote.
The letter was written to deny a request by selectmen Dec. 4 that the owner not make the site at the end of Industrial Road available to CPV. The option agreement has been signed, the letter points out.
In response to remarks by Selectman Timson Dec. 4, the letter states that no one was authorized by the owner to say that the land would not be sold if there were strong public opposition. In the exchange of email before the January meeting, Selectman Cathy Winston said she had to recuse herself from any involvement with the power plant because she works for S.M. Lorusso. Winston concluded that email: "I have had a conversation with Tony. If there is great opposition to this proposal, he would not proceed."
CPV was able to control the information flow for months. But during that period and more clearly in recent weeks, that strategy -- if it is a strategy -- appeared just about certain to rule out any real dialogue or negotiations with the town. By the time of the first public forum on the project -- late November at the high school -- it was plain CPV had lost at the local level, with the months of no information and the selectmen's role in that silence among the reasons why.
The state provides an alternative to local approval; Lorusso's lawyer copied his letter to a Boston law firm.
In other CPV news, the company last week won an amendment for a power plant it's building in Virginia that originally was to be fired by both natural gas and oil, like the one proposed for Walpole. Under the amendment, the Virginia plant will burn no oil. "It is a cleaner alternative to go with natural gas," Chris Ganley, a CPV director, is quoted as saying.
Selectmen said Tuesday night that they will send a letter telling the company proposing a power plant to knock off what at least one board member considers push polling.
As a result of the way the Competitive Power Ventures telephone poll is worded, Town Administrator Michael Boynton said, he has received calls and emails from residents who said they were led to believe that the town is in support of a plant. "Some folks are confused," he said, emphasizing that the poll was not commissioned by the town.
Selectmen David Sullivan was one of the residents phoned by a pollster Friday night and asked to respond to what he said is a long and "deceiving" survey: push polling. (Push polling is a practice used by some political campaigns intended to lead those being surveyed to a conclusion rather than to gain information from them.)
In addition to implying that selectmen support the plant, the pollster went on to ask how you would feel if you knew your legislators and others were in favor of the plant, Sullivan said.
Also asked, Sullivan said, was how would you feel if the plant provided money for, among others, Walpole seniors.
The message to CPV should be that "under no circumstances" should its pollster purport to relay positions of the town or the board, Boynton said. He agreed that the CPV survey amounted to push polling.
Sullivan said he asked the Opinion Dynamics pollster for a copy of the script for the poll. As of Tuesday night, Sullivan had not received one.
Town Meeting
Selectmen closed the May Town Meeting warrant Tuesday, including in it a back-up article that would eliminate undesirable industries from the zoning bylaw's use table.
The selectmen's back-up article is there in case a special Town Meeting March 10 does not approve such changes, Town Administrator Michael Boynton said. The March 10 meeting has been scheduled at the request of the planning board, which wants to focus that session on its proposed clarifications, not on substantive changes.
The selectmen's back-up article for May would eliminate the "any lawful use" provision from the industrial table, as well as ruling out coal elevators, tank farms, junk yards, commercial landfills and power plants.
Other articles
Also on the May warrant are placeholder articles that would approve labor contracts if agreements are reached. The town's contracts with its employee unions are up for renewal this year.
Articles would create town Economic Development and Industrial Commissions to plan for and perhaps help redevelop the Superfund and Route 1A salvage yard sites.
Articles would accept as town streets Starlight Drive and Old Town Road, where subdivision roadwork was left unfinished. Selectmen will ask for a favorable vote provided money posted in a bank by the developer is released to the town.
Patriots Traffic
A working group is being formed at Town Hall to address increased traffic due to heightened interest in the Patriots and the popularity of Patriot Place, the shopping and entertainment complex at the Foxboro stadium.
Town Administrator Michael Boynton said at Tuesday night's selectmen meeting that game traffic that used to tie up local streets for an hour now tangles it for three or four hours. And traffic to just the first phase of Patriot Place appears to be adding to the problem, he said.
It could become necessary to plan closing some streets in South Walpole to all but residents before games next season, he said, noting that by then, there'll be more attractions open at Patriot Place.
Selectmen Chairman Al DeNapoli said that at a meeting, Patriot Place representatives "pooh-poohed" Walpole officials' concern that the complex will be an ongoing traffic problem for Walpole.
The Patriot Place people maintained that traffic problems would be limited to game days, DeNapoli said. But they won't be limited, he said, they'll be continuous.
Fourteen cinemas, 12 restaurants, all those shops, a pro shop and a hall of fame museum -- "we're going to feel the brunt of that," he said.
Two selectmen will join the new working group, which is also to include the police and fire chiefs, DPW director and town engineer.
Property tax work-off
Selectmen voted Tuesday night to allow residents in the town's property tax workoff program to work more minimum-wage hours to earn up to $750 a year.
In 2007, 14 persons 60 or over worked up to 62 hours in town departments to earn up to $500, deducted from their property tax bills. Tuesday's vote means that people in the program can work up to 93 hours in 2008. Selectmen indicated they're also willing to raise the cap on the number of persons in the program above the current 20. "Money is tight," Selectman Cathy Winston noted.
In presenting the case for the changes, Bill Ryan, a former selectman, said that because some people in the program volunteer more hours than they're paid for, the value to the town worked out to more than $15,000 last year -- double the total writeoffs.
Reverse 911
The town's new emergency warning system will debut Feb. 4 when all listed phones in town will get a recorded message explaining the new system.
The system allows a recorded message to be sent to phones and computers throughout town: perhaps to all in case of a disaster, to a geographic subset in the case of a missing person.
If they wish, townspeople can add unlisted phone numbers and email addresses to the list through a web page posted by Feb. 4. The provide company providing the service assures that security is strong, according to town officials.
The service costs the town $6,500 a year, plus charges for actual calls. A one-minute message sent to everybody on the list would cost about $400. It would take about 90 minutes to get a message to every phone and computer on the list.
The Friends of Adams Farm -- the volunteers who coordinated the Red Barn campaign -- have received a green light from selectmen to explore the possibility of adding a skating rink to the town-owned property. The Friends have been getting requests for a rink, Rhonda Laverghetta, vice chairman of the Adams Farm Committee (AFC), told selectmen at their Feb. 13 meeting. The committee, appointed by selectmen to advise them, has mixed feelings about the idea, she said.
Ralph Knobel, president of the Friends, said its members are eager to get on with new efforts, now that the the barn project has been completed. He was optimistic that donations and volunteer labor would build a rink, just as they did the barn. A campaign for a rink wouldn't interfere with other potential enhancements, he said, because each effort would attract its own supporters. He noted a butterfly garden is to be created at the farm this spring through the sponsorship of the Walpole Women's Club.
David Lehto of the AFC said a rink might be built by scooping down a few feet in the field just behind the barn.
Town Administrator Michael Boynton said it would have be understood that the town could provide no help to operate and maintain a rink. He also noted he has been told by a town insurance adviser that creation of the rink would add only a small amount, if that, to liability coverage costs.
The town recreation department from time to time tries to get a skating program going at Turner's Pond, Boynton said. "It ought to be one or the other."
Clem Boragine of the AFC told selectmen "let's wait a while" -- in part to see if coming winters are better for skating than they have been recently. "Turner's Pond was a great success when we were small," he said, but added he doesn't see much skating in town now.
The location of a rink at Adams Farm would raise safety and liability problems, Boragine said. The man-made rink would be just about the only skating area in town not visible from the street.
Comment (http://www.walpolenews.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68) on WalpoleWords
In response to community objections, Competitive Power Ventures has dropped its plan to use oil as a backup for the gas-fired plant it proposes at the Walpole Industrial Park, the CPV project manager said Tuesday night.
In a statement prepared for a press conference, George Grunbeck said the company is dropping the idea of storing 1.9 million gallons of diesel fuel on site for use if the supply of natural gas for the 578-megawatt plant is curtailed. In response to a question after his presentation, he went beyond that, stating that when the gas supply is shut off, the plant would shut down. (Natural gas supplies can be squeezed for days by high demand in cold spells locally or elsewhere in the nation.)
Grunbeck, a CPV vice president, had intended to detail the company's revised proposal at a meeting of selectmen Tuesday night. But CPV was taken off the agenda, according to Chairman Al DeNapoli, because a quorum of the board would not be present. So CPV called the press conference before the board meeting.
Proposed water use has been cut by another 50,000 gallons a day, bringing it down to 70,000 for an air-cooled plant, 97 percent less than the initially-proposed water-cooled facility, Grunbeck said.
He repeated that CPV stands to pay Walpole $8 million in permit and license fees and to provide $40 million in new revenue over 20 years.
As Grunbeck spoke inside Town Hall, well over a hundred candle-carrying protesters rallied outside in a cold rain, protesting DeNapoli's initial decision to put CPV on the agenda despite a 4-0 vote by the board in December not to hold discussions with the company.
At Tuesday night's board meeting, DeNapoli said that given the potential impact of the proposal and CPV's heightened visibility in town, including newspaper ads and a telephone poll, selectmen should not be getting their information third-hand. It is better to get information out about the proposal in a public forum, he said.
According to DeNapoli, CPV was taken off the agenda because two selectmen would be absent -- one on a business trip, the other because of illness. A third member of the five -person board, Cathy Winston, would have to recuse herself because she works for S.M. Lorusso, owner of the potential plant site. Town Counsel informed the board it cannot deliberate without a quorum and that hearing testimony constitutes deliberation, DeNapoli said.
At his meeting, CPV's Grunbeck said the company remains committed to seeking approval from the town rather than going the state route.
In response to questions, he said there'll be full analyses that will be made public on the plant's air-quality impact and health effects. Th e scope of the air study is being revised now to reflect the decision that the plant won't burn oil, he said.
Buoyed by inquiries from Walpole's congressman and state senator about capital priorities, Town Hall is putting together a proposal for a multi-million-dollar downtown revitalization effort.
In addition to the prospect for federal and state grants, the outlook for the operating budget is brightening with the Legislature heading toward providing $300,000 or so more Lottery money to Walpole than in the governor's spending plan.
At the selectmen's meeting Tuesday night, Chairman Al DeNapoli said the improving budget outlook is an added reason to get to work downtown.
Town Administrator Michael Boynton said staff will be putting together a proposal for a $6 million state Public Works Economic Development grant like the one that funded recently completed work in East Walpole.
Extending beyond the Main Street heart of downtown, the project area would run down Elm Street and out to School Street, Boynton said. The work would focus on streets, traffic signals and other infrastructure.
At the suggestion of Cathy Winston, the board will schedule a workshop on what to do about the inadequate fire and police stations. One possibility -- construction of a new public safety facility at the Walpole Woodworkers on East Street -- does not look promising, DeNapoli and Boynton indicated.
The developers proposing a big 40B rental complex on the Woodworkers' site were scheduled to meet with the town's attorney Wednesday (March 12), Boynton said.
After years of no progress on the long-promised reconstruction of state-owned Route 1A (Main Street), Boynton said he's about to take the issue to the state transportation secretary. He noted that with all the development planned along Route 1, Main Street will be carrying more traffic on a road surface that's "abominable" in places.
FY09 budget
Insurance premiums for the coming fiscal year will be lower than projected, allowing more money for schools and restoration of some proposed cuts, Boynton said.
The schools are to get $228,000 more, still leaving a gap for 2008-09, Boynton said, expressing confidence the superintendent will be able to close it.
On the municipal side, $100,000 will go toward restoring the economic development officer's job as directed by selectmen and eliminating cuts for the recreation department, parks, highway and building maintenance, he said.
The priority for anticipated state aid will be to restore the library budget, he said.
Walpole High teacher and teacher association president Jeff Szymanski’s two letters to the Walpole Times critical of Town Administrator Michael Boynton’s budgeting will be discussed at the next school committee meeting, according to Selectman Cathy Winston.
Winston said at Tuesday night’s selectmen meeting that she was told that earlier in the day in an hour-long meeting on the letters with Superintendent Lincoln Lynch, school committee chairman Nancy Gallivan and Boynton. Lynch and Gallivan said they do not sanction Szymanski’s letters or any of his rhetoric, Winston said.
At Winston’s suggestion, selectmen chairman Al DeNapoli said he’ll draft a letter to Szymanski requesting that he apologize. Once he receives consent from all board members on the wording, DeNapoli will send it by way of the superintendent, as requested by Lynch.
Winston said she was deeply offended by Szymanski description of Boynton as a czar and characterization of selectmen and the finance committee as rubber stamps for his budget decisions. For budget year 2008-09, which is to be the first in a new contract with the Walpole Teachers Association, Boynton’s plan calls for a 3 percent increase for the schools.
Szymanski’s letters targeted Boynton’s practice of placing some state money into accounts where it can’t be used for salaries and other operating expenses. Last year, Boynton created a $750,000 debt payment reserve fund with unanticipated state reimbursement for interest on school building borrowing. And his budget continues to hold another $750,000 in reserve should Beacon Hill not come through with prison mitigation money that gets appropriated annually. Boynton has noted that it’s been town policy for years not to use one-time money for added personnel expenses.
After she read Szymanski’s assertion that two elementary schools and the two middle schools are perceived to be in “deplorable” condition, Winston said she asked for a tour, joined by Selectman David Sullivan, Superintendent Lynch and the municipal executives in charge of school maintenance. The three schools they visited March 14 – Bird, Johnson and Fisher Elementary, are well maintained, she said. There was one issue at one school, but it has nothing to do with maintenance, she said. Of the four teachers with whom she spoke, three said that they do not share Szymanski’s view of maintenance, she added.
DeNapoli said that Szymanski has a right to express an opinion as an individual or representative of a group, but said he is upset that the letters, he said, “went personal” and offered ridicule. Selectman Chris Timson said he doesn’t want to act as a censor, but Szymanski was “off base.”
April 8: Woodworkers site
WalpoleNews story is here. (http://www.walpolenews.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69)
April 22: Economic Development and Industrial Corp.
Selectmen are backing proposals for an Economic Development and Industrial Corporation to foster revitalization of both the South Street Superfund site and the salvage area along Route 1A.
At their meeting Tuesday, April 22, the selectmen easily went for the Superfund site proposal, but agreed to the salvage area only after a back-and-forth with the sponsors of the articles for the May 5 Town Meeting. While the finance committee favors putting off the salvage area for now, representatives of the town's economic development committee convinced selectmen that there's some urgency on including the Route 1A parcels in the EDIC's purview now.
As outlined by economic committee chairman Larry Pitman, vice chairman Paul Millette and economic development officer Don Walsh, Allied Recycling is "headed north," expanding onto the adjacent Goldie's property. It's not clear what Allied's plans are, but an EDIC would give the town a tool to influence redevelopment, they said.
At South Street, the property owner is "recalcitrant," Walsh said, about getting the site cleaned up under the Superfund. After six years of trying to work with the landowner, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency supports the idea of public acquisition. An EDIC could take the property, shielding the town from liability.
According to town officials, the owner has not paid property taxes for 15 years and owes $1.5 million as a result. In the meantime, the owner collects rent -- amounting to about $80,000 a year, they said. An EDIC could take the property for back taxes and then lease it for private development in line with recommendations in a 2004 report (1.5 mb .pdf file) from the town's Superfund committee. Selectmen also expressed further interest in exploring use of part of the property for a new police station.
Unlike the South Street situation, the town doesn't have direct financial leverage in the salvage area. Town Administrator Michael Boynton told the board Tuesday night that Walsh and he met with an Allied owner for an hour recently and found that a company that four years ago "wanted to bail" now prefers to stay in Walpole. "Now the junk business is quite lucrative," Boynton said.
While he was originally enthusiastic about an EDIC for the salvage area, Boynton suggested that the conversation with Allied indicates it might be better to just concentrate on South Street for now to see how an EDIC works out there.
Walsh acknowledged that an EDIC would face a "Mission Impossible" on Route 1A. The one big hope, he indicated, is that an EDIC would be eligible for a state grant up to $2.5 million, which could facilitate redevelopment to the benefit of the property owners and the town.
The town economic team said the objective is to act now, before Allied grows to the point that finding a new location out of town is out of the question.
Unlike a redevelopment authority, an EDIC would be confined to a specific location and project, and would be directed by a board appointed by selectmen. The EDIC proposal calls for no town money -- it would be supported through grants, property sales or leases and other arrangements.
Here's more information (http://www.walpolenews.com/edic.html) from committee Chairman Larry Pitman.
Woodworkers warehouse story is here (http://www.walpolenews.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69)
google Baker St. aerial (http://www.walpolenews.com/mapbakerst.html)
After being told by neighbors they'd rather take their chances with Chapter 40B than try to negotiate with the property owners, selectmen voted unanimously Wednesday, April 30, to recommend that Town Meeting not approve a petition from Paul and Katie Thurston to rezone their property at 156 Baker St.
The Thurstons, who bought the house on four acres between Carriage Lane and the Walpole Country Club in 2006, have an article on the May 5 Town Meeting warrant that would change the zoning from Rural to Residence B. Rural requires 40,000 square feet for a lot; Residence B, 20,000. Because of the narrowness of the lot -- just under 100 feet of frontage on Baker -- the existing Rural zoning would allow only one additional house while Residence B could allow a subdivision of up to six lots, the Thurstons' lawyer told selectmen.
Atty. Richard Gellerman noted the Thurston's have a letter from the state saying that the lot is appropriate for a 20-unit complex under Chapter 40B, a provision of state law that allows developers to bypass town zoning. The Thurstons have not gone beyond that preliminary step, but 40B is an alternative if their rezoning article fails, Gellerman said. If the rezoning is approved, "40B goes away."
Gellerman said that if the article is approved, the owners would negotiate with the neighbors and the country club for a binding agreement that could result in as few as three houses on the property.
Selectmen Al DeNapoli and Chris Timson, both lawyers, said it would be more appropriate if such am agreement was reached before going to Town Meeting. Gellerman responded that he had talked about the matter with his clients.
Chairman DeNapoli repeatedly asked the dozen neighbors in the audience whether they really wanted to risk a 40B by seeing the article defeated. Cliff Snuffer, a Town Meeting representative and candidate for selectman, suggested neighbors take a look at a 16-unit 40B on Oak Street in his precinct to see what they might have to confront.
But by a show of hands, all of the neighbors present said they're willing to take the risk. They expressed confidence a 40B proposal would fail because of the narrowness of the lot and of Baker Street and other factors. And Bob Higgins, speaking for the group, said neighbors would likely be willing to negotiate with another developer, but not with Mr. Thurston.
The group cited several grievances, including what they called clearcutting of the property that, one said, began the day after the planning board recommended against rezoning after hearing from the neighbors. Mr. Thurston said much of the cutting was to build fences to prevent further vandalism.
An attempt by neighbors and the country club to negotiate a purchase of part of the property failed last summer when Mr. Thurston came up with an excessive figure, a neighbor said. Mr. Thurston responded that he included in his price money spent on engineering and other expenses in connection with planned development of the lot.
Neighbors noted that Mr. Thurston is in court with the Walpole Country Club, which is claiming ownership by adverse possession of a strip 10 feet wide and 700 feet long adjacent to its fifth green. The club says it's long maintained and used that land. A victory by the club in the case, which is to go to trial in July, would make an already narrow lot too narrow for the state to approve Thurston's plan, a neighbor said.
"We'll take our chances on 40B," Higgins said.
Verizon fiber optic TV
Selectmen have approved a 15-year license for Verizon to provide cable TV over its fiber optics lines.
With 75 percent of town already wired by Verizon with fiber optic cable, adding television to voice and data services will take little more than a flip of a switch, selectmen were told. Under the license, Verizon is to fully wire the town with fiber optic within four years.
As required by its contract with Comcast, the town holds Verizon to similar obligations as those for Walpole's long-time cable TV provider.
Verizon will pay $184,000 this year and then $24,000 annually for the next 14 years. Of that amount, town government is to receive $80,000 this year and plans to use it to improve its access systems. Town government will receive 60 percent of the annual amounts in following years; 40 percent will go to community television.
In addition, Verizon will pay 5 percent of its annual growth from customers won over from Comcast and from among the 1,200 households that don't have cable TV. That money will go to community TV operations.
Like Comcast, Verizon will carry the three local access channels.
The master plan implementation committee proposes that Walpole adopt the state's Community Preservation Act (CPA), allowing a property tax surcharge to move ahead on everything from field upgrades to affordable housing for the elderly.
Speaking for the committee, Nancy Mackenzie told selectmen Tuesday night, May 20, that adoption of the law is a way to make long-sought goals happen.
The committee plans to sponsor a summer petition drive to get the required 5,000 signatures to put the measure on the November ballot. It's likely that the surcharge to be sought will be somewhere between 1 and 2 percent of an annual tax bill, Mackenzie said, after noting that the state law would allow the town to exempt $100,000 of a home's assessment from the added levy.
A CPA surcharge of 2 percent with the $100,000 exemption would amount to $77 a year on the average home and bring in an estimated total of $700,000. The state would add $450,000 or so in CPA matching funds.
The master plan, Mackenzie said, identifies a number of goals sought by townspeople that meet the state requirements for use of CPA money.
A recreation master plan is nearing completion that will detail potential new fields. CPA money could also be used to acquire open space for conservation and passive recreation.
Walpole's housing production plan has been approved by the state, providing an opportunity for the town, and not 40B developers, to take the lead in affordable housing. The town's plan stresses a need for affordable homes for the elderly.
An inventory is under way of historic sites in town with an eye toward preservation.
If the measure is approved by voters, Town Meeting would act on a bylaw to create a community preservation committee. That committee would recommend specific uses of the money each year for Town Meeting approval. Some of the money could be banked for large projects. Many of the one-third of communities that have already adopted the CPA have used proceeds to attract grants and donations.
According to a CPA advocacy organization, in its eight-year lifetime, the act has resulted in $335 million worth of projects, including protection of 8,000 acres of open space, creation or rehabilitation of 1,300 affordable housing units, 800 historic preservation projects and 350 recreation appropriations.
The state matching funds come from fees paid at county registries of deeds. Indicating support for the CPA, Town Administrator Michael Boynton noted Walpole residents have been paying those fees for the past eight years, with their payments going to other communities. Boynton also noted an override request for a new library is to be on the November ballot.
A map of which cities and towns have adopted CPA shows that Cape Cod is aboard. Selectmen Chairman Al DeNapoli said he's familiar with some of the "exciting" CPA work on the Cape and added adoption of the act could benefit the campaign to revitalize downtown Walpole.
In addition to the petition route, the CPA provides for an alternative of seeking Town Meeting approval for putting the measure on the ballot. But CPA requires at least 60 days between Town Meeting approval or certification of a petition and the election, ruling out the possibility of going through this October's Town Meeting.
The Community Preservation Coalition, an advocate for the act, provides information here. (http://www.communitypreservation.org)
WalpoleWords comments here (http://www.walpolenews.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71)
Boston Globe story (http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/06/05/4_more_towns_back_cpa/) June 5 about towns that voted to adopt the CPA.
Kahana
In discussing potential redevelopment sites at their meeting May 20, selectmen indicated the top priority is the long vacant Kahana restaurant downtown.
But town officials said their efforts over the years to get the attention of the man behind the trust that owns the building have been to no avail.
"We keep trying," Larry Pitman, chairman of the economic development committee told the board. "He travels quite a bit."
Selectmen Chairman Al DeNapoli said that perhaps a way could be found "to put some pressure on the owner... It's getting frustrating to look at that building."
It's private property so we can't make him act, Don Walsh, the town's development officer said. The restaurant has been abandoned for so long it has him worried about safety, he said. But there are two words not to be mentioned in Walpole, he said, perhaps referring to eminent domain.
Selectman Michael Caron asked whether it would help to invite the man to appear before the board.
Town Administrator Michael Boynton suggest the town come up with a concept not just for the Kahana but the entire business area on that corner of East and Main. Shown what might be done for mutual benefit, owners could be attracted to redevelopment, Boynton said.
Nancy MacKenzie, vice chairman of the planning board, noted that toward that goal, a zoning overlay district for downtown is in the works for next spring's Town Meeting.
Walsh noted the Kahana owner was shown what might be possible under a state zoning law (Chapter 40R) already in place. The owner seemed interested, Walsh said, but hasn't been heard from since.
The owner has been offered carrots, Walsh, said, suggesting it might be time to show a stick.
Boynton said the town should make another try at reaching an agreement with the owner. Caron withdrew his suggestion to ask him in.
The board's discussion was prompted by completion of state-funded analysis of several potential sites for redevelopment.
DeNapoli noted the consultants liked the Grossman's Bargain Outlet area on Route 1 with its proximity to Route 95 and view of the Boston skyline. Pitman said something seems to be in the offing there.
Consultants also liked the potential of the salvage area along Route 1A, but according to town officials, Allied Recycling isn't interested.
Also on the list for their potential is the Foundry complex downtown and the Walpole Motel area on Route 1 close to the Patriots.
June 3: Patriots parking
A lot operator is interested in paying the town a fee to be allowed to park cars for Patriots' stadium events at the Boyden Elementary School, according to what Selectman Chris Timson said he was told second-hand.
At the June 3 selectmen's meeting, Timson suggested the possibility that the town advertise for other potential operators to learn how much money an arrangement could bring in. They'd run it and pay us, Timson said.
The new Patriot Place mall on what had been a lot beside the stadium is likely to increase the market for parking elsewhere, he said.
A suggestion by Timson last year for Boyden stadium parking didn't get far, in part because of issues seen if the town ran the lot.
At Tuesday night's meeting, another of those issues was raised again. If the town is allowed to earn money from stadium parking, how could we say no to residents who want to do the same, Selectman Cathy Winston asked. "Just like the good old days." In response to traffic, noise, vandalism and other problems, the town changed zoning several years ago to ban paid neighborhood parking for stadium events. To allow the town or residents to get into such paid parking would take another two-thirds vote by Town Meeting.
The board's discussion concluded without a decision on whether to seek parking bids. Comment (http://www.walpolenews.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40) on WalpoleWords.
(Here's the WalpoleWords comment thread started last year.)
In other business, selectmen got an update by Metropolitan Area Planning Council representatives on their identification of flooding and other weather-related problem spots and potential solutions to be included in a plan required post-Katrina for certain federal grants. Possibilities include maintenance at Allen Dam and culvert work at the Washington-Common Street intersection.
Town Administrator Michael Boynton said the town will be cleaning old drain pipes to alleviate flooding in the Norfolk Street - Oak Street vicinity. It's been determined that a 40B development on Oak Street has not contributed to the problem, he said.
Boynton also said work at the Bird Fountain on the Common is about to begin with the help of donations in memory of Lt. Andrew Bacevich and the generosity of contractors.
The town informed Walpole Woodworkers last month that it is not interested in acquiring the warehouse property on School Street, for which the company received an unsolicited offer from a developer of assisted living facilities. There's been no discussion since then between the town and the Woodworkers, Boynton said.
It would cost $15,000 for the town to come up with a detailed existing conditions plan of the municipal complex along Stone and School Streets that advocates for a senior center there requested last month. The town does not have the money for the plan, Boynton said.
Advocates of the center, proposed to be built entirely through contributions beside Blackburn Hall and onto Stone Field, suggested at a meeting with selectmen last month that perhaps a better spot could be found elsewhere within the municipal area.
June 17: Sunnyrock Farm
Sunnyrock Farm is to be developed in two phases - first, nine houses on the farmstand side of North Street and later, a "village," perhaps with an agricultural theme, on 60 acres across the street.
A standard nine-lot subdivision on a 16-acre parcel is to be presented to the planning board, assuming a long-running court matter is concluded as expected by summer's end, Atty. Richard Gelerman told selectmen Tuesday, June 17. Gelerman is trustee for the Buttimer Family Trust.
In return for years of tax breaks while the land remained undeveloped, the town has the right under state law to buy the property at the same price as offered by the developer. (The Buttimer land contains several parcels; the offering to the town can be confined to the 16 acres.)
In response to questions by newly-elected Selectman Cliff Snuffer, Gelerman said the town would be expected to pay the value of the parcel as an approved nine-lot subdivision. Snuffer responded that if the value of the land is now X, it would become X-plus-plus once the town approved a subdivision plan.
If the town does not choose to purchase the land, it would be entitled to a payment making up for the past tax breaks.
The single-family houses on the farmstand side are to be built by Whitman Homes, one of three developers that were interested. Gelerman said the builder does good work, based on his experience with it as Sharon town counsel.
Whitman Homes also is the potential builder for the village on the 60-acre tract, Gelerman indicated.
Noting the interest and "wonderful memories" of Sunnyrock, Gelerman said the village concept might preserve farm structures and tie into the agricultural history of the land. The trust and the developer will work cooperatively with the community, he said.
Here's a Google aerial (http://www.walpolenews.com/mapsunny.html) that can be scrolled and zoomed.
Comments (http://www.walpolenews.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31) on WalpoleWords
Winston chairman
In the post-election reorganization Tuesday night, Cathy Winston was elected chairman of the board of selectmen and Cliff Snuffer, vice chairman.
Selectmen are sending a pointed letter to the Walpole Peace and Justice Group decrying the inclusion of four black-draped coffins in what the group had said would be a tribute to the troops on the Common June 21.
Selectmen Chairman Cathy Winston, who wrote the letter, was joined by the two other board members present Tuesday night, Cliff Snuffer and Al DeNapoli, in charging that use of the coffins demonstrated a shameful lack of consideration for the families of men and women serving in the armed forces.
Inclusion of the coffins, selectmen said, was a breach of how the group described what it would be doing at its "tribute" -- stretching a cable linking 4,000 wristbands, each bearing the name of a serviceman or woman killed in Iraq. "Someone was not up front with me," Winston said.
If the group had told selectmen about coffins in its application to use the Common, the discussion would have been considerably different, Winston said. The coffins might be within Constitutional bounds, she said, but they were totally out of bounds in her view.
The group originally planned its activity to coincide with the Walpole veterans' Memorial Day salute on the Common. Peace and Justice agreed to postpone its event after veterans and others objected.
The board's letter is addressed to Philip Czachorowski, who submitted Peace and Justice's application for use of the Common. Selectmen said they believe Czachorowski was unaware of the coffins when he applied.
Here's Winston's letter (http://www.walpolenews.com/pjletter.pdf) (pdf) the board voted to send.
New library
An override request for about $7 million will be on the November ballot for a new library at Stone and School Streets.
Selectmen voted 3-0 Tuesday night to allow the question. The library has been working on the plan for over a decade, taking a back seat to other municipal priorities.
Praising the library trustees for being patient, Selectman Cliff Snuffer noted they'll be making their request in a tough economic climate.
Trustees Chairman Paul Cesary said the project cost will be about $12 million, with $4 million to come in an approved state grant and an expected $1 million through private contributions.
Here's a page with exterior and interior drawings (http://www.walpolenews.com/librarysketches.html) of Walpole Public Library's proposed new building.
The town plans to prohibit through traffic on Pine and Water Streets between Washington and Route 1 for sell-out stadium events, beginning with a country and western concert July 26.
As outlined at Tuesday night's selectmen's meeting, the C&W event and a Bruce Springsteen concert Aug. 2 will serve as shakedowns for a system to be in place for the Patriots, who host their pre-season opener at the Foxboro stadium Aug. 7.
Big traffic problems are anticipated the first few times the system is used. "No doubt about it, it will be a mess," Town Administrator Michael Boynton told the board.
Boynton and the board's expectation is that Pats fans will learn quickly that Washington Street is no longer an alternative for getting to the stadium.
While the Pats have been playing in Foxboro for 40 years, traffic flowing south on Washington swamped South Walpole last year and would be worse this year, Boynton said. The new mall beside the stadium has pushed game and concert parking across Route 1 to the southbound side, making Washington look even more inviting.
Signs will be posted along Washington advising stadium goers of the new rules. Fans who make it as far as South Walpole will be directed by police to turn around and get to Route 1 via Common Street or Route 27. Officers will be posted at Washington intersections at Pine and Water streets. The stadium will be asked to cover some of the enforcement costs, Boynton said.
State Police will be asked to manually control traffic signals to give traffic from Common and High Plain (Route 27) the opportunity to turn right onto Route 1 southbound. Foxboro will be asked to allow lots to open earlier to spread traffic.
At Tuesday's meeting, Selectman Chris Timson asked the board to consider whether the town could make money by parking cars on a closed Water Street.
Superfund plan
Selectmen Tuesday night authorized the town administrator and health director to send a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requesting removal of a culvert and buildings on the west side of the South Street Superfund site, work that would double what the EPA proposes be spent on the clean-up.
The letter drafted by Michael Boynton and Robin Chapell says the town agrees with most of the EPA's proposed $13 million plan that was presented at a Town Hall public hearing Monday night. But without removal of the 400-foot long, 9-foot wide culvert, "right now, what we see as your permanent solution leaves us feeling very uncomfortable," Boynton and Chapell wrote. "If the culvert is somehow punctured or breached, what are the risks associated with seepage or commingling with contaminated soils above and the Neponset River below?"
Here's their letter. (http://www.walpolenews.com/letterepa.pdf) (pdf)
Under the EPA's proposed plan, the industrial area east of South Street and the containment area on the west side would be off limits to any residential use. Part of the cost could be borne by Tyco Healthcare (Covidien) because of an ownership chain going back to the Kendall Company, which ran a mill on the site.
Here's the EPA's South Street page (http://yosemite.epa.gov/r1/npl_pad.nsf/f52fa5c31fa8f5c885256adc0050b631/A5EED40083872BD48525690D0044967D?OpenDocument) with links toward the bottom to documents including the June 2008 proposed plan (a 5 MB pdf file) and the feasibility study behind it (22 MB.) Here are a summary page (http://www.walpolenews.com/superproposal.pdf) from the proposed plan and a map (http://www.walpolenews.com/superfundmap.pdf) in the plan outlining the work.
Send written comments by Aug. 18 to: Dave Lederer Project Manager EPA New England 1 Congress Street Suite 1100 (HBO) Boston, MA 02114-2023. Fax comments to: 617-918-0325
The EPA would like to be ready to go by fall. Selectmen are scrambling to put together an independent corporation that could acquire the site for back taxes and expedite an EPA project.
Selectmen are asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to designate the town as an intervener in the South Street Superfund project.
That status would grant the town "a seat at the table" as discussions continue on the cleanup plan, board members said in approving the request at their meeting July 29.
Town Administrator Michael Boynton noted that as an intervener, Walpole would need help from town counsel. But the expense is warranted, Boynton said, because of the importance of shaping the final plan.
At their meeting July 15, selectmen authorized the town administrator and health director to send a letter to the EPA requesting removal of a culvert and buildings on the west side of the South Street Superfund site, work that would double what the EPA proposes be spent on the clean-up.
Send written comments by Aug. 18 to: Dave Lederer Project Manager EPA New England 1 Congress Street Suite 1100 (HBO) Boston, MA 02114-2023. Fax comments to: 617-918-0325
'any lawful use' here (http://www.walpolenews.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66)
Municipal quad: senior center and library
Advocates of a senior center and selectmen agree that the location now set aside for the building cannot work.
Instead of the site on the north side of Blackburn Hall and stretching onto Stone Field, advocates now want to build the center on Stone Street just east of Blackburn, using some of the land designated for parking for a new library at Stone and School Street. (Site sketches here.)
Library trustees have cautioned that loss of parking would jeopardize a $4 million state grant earmarked for the $13 million project. Senior center advocates believe that a shared parking arrangement could be worked out with the state. An override for the new library project will be on the November ballot. The senior center is to be built entirely through donations to be raised by the Friends of the Council on Aging.
A volunteer for the senior center effort, Richard Shields of Ryan Construction presented options to selectmen Tuesday night (Aug. 12) based on what might be the first-ever scale site sketch of the full municipal complex. Measurements indicate that a senior center stretching onto Stone Field would cause water problems in adjacent buildings.
Atty. Phil Macchi told the board that when he volunteered six months ago, he gave the proposed location the same review he would for a private project he would represent before town boards. "What you allocated for the Friends won't work," he told selectmen.
The location "out in a field" runs counter to the thrust of zoning to enhance the downtown streetscape, he said. And noting the dozens of young football players practicing on Stone Field outside the meeting room, Macchi asked, "Are you really going to kick out the kids?"
Selectmen agreed with Ryan and Macchi. Board Chairman Cathy Winston went a step further, saying she wanted to rescind the designation of the Blackburn/Stone Field location for the center. Macchi asked in response that the new location be designated first.
The board agreed to discuss the matter further at its Sept. 23 meeting after members emphasized that the library comes first. Another consideration: The police and fire chiefs are to meet with the board Sept. 8 to discuss the long-running effort for a new public safety facility or facilities.
Winston said she will insist on being kept informed about the fundraising effort for the senior center, just as with renovating Turco Field, another privately-funded project on town land. "We're not going to start a project if it can't be finished."
Shields responded that he has asked the FCOA not to push fundraising until the site issue is settled.
Macchi said the senior center would be designed in harmony with Blackburn and the new library, creating an interior area like a college quad centered on a green Stone Field, bounded to its north by a Stone Brook brought back to the surface and on its west by Main Street building renovations.
Still unknown, though, is how to provide for enough additional parking. Shields said a first step would be to reconfigure what's there now and then later consider a parking deck or structure.
Electric rate
Walpole is protesting a decision by a regional energy authority to require consumers on this side of the canal to pay considerably more for their electricity to help pay for transmission upgrades on Cape Cod.
On the advice of the town's energy consultant, selectmen voted Aug. 12 to send a letter of protest to ISO New England, pointing out that its policy will cost town government an extra $80,000 this year. The ISO lumps all of southeastern Massachusetts into one district, making Walpole and many other communities responsible for paying for inadequate infrastructure on the Cape. Selectmen want the district to be split in two.
Town Administrator Michael Boynton said that ISO policy means town government's cost rises from 9.5 cents per kilowatt hour to 11 cents. The policy affects the bills of all Southeastern Massachusetts consumers, Boynton said.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has already directed ISO New England to review the policy and report back in a year.
"I don't think anybody had an idea of the magnitude of the operation," a neighbor of Allied Recycling told selectmen Aug. 26.
Raymond Mosher referred to July aerial photos commissioned by another neighbor to show how the junkyard, largely screened from view at ground level, has grown on its 75-acre site off Route 1A in the past two years.
"The growth is frightening," Selectmen Chairman Cathy Winston said, estimating the operation has almost tripled in size in three years.
"That's not how you're supposed to run this business." Winston told owner Ed Jameson, referring to violations of the special permit under which the junkyard is operating. In a unanimous vote, selectmen gave Allied 30 days to comply with the permit and other conditions set forth after a May meeting -- including removing trailers from a prohibited area. Building Commissioner Jack Mee told the board Allied had agreed to be in compliance by mid-June, including the relocation of a mountain of scrap away from neighbors. But Allied has failed to live up to the commitments, according to Mee.
Jameson, who said he expected to be asked only about noise, said the trailers were being used for employees' weekend paintball games and that moving the scrap pile has been delayed by installation of a water line. Town Administrator Michael Boynton said the water line has been in place for weeks; board members chastised Jameson for not being prepared after Allied was notified of the full extent of what was to be discussed.
Mee said a new site plan is needed, specific on just what materials will be allowed in and where and how they'll be processed. Noting that Allied's business license expires Dec. 31, selectmen said they'll also be imposing strict limits if it is to be renewed.
Mosher said that Allied's business has "blossomed" in the last two years to the point that "we're closeting ourselves in our own homes" in an effort to escape noise and odors. Allied pounds junk vehicles flat with construction equipment, sending vibrations rolling through the area, he said. "This site is consuming the neighborhood."
He asked selectmen to consider what might be seeping into the town's sole source aquifer beneath the site.
-- Tom Glynn
Previous view top; July, 2008 bottom
http://www.walpolenews.com/images/allied3.jpg
http://www.walpolenews.com/images/allied1.jpg
Selectmen voted unanimously Sept. 8 to ask October Town Meeting for money to take a look at the possibilities for replacing the police and fire stations.
The intent is to come up with a project that can be presented to Town Meeting in May and to voters in the form of an override on the June ballot. Estimated cost of the study: $50,000, and of the full project: $20 million -- $200 a year in taxes on an average home.
Voters rejected an override in 2006 for a new police station on Robbins Road. Town officials then worked on a plan for a combined police and fire station on and behind Station 1 on Stone Street. But it was determined a building of the required size would be too big for the site.
The same two options would be the focus of the new study, which would review and use the findings of earlier efforts. This time around, it's anticipated under both options that the existing fire station would be demolished and replaced at its present location.
The Robbins Road option for a police station likely would be smaller and cost at least as much as the plan rejected in 2006. Selectmen acknowledged that once again the site would face opposition because of its location next to Johnson Middle School.
There's a new idea for a combined downtown facility, advanced by Town Administrator Michael Boynton: Gut the existing police station and put on addition that would double its size, stretching across the small parking lot between the police and fire departments and beyond.
A combined facility offers some savings and efficiencies. Renovating the existing police station (the old Town Hall) provides a use for the historic structure. But, Boynton said, renovating the existing station would be as expensive if not more so than building new.
The cost of doing nothing continues to rise, he said. In 2000, the price of a public safety building was $125 a square foot; now it's pushing $400, he said.
At the meeting attended by police and fire chiefs and deputies, Selectmen Chairman Cathy Winston called the situation desperate. But she predicted that by next spring, the spirit in the land will be more optimistic and voters more willing to approve a project.
Not much time was spent Monday night on the deficiencies of the existing buildings, the subject of years of Town Hall discussions. Police Chief Richard Stillman noted his old building's walls leak and there's no insulation. Fire Chief Timothy Bailey noted he can't get apparatus into garage bays built for cars.
Here's a Google aerial. (http://www.walpolenews.com/safety/policefire.html)
Repeating general support for the change, selectmen Sept. 22 agreed to ask library, police, fire and other town officials what they think about locating a new senior center between Blackburn Hall and the planned library site at Stone and School Streets.
But the board did not commit to the change for the proposed privately-funded senior center from a Stone Field location that is now seen as unworkable. Selectmen Chairman Cathy Winston said more information and input have to be gathered, and cautioned that a too-quick decision could create confusion in advance of a November override for a new library.
Selectman Chris Timson, also concerned about the potential for confusion, emphasized that there is no conflict between a senior center and the planned library. The Stone Street front of an envisioned municipal quadrangle has room for both, he noted.
Representing the Friends of the Council on Aging, who propose to fund a senior center entirely through donations, Atty. Phil Macchi assured the board that the FCOA does not have an eye on the Stone-School corner. To make the plan work, though, the new library would share its parking with the senior center.
The shared parking arrangement would be a change in the plan for which the state has approved a $4 million grant for the library on the condition that the town and donors come up with the rest of the estimated $12 million cost. There's been no firm information yet on whether a change in the parking arrangement would affect the state grant.
Selectman Cliff Snuffer said that when it comes to making a decision on the FCOA's location request, the impact on the library's state grant will be the core issue. Snuffer said that in the meantime, he'd favor rescinding selectmen's approval of Stone Field for a senior center. His proposal did not come to a vote.
Selectmen will circulate the FCOA proposal among town departments and boards for a response in 30 days.
Waiting, Macchi said, will delay resumption of the FCOA's fundraising effort, but he did not object to selectmen's approach. Richard Shields of Ryan Construction -- like Macchi, volunteering his time -- has advised the FCOA to delay fundraising until the center has a workable location. If you say yes to the change, Macchi told the board, we can solicit money.
The Stone Field site has been ruled out for several reasons, including water problems and the loss of a playing field that was being heavily used for youth football as the selectmen's meeting got under way.
Winston said that if the library override fails in November, she would not expect it to come back again and again. She added that if the library plan does not become reality, "police, fire, everybody" would be interested in the Stone-School corner.
As of now, the two proposals for a new public safety facility are for a police station on Robbins Road with a new fire station on its existing site or a gut-job and expansion of the existing police station to link with a new fire station on the existing site. Under the second alternative, the fire department might relocate to the DPW yard during construction.
Lloyd Smith, chairman of the Council on Aging, appeared before the selectmen to thank the Friends for their effort to create a new center. The existing space in Town Hall is too limited, he said, notably when it comes to providing privacy to townspeople who come to meet with an outreach worker.
In response to the loss of $750,000 in prison mitigation money, Town Administrator Michael Boynton proposes $500,000 in cuts and the transfer of $250,000 from free cash.
If approved by Town Meeting Nov. 5, the cuts would leave two police and one firefighter position unfilled but there would be no layoffs. In the usual split, two-thirds of the cut -- $330,000 -- would be in the schools' budget.
Boynton's plan will be on the table Thursday night, Oct. 30, at a joint meeting of the selectmen, school committee and finance committee. It's expected there will be dialogue between the school committee and selectmen over whether more money than recommended by Boynton should be made available from reserves to soften the impact of the prison money's loss during the current July 1-June 30 fiscal year (FY '09.)
In addition to scrapping plans to fill the police and fire positions, Boynton's proposal calls for cutting municipal expense budgets by about 2 percent for the remainder of FY '09 for a total reduction of $170,000. It's up to the school committee to decide on how the schools will address their $330,000 reduction. In addition to that amount, the schools face shortfalls of $200,000 in Medicaid reimbursements and $100,000 in bus costs.
Selectman Cliff Snuffer, who watched Monday night's school committee on cable, said it looks to him as if the schools will be using up their available dollars and cutting expense items to an extent that will be felt in the classroom. Noting that he is a former FinCom Chairman, Snuffer said he's committed to the town policy of using free cash for capital expenses, not recurring operating costs.
For the current fiscal year, the town set aside close to $750,000 just in case the mitigation money fell through. The $250,000 will come from that pot, and Boynton proposes that a further $150,000 be transferred from it to handle additional budget squeezes likely for the currently fiscal year.
According to Boynton's numbers that assume approval of his plan and a commitment for $600,000 in FY '10 capital projects by this spring's Town Meeting, Walpole will have $200,000 left in free cash June 30. With restoration of the $750,000 this year or next uncertain at best, something has to be left in the bank to soften the impact of the loss next year, he said. It would be fiscally irresponsible to draw down the full $750,000 from reserves this year, he said.
Boynton said the word in state circles is that Governor Patrick might be ordering cuts in local aid as the Commonwealth's financial situation becomes further strained. Those further reductions would force the town to lay off employees, he said -- and that's with the existing tax structure.
If Massachusetts voters approve elimination of the state income tax Nov. 4, Walpole, with a $65 million budget, could lose $8 million a year -- and incur close to $1 million in additional unemployment costs, he said.
That big a loss would force an override attempt in Walpole, Selectmen Chairman Cathy Winston said, adding that the effort likely would fail.
With Snuffer abstaining, the board voted 4-0-1 to advise townspeople of the importance of their decision on Question 1, the income tax repeal, Tuesday.
The number of firefighters listening Thursday night, Oct. 30, to town officials discuss cutting a department position dropped by two and then another two as calls came for runs by the town's two ambulances.
That left four men to answer an alarm, the minimum response required for the safety of the firefighters and the public, union president Lt. Paul Barry said in speaking against a reduction of one shift from eight firefighters to seven.
Barry's remarks and those of other firefighters came after members of the FinCom voted 11-0-1 to recommend that Town Meeting Wednesday night, Nov. 5, approve a plan from Town Administrator Michael Boynton with selectmen's backing to eliminate two vacant positions -- a firefighter and a police officer -- as part of the response to Governor Patrick's decision to cancel $750,000 in prison mitigation money for Walpole. The votes by the FinCom and selectmen (unanimous) to endorse the plan came during a joint meeting of those two boards and the school committee; the firefighters' statements on the risks involved came later, after the FinCom and school committee had left the room.
Barry, the department's training officer, explained that standard procedure with a four-person response calls for an incident commander, pump operator and two firefighters to enter the building as a pair. Procedure says a firefighter shouldn't go in alone, he said, but with two ambulances on runs and a seven- rather than eight-person shift, that would be the situation. "It's unsafe for us and unsafe for the community."
"We're aggressive," Barry said, explaining he couldn't imagine a solo firefighter standing outside waiting for more help. "I'm begging you not to make that cut."
The vacant slot was created when a firefighter left to take a post in another community. Removing the position from the budget frees $30,000 for the remainder of the fiscal year.
Boynton adding that the issue is not just the $30,000, but the $10,000 or so a month it is costing in overtime to maintain the full eight-person shifts as required by contract. Last fiscal year, the department got $80,000 from the townwide reserve fund to cover unbudgeted overtime, Boynton said, stressing he does not want to be faced with a similar bill this spring.
Boynton asked firefighters whether they were suggesting that two workers in other departments be laid off to make $110,000 available for the WFD. He also noted the WFD was spared the deep cuts of four years ago, from which some town departments have yet to be made whole. Selectman Al DeNapoli urged firefighters to work toward a mutual agreement on overtime.
The contractual requirement for full eight-person shifts goes back to the reopening of the East Walpole station, the addition of a second ambulance and the inauguration of Advanced Life Support (ALS) service. Town Meeting last month funded new three-year contracts for DPW and police, but agreement appears not to have been reached with the fire union in time for Wednesday's Town Meeting session.
Boynton is proposing the current July 1-June 30 budget be reduced by $343,000 -- down from a $500,000 cut he proposed earlier in the week. The main reason: assessors are listing additional taxable property -- telephone poles as allowed by a recent court decision that's under appeal.
The police department will be allowed to fill one of two vacancies. Chief Richard Stillman said he can live with this particular cut as long as it's temporary. Boynton responded he couldn't provide such assurance.
In addition to the loss of the $750,000 and the possibility of local aid cuts to come, repeal of the state income tax as called for by Question 1 in the election Tuesday could cost the town $8 million a year out of a $63 million budget.
School impact
As part of its unanimous vote Thursday night to support Boynton's reduction plan at Town Meeting, the school committee raised no objection to the schools taking the usual two-thirds share (up or down) of state aid increases or decreases -- in this case $226,380.
Supt. Lincoln Lynch said schools will cut supplies, reallocate some money from revolving funds and exhaust their reserves except for $300,000. Vice Chairman John Desmond said that's a reasonable amount for a department with a $30 million budget to carry year-to-year.
FinCom Chairman Tom Jalkut said he's surprised to learn of the $300,000 reserve. "No other department has that cushion." Selectmen Chairman Cathy Winston said she was troubled to learn that unlike the municipal side, the schools are not cutting positions.
Lynch said an agreement is close on a new three-year teachers contract that works out to about two percent increase in town costs each year.
Here's a 17-year table (http://www.walpolenews.com/tax.html) of average single-family assessments and tax bills.
The annual tax bill for a home assessed at the townwide average will be $5,173, up $234 (4.7 percent.)
Under state law, assessors must use 2007 sale prices for the bills for the current tax year -- July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009. Based on 2007, the new average assessment is $442,102, down from $456,000 the previous year.
John Fisher of the board of assessors noted at the selectmen's meeting Nov. 18 that the steeper price drops of 2008 will be reflected in assessments for the tax year that begins July 1, 2009.
Bills are based on assessed value and the rate per thousand dollars of assessment. At their Nov. 18 meeting, selectmen accepted assessors' recommendation that as usual, commercial rates be 25 percent higher in order to give homeowners a 4 percent break.
The new residential rate is $11.70 per thousand; the commercial rate is $15.20.
The next partial bill -- for the third quarter of the tax year -- will be based on the new numbers and include an adjustment for the two earlier estimated bills.
Anticipating that the library will try again on the June ballot for an override for a new building, selectmen have told advocates of a new senior center to back off on a proposal that would cut into planned library parking and jeopardize a $4 million state grant.
Library Chairman Paul Cesary informed selectmen at their Dec. 2 meeting that he has been told unequivocally by the state library grant officer that the loss of parking would end the $4 million commitment.
The library's site plan calls for 45 parking spaces between its new building at Stone and School Streets and Blackburn Hall. The senior center proposal to build on part of that land would cut parking to 25 or fewer spaces, Cesary said. That parking would be shared with the center rather than designated for the library as set forth in the contract with the state.
Four years ago, selectmen agreed that the Friends of the Council on Aging (FCOA) could build a proposed privately funded center on the Stone Field side of Blackburn. But this year after professional volunteers came aboard, it was determined the Stone Field site would be unbuildable because of a high water table.
FCOA President Sue Maguire said at the Dec. 2 selectmen's meeting that the center proposal would "in no way" affect the library's plan. What the proposal talks about is parking, shared parking, she said. Delay in identifying a site for the center would not help fundraising, she said.
Lloyd Smith, chairman of the Council on Aging, told the board that he had been unaware that the library had to have all of its planned parking as a condition of the grant.
As did other selectmen, Chairman Cathy Winston told the senior center advocates that the planned library site remains the library's for the coming year. The state grant commitment runs through Dec. 31, 2009.
You're going to have to be patient, Selectman Cliff Snuffer advised center advocates. In the meantime, board members suggested, other configurations for a center could be explored, both in the municipal complex and away from the town center. Selectmen will also see if the state has some flexibility on library parking.
Selectman Chris Timson told center advocates that though it was not their intent, they've created a situation in which they're seen to be in competition with the library. In fact, Timson said, the two projects could complement one another as part of an envisioned municipal quad, just as the two efforts to win public support can be mutually reinforcing.
Richard Shields, a construction executive who has been volunteering with the FCOA, told the board that the proposed senior location he helped come up with is just one of many possibilities. He said advocates would look at other locations in the municipal area, a task, selectmen noted, that will be complicated by a parallel effort for a new police and fire station.
Cesary and library trustee Maureen Smith told selectmen their board has yet to vote, but that they both favor making another try for an override in the June town election. An override, asking for $7 million toward a $12 million project, was defeated in the November presidential election with 6,976 opposed to 6,108 (53 to 47 percent) in favor.
Selectmen Chairman Winston said she admired the library for trying for the override in an election that draws the maximum number of voters. But she said it's likely that many November voters decided to vote no on all ballot questions to avoid complication. Politically, the library stands a better chance in June, she said, working to get its supporters out amid a smaller turnout.
Library Trustee Smith said she feels duty bound to give it another try rather than walk away from a $4 million grant and close to $1 million in donor pledges.
House Majority Leader John Rogers told selectmen Tuesday night, Jan. 13, that the Legislature will give Governor Patrick the authority to cut local aid as early as Jan. 14.
Rogers, a Norwood Democrat who represents Walpole, said lawmakers do not know how deeply Patrick will cut or whether he will provide details in his televised State of the State address Thursday.
Rogers, Sen. Jim Timilty and the town's three other state representatives met with the board at the invitation of selectmen who urged them to make sure that in responding to a billion-dollar-plus revenue shortfall, the governor does not go overboard in slashing local aid to preserve money for state programs.
With the current budget already reflecting the loss of $750,000 in prison mitigation money, Town Administrator Michael Boynton told the lawmakers that he's already looking at a potential further $850,000 gap through June 30. Among the reasons: Auto excise tax receipts are running $300,000 behind estimates; the town has already spent close to $200,000 more than budgeted for snow plowing.
Cutbacks that will require layoffs to close that gap are already being discussed. Reductions in state aid to be announced by the governor will compound the losses now through June.
On top of that, Boynton has warned that estimates on Beacon Hill indicate that Walpole could be looking at the need to cut spending by $4 million for the fiscal year that will begin July 1. This year's town budget for municipal services and the schools is $65 million.
Boynton and selectmen did not get specific Tuesday night about what cuts are under consideration to avert a shortfall in the current budget year or for fiscal 2010 that starts July 1. Boynton is to present his FY'10 plan in three weeks.
Also on Tuesday night's agenda were quarterly updates from the fire and police chiefs, who touched on impending cutbacks.
Discussion between the board and Fire Chief Timothy Bailey hinted at a major change coming for his department. Selectmen told Chief Bailey they will have a workshop session with him on what's in store.
Police Chief Richard Stillman, noting retirements have created three vacancies on the force, said he is planning on the elimination of his department's outreach programs, with the possible exception of the school resource officer. Triad for the elderly; DARE for school children, self-defense for women and other programs will be gone. The chief told the board he feels as if he's dismembering the department.
The cutbacks, Stillman noted, come at a time when his department is making many more arrests, a sign of the economic times.
Representative Rogers reminded the board that the first round of cutbacks ordered by the governor has fallen entirely on state services -- for the elderly, those who need medical help, college students... Selectmen did not try to argue that aid to cities and towns should be untouchable in the next cutback.
But selectmen stressed that unlike just about every other community, Walpole was hit and hit hard in the first round by the governor's cancellation of an already approved $750,000 in prison money. Because of that, selectmen said, Walpole deserves some extra consideration in what's coming next.
Selectmen Chairman Kathy Winston concluded the session with "We're a tough bunch and we'll get through this."
Walpole is losing $309,000 immediately as part of Governor Patrick's cutback of $128 million in state aid in the face of a billion-dollar plus shortfall in the commonwealth's revenues.
Walpole's loss appears in line with cuts for other communities, despite the town's plea that it be hit less hard in consideration of its loss of $750,000 prison mitigation money earlier in the fiscal year.
Coming seven months into the fiscal year, the $309,000 loss will have a bigger impact than the dollar figure indicates. In his annual budget message at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 2, Town Administrator Michael Boynton will outline cuts for the current fiscal year and for FY 2010, which begins July 1, 2009.
In addition to cuts for the current fiscal year, Governor Patrick posted today (Jan. 28) state aid figures for FY2010. His total for Walpole is $10.5 million, $640,000 below the newly reduced number for the current year. Beyond that, $360,000 of Walpole's FY'10 aid depends on legislative approval of the governor's proposed increases in restaurant and hotel taxes.
(Clicking on link either link will download an Excel file.) The statewide cutbacks for the current fiscal year are posted here. The FY'10 cherry sheet numbers are here. Thanks to a WalpoleWords poster for the links.
In addition to the loss of state aid, Walpole could be headed toward a $500,000 shortfall in its snow removal budget, Town Administrator Michael Boynton told selectmen Tuesday night. Before today's storm, the gap was already over $300,000, he said.
What's more, the cold and snow have done a number on roadways, he said, as will become obvious during pothole season. And town equipment is suffering wear and tear, he added.
Boynton noted that Walpole treats state aid as a lump sum, with two thirds of it (whether a plus or minus) apportioned to the schools, and one third to municipal services. He wished that the governor were not giving the impression that he was sparing education from cuts.
Zoning use table The draft of the proposed new zoning use table on the planning board's web pages has been updated to the Feb. 2 version.
Spring Town Meeting will be asked to approve a new zoning use table. But just what will be in that table has yet to be nailed down. And judging by comments at the Jan. 27 selectmen's meeting, expectations are not high that the table will be approved the first time around.
Closing the Spring TM warrant, selectmen voted 4-1 to include a table article.
Cliff Snuffer voted against putting the article on the warrant, stating that the draft table includes heavy uses, including waste management, fabrication of buildings and trailers, manufacture of plastic and rubber products, in zones that abut neighborhoods. The draft reflects a "death wish" and failure to understand that heavy industry is 40 and 50 years in Walpole's past. It's a "failed document" and "not anywhere near ready for prime time," he maintained.
Planning board Chairman Jack Conroy and Ed Forsberg of the zoning rewrite committee told selectmen that the approach is to revise the draft again and again as it goes through the pre-Town Meeting meeting and hearing process. The goal is to come up with a table that everyone supports, he said. If it fails in May, we'll come back with a revised table in the fall, he said.
The majority of the board went along with that approach, noting that going through meetings and hearings can be an effective way to learn and make improvements.
The table specifies allowed uses, in which zones those uses can be located and in some categories, whether the planning board or the zoning board oversees special permits.
The new table, to be presented to spring Town Meeting, is the second phase of a complete revision of the town's zoning bylaw. The first phase, approved by the spring 2008 Town Meeting made corrections (and the fall 2008 Town Meeting eliminated the "any lawful use" provision from the table.) The third and final phase is to be a revision of zoning districts.
The Feb. 8 Boston Globe has a story (http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2009/02/08/layoffs_projected_for_city_school_jobs/) about Walpole's budget.
The library has issued a statement (http://www.walpole.ma.us/budgetcuts2010.htm) about the impact of a $250,000 cut.
Town Administrator Michael Boynton's tentative budget for the 12 months beginning July 1 calls for the elimination of 26 positions on the municipal side and deeper cuts for the schools.
The spending plan is $3.9 million below what would be need to continue existing services, he said in his annual budget presentation Monday night (Feb. 2.) The municipal side is to be cut $1.3 million; the schools, $2.6 million in the $64 million budget for fiscal 2010.
The library is to be cut by $250,000, losing seven full and part-time employees. That loss of one-third of the staff would require closing an additional two days a week and cost the library its state certification -- and along with it a $4 million matching grant for a new building, according to library director Jerry Romelczyk.
Also to be cut are three police, three firefighter/paramedic and four public works positions. Several Town Hall clerical positions will be eliminated along with two part-time Recreation jobs.
Noting that the school committee shapes its budget, Boynton said that absorbing a $2.6 million cut could mean "higher class sizes, higher fees and other education disruptions."
While there has been talk of a pay freeze to spare some jobs, Boynton said he could agree to such a plan only if it covered every union, every employee. He indicated he'd prefer to see employees pick up a higher share of health costs, adding that he will voluntarily increase his own premium contribution from 20 to 30 percent.
During a Q&A period after the presentation, Selectman Al DeNapoli suggested the board take up once again the possibility of trash fees, which could raise just over $1 million a year.
Boynton's budget now goes to the finance committee which after weeks of open meetings will present its recommendations to the May Town Meeting.
Boynton indicated Monday night that unlike the case in other years, the budget numbers could well become grimmer in the next three months.
Major factors in the FY10 shortfall are a $1 million cut in state aid, an anticipated drop of $600,000 in auto excise taxes and an $800,000 increase in health insurance costs.
For the current fiscal year, Boynton plans to cover a $1.3 million shortfall by drawing down reserve funds and cutting expenses. As of two weeks ago, six department heads are leaving town cars in the parking lot rather than taking them home at night, he said.
Boynton's presentation did not mention the East Walpole fire station; discussions continue on whether it will remain open.
Voicing concern about the toll on Stone Field and the cost to the town, selectmen put off a vote Feb. 24 on authorization for the annual April vacation carnival.
While the carnival raises money for the American Legion to sponsor Babe Ruth baseball, it does nothing for the town, selectmen Chairman Cathy Winston said, adding the week-long event "absolutely destroys what field there is out there." Despite vows to the contrary, the carnival leaves Stone Field in "abominable" condition, she said.
If the Legion agrees to pay the town for use of the field and to hire a landscaper, Winston said, she might be willing to vote for the carnival.
Town Administrator Michael Boynton said that kids end up playing on concrete and the town ends up paying some of the costs created by the carnival.
On a another Feb. 24 agenda item, Chief Richard Stillman said his department no longer has money in its community policing account, which in the past has underwritten services at community events. It might be possible to provide service to a limited number of events out of the regular budget, he said, but some organizations might have to be told to come up with money up front. Police will be asking groups to do some reconfiguring, Stillman said, and requested the board for a list of priority events.
Boynton reported two improvements in projections for the fiscal year that will begin July 1: Health insurance costs will rise by 7 percent, not the forecasted 11 percent, for a $300,000 savings. And the Registry of Motor Vehicles has found an additional $100,000 in commercial vehicle excise tax revenue for the town, worth $100,000. But Boynton said he's not ready to revise his estimate of a $4 million shortfall yet in the face of a growing deficit in the snow budget.
He noted questions have been raised at the finance committee about continuing to spend for some capital items, including work on the town pools and the East Walpole Civic Center, in the face of pending layoffs. Altogether, $659,000 remains unexpended on ongoing projects from capital budgets approved by 2007 and 2008 Town Meetings, including $83,000 for the pools, $18,000 for the East Walpole Center and $36,000 for Town Hall flooring and other work there.
Winston said town employees have said it's "a bit callous" to be spending money on flooring while jobs are to be cut. Noting that $18,000 has already been spent for material for the Town Hall work, she said the flooring is in "dire" need of replacement.
Stimulus
The federal stimulus package could go a long way toward narrowing a $4 million budget gap otherwise foreseen for the next fiscal year.
A document (http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/publications/2009StimulusLeasfinal.pdf) (long pdf file) on the U.S. House of Representatives site indicates that Walpole could be in line for $1.2 million in direct aid from the stimulus bill signed into law by President Obama last week.
Likely to be the bulk of the town's operating aid from the stimulus, all of the $1.2 million on the chart is listed as for education, split between the current fiscal year and FY2010, which begins this July 1.
The House chart notes at the top that the numbers are not certain.
At the town level, too, all is not clear yet. While the stimulus law (and the state education commissioner) see the direct aid going to schools, Walpole traditionally apportions state aid (and state aid cuts) two-thirds to schools and one-third to municipal services. At the Feb. 24 selectmen's meeting, Town Administrator Michael Boynton indicated he believes that split applies to the stimulus money: The schools and municipal government partner on "all transfers."
Another potential issue: on the House chart, all but $120,000 of Walpole's $1.2 million comes under special education.
Regulations will be drafted at both the state and federal level on the implementation of the stimulus package.
The town has proposed several projects, including a new library, senior center and public safety facility, to the state for possible funding under the infrastructure part of the stimulus package.
Town Administrator Michael Boynton is easing his estimate of a spending gap in the 2009-10 budget by $420,000 -- with much of that money aimed toward reducing a big cutback for the library.
In a budget discussion in their office March 10, selectmen agreed that two-thirds of the $420,000 would go to the school side, in keeping with the traditional 66-34 revenue split between the schools and municipal services.
It was noted that respecting that split is to the advantage of the municipal side: All of an estimated $1.2 million in federal stimulus money coming to Walpole is designated for the schools. Boynton, however, wants municipal services to benefit from part of that sum.
Boynton's February budget presentation for the 12 months that begin July 1 projected a $250,000 cut (36 percent) in library funding. The cut could cost the library its state certification and along with it $30,000 in state aid and $4 million in matching funds for a proposed new building.
In the scenario favored March 10, all but $4,000 of the $111,500 designated for the municipal side would go to the library. Boynton said that even with the additional money, the library would fall well short of what trustees say is need to maintain certification.
He noted that library director Jerry Romelczyk has said he's retiring by year's end. (Romelczyk says his retirement is long planned and has nothing to do with the budget issue.)
Boynton said communities have yet to receive information from the state on how the federal stimulus money is to be distributed and regulated.
For now, selectmen are still talking in terms of a $63 million budget for 2009-10, $4 million short of level funding.
Carnival approved
Selectmen voted 5-0 March 10 to allow the annual April vacation carnival after voicing misgivings last month about its impact on Stone Field.
Backers of the event, which supports American Legion sponsorship of Babe Ruth baseball and other youth activities, reminded the board how heavily the field is used by other groups starting in early spring: Take away the carnival and Stone Field still wouldn't grow green -- it hasn't, not for decades. Volunteers, though, will make an extra effort this year to try to improve the field as well as doing the usual clean-up.
Selectmen said they want the town's three swimming pools open this summer despite tight budgets. They favored reducing the daily $10 one-person admission fee charged last summer to something closer to the $7 fee of previous years. The $10 fee kept people away last year, recreation director Josh Cole told the board. The hope is that a lower daily fee will increase revenue.
All of next year's Walpole federal stimulus money designated by Congress for schools, estimated at $900,000, will go to the schools. All of the $420,000 in potential savings and revenue increases in the projected FY '10 town budget will go for municipal services, notably the public library.
The arrangement, announced at the March 24 selectmen's meeting by Town Administrator Muchael Boynton, breaks precedent with the traditional 66-34 split of outside revenue between the schools and municipal services. Selectmen had taken a shot at maintaining that split for current and future stimulus money, but federal and state guidelines are firm that stimulus education dollars go to schools.
Of the potential $420,000, Boynton said, $160,000 would go to the library, reducing what had been a projected $250,000 cut. Instead of 36 percent, the reduction would be 12 percent, perhaps allowing the library to maintain state certification, Boynton said.
Also from the $420,000, one police and one DPW that had been marked for elimination would be retained.
But, Boynton said, the FY10 budget, which takes effect July 1, will still be $800,000 short of maintaining existing services. Schools are working with a similar number. (http://www.walpole.ma.us/District_Home_page/meetings_2009/Summary_ReportMarch23.pdf)
Boynton credited the Town Hall clerical union for agreeing to give up step increases, a total of $17,000 or so, in order to help stave off a job cutback.
Voicing strong support for the project, selectmen voted 4-0 April 7 to put a $6.2 million override for a new library on the June town election ballot.
The vote was taken in front of dozens of supporters who came to the meeting to thank the board for softening a proposed budget cut that likely would have cost the library its state certification and eligibility for $4 million in state matching funds for the new building.
Instead of a 36 percent cut ($250,000), the proposed reduction for the fiscal year beginning July 1 will be just over 10 percent. The change came after selectmen received many calls and emails from townspeople protesting the original cut, Chairman Cathy Winston said. "That's democracy, that's what we're here for."
The additional library money comes from a $420,000 increase in Town Administrator Michael Boynton's projection for the coming fiscal year.
At the April 4 board meeting, Boynton said that $360,000 of that amount is based on switching to Governor Patrick's state aid estimates, not including money from his proposed hotel and restaurant taxes. Boynton cautioned that the House budget to be unveiled the week of April 13 could be $900 million smaller than Patrick's proposal.
Anticipating that final state numbers won't be ready before summer, Boynton said the budget he'll take to the May Town Meeting will include the upwardly revised library funding.
The amount of the override is $800,000 less than what was sought unsuccessfully on the November ballot. The reduction is based on a trend toward lower construction bids because of the economy and expectation that ways to shave costs will be found in final design.
Responding favorably to a request from Norfolk to support a "No through trucking" rule for that town's Everett Street, selectmen voted unanimously Tuesday, June 9, to link Summer Street to the proposal.
Everett and Summer (http://www.walpolenews.com/everettst.html) are essentially the same roadway, with a name change at the town line.
If the state highway department approves, trucks other than those making local deliveries would be banned from what Town Administrator Michael Boynton said would otherwise be an increasingly popular loop skirting Route 1 in Foxboro, where heavy development is under way and more planned.
The limit would be in effect for the full length of Summer Street, in part to discourage truckers from diverting to Winter Street.
Selectman David Sullivan, a retired Walpole police officer, said he would expect that the chief would respond to complaints of violations and that penalties are set forth in state law.
On another road matter, selectmen expressed tentative support for a state proposal to get rid of the old railroad bridge on Common Street just east of South Street by filling in the opening. The structure is deteriorating rapidly, and the state has no interest in taking on the cost of a new bridge. The board asked that the town engineer review the situation before making a final response.
In a discussion of the work of Boston Architectural College students who came up with ideas for the downtown municipal area, Town Administrator Michael Boynton said that it no longer appears feasible to create a combined police and fire facility there, citing stormwater, parking and other issues. So locations outside of the center will be reviewed as potential sites for the police.
Boynton said the town will push for federal stimulus money for a new fire station at the existing location. There's a special category in the federal package for fire stations, he noted.
New chairman
In three 5-0 post-election votes, the board elected Christopher Timson chairman, Al DeNapoli vice chairman and David Sullivan clerk.
Chief Timothy Bailey told selectmen at their June 23 meeting that as of July 1 he might have to close the East Walpole fire station from time to time for staffing reasons.
Two firefighter/para-medics are to be laid off Tuesday as a result of the FY '10 budget proposed by Town Administrator Michael Boynton and voted by Town Meeting in May. The department has lost two other firefighter/-paramedics to budget cutbacks; the most recent one was to be laid off next week and is now in the Sharon's department.
In addition, Chief Bailey told selectmen that three firefighter/paramedics are out for extended periods because of injuries, leaving the department with five on duty. That's seven below full strength of a year ago.
Selectmen agreed that the chief has the authority to close East Walpole station on his own, and backed his proposal to do so when needed.
The discussion at Tuesday night's board meeting did not get directly into another issue created by the loss of firefight-er/paramedics: The state requires two paramedics for every shift -- a total of eight -- for the town to retain its license for Advanced Life Support (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_life_support) (ALS) on its ambulances.
Bailey noted that he plans to replace men out for more than 60 days with temporary firefighters. In the past, the temporary replacements have not been paramedics, Bailey said.
Common Street bridge
The state is expected to make temporary repairs to the deck of the Common Street bridge this summer, Town Administrator Michael Boynton said.
Repair work will mean that only one lane will be open daytime over a long-abandoned rail line just west of South Street, meaning east and westbound traffic will alternate getting across. Both lanes will be open at night, Boynton said.
Meanwhile, the state will be designing a permanent fix -- likely tearing out the old bridge and filling in the gap. Selectmen indicated Tuesday night that they want the fill sloped rather than walled. And they want a design that protects the town from liability.
In other business Tuesday night, Boynton said Walpole is a little better off under the conference committee budget approved by the Legislature last week: it contains more aid for the town than the Senate version, but less than the House originally voted. It wasn't clear, though, whether the governor would sign the budget -- or whether there would be enough votes to override a veto. If the committee budget bill becomes law, Walpole will begin FY '10 next week with an estimated shortfall of just $21,000. (Link to state aid (http://www.walpolenews.com/cherrysheet.pdf) and for assessments, scroll down on the pdf file.)
Boynton credited school cafeteria workers for agreeing to accept rate saver health insurance, which offers 15 percent savings. The school department had considered replacing the town workers with an outside contractor.
In joint session, selectmen and the planning board picked Richard Mazzocca to fill the planning board seat vacated by newly elected Selectman Nancy Mackenzie. Mazzocca was the runner-up in the 2008 election, seven votes behind a winner.
Selectmen appointed architects Bernard Goba as a member and David Wildnauer as associate member of the Permanent Building Committee, which is to oversee construction of the library.
Walpole Youth Football and Cheerleading (http://wyfc.walpolesports.org/) wants to improve Stone Field, first of all to make it safer for young athletes and eventually to create a parklike setting that would be an asset to downtown.
The WYF would raise the necessary money, estimated at up to $9,000 for a first phase and from $60,000 to $80,000 for the complete plan.
Selectmen were enthusiastic at the presentation Tuesday night (July 14,) but cautioned there's a lot to be worked out first.
First of all, there's the annual April vacation carnival on Stone Field that raises money for Babe Ruth and Legion baseball, but is seen by town officials and the WYF representatives as incompatible with their vision of a soft, green field.
Selectman Al DeNapoli advised the representatives, Bob Auditore and Bob Conrad, to try to work out an arrangement with the carnival sponsors. It was noted that sponsors have not been able to find a suitable alternative location. Failure to reach an agreement would not necessarily be fatal, DeNapoli said.
Auditore said in the first two phases, maybe this November and next March, a landscaping company would aerate and amend the soil and seed deeply so that the field would be grassy, rather than hardpan and rock. The WYF would also take on the responsibility to beautify the field and its surroundings, to "make it a park," he said.
In return, WYF wants assurances that it can continue its existing schedule of two or three days a week, August into October. The WYF would make no claims of exclusivity. The goal is to provide a place that reflects all Walpole has to offer in sports, he said.
Selectmen noted that with final design for the new library at Stone and School Streets yet to begin, there's the possibility that the field will play a role in handling water runoff. Library Chairman Paul Cesary said the hope is to remain within the bounds of the 1.6-acre building site.
Based on statements at the board meeting, next up will be rounds of meetings for the WSF: with other sports groups including the the carnival sponsors; with the architect and engineers on the library project; and with town officials, including health and environmental agents.
WYF is working with Waverly Landscape Associates, (http://www.waverlylandscape.com/) which has revived four playing fields in Norwood. Selectmen were impressed by before and after photos of the Norwood projects.
The obstacles are not insurmountable, DeNapoli told the WYF representatives. "Keep the vision."
Under an agreement approved by selectmen July 28, town government meetings now carried on cable TV are expected to also be available on the Internet within the next month or two.
Using proceeds of a fee that Verizon paid to bring FIOS TV to Walpole, the town will pay TelVue $8,000 for the first year of a service that will make meetings available by streaming as they happen or on demand for later viewing. The service will be usable by all computers with an Internet connection and the ability to run recent versions of the Flash viewer.
The first-year payment to Telvue will cover equipment and other startup costs. Based on current prices, payments in following years will be $3,000. The content will come by way of WCTV, which has cameras permanently mounted in the main meeting room of Town Hall and remote equipment for other events.
Town Administrator Michael Boynton said that the Telvue technology has the capability of putting just about any WCTV coverage onto the Internet. The service will be a supplement for existing coverage, not a replacement.
Selectmen's meetings will definitely go on line; there'll be discussions with other boards and committees about adding their sessions. In addition to selectmen, the school committee, planning board and zoning board use the main meeting room.
Telvue could include Walpole High and other sports events, a possibility selectmen indicated interests them.
Telvue offers the capability of using chapter marks for agenda items, so that on-demand viewers can go directly to the matter that interests them. The service does not provide for saving videos to local computers.
Concord and Carlisle, through their combined community TV provider, has a Telvue system in service. Here's the main page, (http://www.concordtv.org/) click on links at the left to get to on-demand meetings.
A 2-2 vote by selectmen Tuesday night (Aug. 25) raises a question whether a proposed zoning use table will make it onto the October Town Meeting. floor (Aug. 7 draft)
A motion by Chairman Christopher Timson to send the table to Town Meeting was supported by Nancy Mackenzie; Cliff Snuffer and David Sullivan voted against it. (Al DeNapoli was absent.)
Snuffer, who argued that the table harkens back to a heavy manufacturing past at the expense of some neighborhoods, maintained that under procedural rules, the split vote cannot be reconsidered. A motion to reconsider has to come from someone who voted on the winning side -- and in a split vote, who is to make that motion, he asked.
Town Administrator Michael Boynton said he will consult Town Counsel.
DeNapoli has previously noted that getting a new use table in place is important in part because Town Meeting last year removed the "any lawful use" special permit from the zoning bylaw, leaving the existing table less than definitive.
Timson said the town risks losing good opportunities without a revised table. He noted, though, that there is opposition to some of the uses, specifying biotechnology as an example. (The use table would allow work with level 2 bio-hazards -- diseases that are already at large, albeit nasty. Uses in the aquifer remain subject to the water resource protection restrictions. See Section 12 of the zoning bylaw. big pdf)
Mackenzie said it is "irresponsible" to try to block the table from going to Town Meeting. The attempt, she said, is an affront to the people who put in so much work during the two-year effort and to Town Meeting representatives. The table could be amended on Town Meeting floor to make it more, but not less, restrictive she said. (Approval would require a two-thirds majority.)
Taylor's petition
Selectmen voted 4-0 not to put James Taylor's petition limiting re-votes on overrides on the October warrant. Town Counsel determined the petition was aimed at changing a state statute on Town Meeting floor, an action not permitted by law.
Meals tax rejected
Selectmen voted 4-0 Aug. 24 not to impose a .75 percent local meals tax as allowed by a new state law.
The local levy would have brought the town an estimated $289,000 a year.
But selectmen saw problems. The local surcharge would put Walpole restaurants at a disadvantage; Foxboro voted down the levy Monday night and Norwood has decided to just study the possibility. And for families, adding a local charge to the 6.25 percent collected by the state would be another case of "piling it on."
Earlier in the meeting, the board approved the manager for a Chili's soon to open at the Walpole Mall. Selectmen heard a Thai restaurant is a possibility for the former Acme glass location next to Beckett's on Main Street south of the Common. An application has been taken out for a building permit for a convenience store that will offer food at the former Sunoco site at Front and Main Streets at the Common.
Selectmen also voted down a local tax on hotel and motels allowed under the new law; it would have brought in $7,000 a year.
Here's a link (http://walpole-ma.gov/FTM09.html) to a Town Hall web page that connects to the warrant for the Oct. 19 Town Meeting.
The page also has links to the proposed zoning use table and definitions and to the existing use table. The use table would allow work with level 2 bio-hazards. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_hazard) Uses in the aquifer remain subject to the water resource protection restrictions. See Section 12 of the zoning bylaw. (http://www.walpole-ma.gov/PBDocs/Zoning_Bylaws.pdf) big pdf
Selectmen's votes
Selectmen Chairman Christopher Timson and Nancy Mackenzie reversed themselves Sept. 8, making for a 3-2 decision that puts an article aimed at blocking override re-votes on the October warrant.
In an August opinion, Town Counsel advised the board that the article, submitted by petition of more than 1,000 voters, is invalid: Town Meeting can't amend a state law. But Counsel noted that in her experience, boards of selectmen generally leave it to Town Meeting to dispose of an invalid article. Doing it that way avoids potential litigation, she noted.
State law says that if a petition is submitted with enough signatures, selectmen "shall" put it on the warrant.
In line with their votes two weeks earlier, Timson and Mackenzie initially voted Sept. 8 against putting the article on the warrant. But after hearing from advocates including petition-circulator James Taylor, former selectman Bill Hamilton and Town Meeting Rep. Thomas Driscoll, the two selectmen decided to send the article to Town Meeting. Given Town Counsel's opinion, Hamilton said, the article would amount to a worthwhile resolution.
Mackenzie said sending the article to Town Meeting provides an opportunity to air out the issue.
Al DeNapoli and Cliff Snuffer voted against including the article. Snuffer said it would be nonsensical to do so; DeNapoli said selectmen have a statutory duty to act as a filter. In addition, DeNapoli said, the article is prompted by the June override for the new library, as Taylor repeated at the meeting.
While others had the floor and before Timson called for a re-vote on the article, Taylor said loudly and repeatedly that he'd never cast his ballot for Snuffer again.
Zoning articles
On a 3-2 vote, the board placed a proposed zoning table on the warrant.
Voting no with David Sullivan, Snuffer said the table is a throwback that would damage neighborhoods near industrial and commercially zoned land.
Responding to the contention that last year's removal of the "any lawful use" zoning provision requires inclusion of specific uses, Snuffer said that as far as he knows, the only prospects that have been turned away in the interim are a food waste compost facility, a tire shredding operation and two construction debris operations.
Mackenzie noted that none of those uses are permitted in the proposed table.
How about putting a new two-story senior center between Blackburn Hall and Stone Street?
Selectmen were asked that question Tuesday night, Sept. 22, and their responses indicate the board won't embrace the idea.
The suggestion was presented by Bill Shields, a construction executive volunteering for the Friends of the Council on Aging's proposal to build a senior center through private donations.
Selectmen Nancy Mackenzie and Al DeNapoli liked the idea because a municipal quad location would have advantages for seniors and downtown business.
Selectmen David Sullivan and Cliff Snuffer didn't like the location for a 50- by 100-foot center because it would block the "nice side" of Blackburn and create an alley between the two buildings -- not something you want with children and teen activities at the Hall.
Chairman Chris Timson said he doesn't like the idea of "shoehorning" the senior center in on the narrow space between Blackburn and the street.
The board will talk over the suggestion and other possibilities Oct. 13 before a likely sit-down with the FCOA and the Council on Aging.
Two earlier location possibilities in the municipal quad failed in the past three years -- on the Stone Field side of Blackburn because of soil conditions and between Blackburn and the new library site because of a state grant requirement for library parking. The understanding is that while donations would cover construction costs, the town would make land available.
Selectman Sullivan said "we're hurting ourselves" by trying to squeeze additional buildings into the quad, where space is tight and parking limited.
But according to DeNapoli and Mackenzie, it wouldn't be good for seniors to be segregated out in the woods somewhere. They cited the new library and the nearby children's activities as benefits of a quad location.
Joanne Damish, vice chairman of the COA, but speaking as an individual, told selectmen the number of children's activities next to a senior center would have drawbacks, noise among them. Noting that she was one of three users of the current Town Hall senior center who walks to it, she said neighboring communities have their centers away from downtown that work fine with shuttle buses.
Library money
Members of the state Board of Library Commissioners came to the Walpole selectmen's meeting Tuesday night to present a check for $1,168,885 -- the first of four to fulfill the state's commitment of $4 million toward construction of a new library at Stone and School Streets.
Commission Chairman George Comeau of Canton praised Walpole residents for approving the $11 million project and acknowledged the split in town over necessity and timing. It's a good time to be building a library, he said, in part because the work will stimulate the economy.
Comeau said he was distressed when he heard some people in town wondering whether the money would come. The state's library program is the gold standard, he said, with $80 million in bond authorization.
The remaining state money will come as the project reaches certain benchmarks. (The oversized check Comeau presented the town isn't negotiable; the real transfer took place electronically.)
Selectmen approved a $294,000 contract for a firm to oversee the project, as required by state law for public construction.
Santa parade
Concerned about safety on the traditional Main Street route, organizers of the annual Santa Parade won approval of selectmen Tuesday night to march down Common Street instead.
The new route will begin at the high school, follow Common to Main, go a block on Main to Stone and end in the municipal area.
Santa, as always, will be delivered to his house on the Common, where he'll greet youngsters after the parade.
The Santa Parade -- as always on the Saturday after Thanksgiving -- will be Nov. 28, stepping off at 11 a.m.
Organizers said the Common Street route has the big safety advantage of fewer cross streets and intersections.
Siemens (http://www.masshightech.com/stories/2008/09/08/daily11-Siemens-opens-Walpole-manufacturing-unit.html) and Hollingsworth and Vose (http://www.hollingsworth-vose.com/) are objecting strongly to the proposed zoning use table (or tables) proposed for enactment by the Oct. 19 Town Meeting.
An attorney for Siemens told selectmen Tuesday night (Oct. 6) that a proposed change would be taken by the company to mean it's no longer welcome in Walpole. The international company's Healthcare Diagnostics campus, where a $100 million expansion was completed last year, is seen by town officials as a model for the clean, tax-producing business Walpole needs.
The Coney Street complex develops and produces kits for the diagnosis of disease. The company is cleared for working with Level II biohazards (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_hazard), but wants to retain the ability to seek approval some day for Level III. The existing zoning table allows research labs -- without specifying levels -- by special permit. The proposed table would not allow Level III or IV. (This page (http://walpole-ma.gov/FTM09.html) contains links to the existing table and latest version of the proposed revision.)
Selectmen Tuesday night worked hard to assure Atty. Phil Macchi (the younger) that their proposed revision of the use table is not aimed at Siemens or H&V. "The intent is not to blackball" the two companies, Chairman Chris Timson said. Selectman Cliff Snuffer, however, noted that Level III pathogens "would scare the bejeebus" out of townspeople.
Town Administrator Michael Boynton raised the possibility that overlay districts could be created off Coney Street and around the H&V plant in East Walpole to insulate them from the changes in the table.
Macchi said that Siemens international and national law departments are now handling the matter. Siemens top U.S. lawyer arrived on the scene earlier in the day, Macchi said.
H&V's predicament has special complications.
The version of the proposed table approved by the board in August appears not to affect the East Walpole company. But last week, selectmen voted again, eliminating some of the heavy uses that had prompted objections from within the board and at a meeting with the finance committee.
One of the uses deleted by selectmen Sept. 30 is paper manufacturing, defined to include the fabrication of paper products. That's what H&V does. Deletion of that use would leave H&V's business as non-conforming, which would raise difficulties if the company wanted to modify its plant or product line. The Sept. 30 vote was 4-0, with Snuffer absent.
Selectmen made the Sept. 30 deletions -- commercial bakeries over 50,000 square feet, prefabrication of structures and others -- after they were told at the FinCom meeting that their August version needed work. (The revisions have been worked on for two years.)
Selectmen posted meetings for last Monday and Wednesday (Sept. 28 and 30) to go over the table. No one other than selectmen and their staff showed up Monday night; one planning board member attended Wednesday night. Other boards have dibs on the main meeting room Monday and Wednesday nights, so there was no TV coverage. Nor, apparently, was there any other publicity, before or after.
Ed Forsberg, chairman of the former zoning rewrite committee, told selectmen unsmilingly that he had picked the wrong week to go on vacation: He was unaware of the selectmen's Sept. 30 vote until just hours before their meeting this Tuesday. Forsberg declined to be put off by Timson's invocation of the lateness of the hour and said he wanted to get on the record now that he objects to what he sees as a last-minute action ("Nobody knew about it") that unravels two years of work and creates issues with and for a lot more companies than Siemens and H&V.
Selectmen used the word "surprise" to characterize what's happened following the Sept. 30 vote.
It's not certain, though, that it will be the Sept. 30 version of the table that will go to Town Meeting. The revisions are a selectmen's article, but FinCom gets to make the main motion on the floor. According to Boynton, FinCom could decide to present the August version instead of the board's latest revision.
Route 1
Selectmen voted 3-1 Tuesday, Oct. 6, to ask sewer and water commissioners to help them reach a recommendation on a Town Meeting article that would change the status of a 3.5-acre parcel under the town's water resource protection zoning.
Part of the vacant parcel immediately north of Walpole Park South is now listed as within Area II, the designation for land within the aquifer recharge area that could someday be developed for town wells. In Area II, no more than household amounts of hazardous material are allowed.
The article placed on the Oct. 19 TM warrant by land trustee Donnell Murphy would change the designation to Area III, which provides most of the Area II protections but does not impose the household amount rule.
An engineer for Murphy told selectmen at the Oct. 6 board meeting that the household amount limitation would, for instance, rule out fork-lifts, which are powered by natural gas. A building could be built on the parcel with the Area II segment, but would be more difficult to market than if the whole site were Area III, Dan Merriken told the board.
Merriken based the case for redesignation on findings by Murphy's hydrologist that the parcel doesn't belong in Area II because it's unsuitable for wells and does not meet the bylaw's definition for Area II.
Hydrologist Ron Johnson of Tetra Tech Rizzo, Murphy's consultant, told the board that an ancient lake or lakes built the land; it does not have the course and and gravel river deposits specified for Area II in the zoning bylaw. Four deep borings and seven test pits show lake-deposited silt and fine sand, he said -- material that doesn't hold enough water for a municipal well.
Merriken noted that as a result of a similar review, land directly across Route 1 was reclassified in the 1990s from Area II to III, and is now the site of the Iorio Arena dormitory. The original Area II designations were made in the early 1980s as educated guesses, not by digging, he said.
The Water and Sewer Commission has already voted to recommend Town Meeting turn down Murphy's article, indicating to selectmen that its consultant, Weston & Sampson, disagrees with Tetra Tech Rizzo's assessment.
Merriken said Weston & Sampson did not review the 1980s report and has made no analysis of its own. Attempts to allow Tetra Tech to talk with W&S were rebuffed by the water commissioners, according to Merriken and Murphy. Speaking from the audience, Murphy told selectmen that Water and Sewer misled him about when the commission would take up his article.
Murphy said that as is standard practice, he would pay for an outside consultant to review Tetra Tech's work. He'd also put the parcel under the same covenant that provides for constant groundwater monitoring at his family's Walpole Park South next door, he said.
Selectmen voted to send a letter to the water commissioners requesting that at Murphy's expense, they allow Weston & Sampson to review Tetra Tech's work. Selectman Al DeNapoli said he's frustrated that the flow of information for an important decision has been restricted.
Selectman Cliff Snuffer voted against sending the letter, which he said amounts to "encroachment on a duly elected board."
Three Town Meeting members -- Bill Hamilton, Thomas Driscoll and James Taylor -- spoke against Murphy's article at the selectmen's meeting.
Confronting what would otherwise have been a $1.5 million deficit in this year's budget, the schools cut 32 positions going into September. For next year, the schools are looking at a $3 million shortfall, Supt. Lincoln Lynch told selectmen Tuesday night, Nov. 3.
Based on this year's job cuts, closing that gap could mean the loss of 64 positions, Selectman Cliff Snuffer estimated. Lynch did not disagree.
As a result of staff reductions, average class sizes this year run in the high 20s -- with a couple as high as 36, at Bird Middle School, Lynch said.
And even with the reductions, the schools still could be facing a shortfall by spring. The state cut special education money by $350,000 after the budget was set; the schools will be getting $350,000 less in stimulus money than expected; electric bills are running $75,000 higher than budgeted and a school bus had to be restored at a cost of $60,000.
A special education student moved into town after the budget was set, estimated at first to cost $100,000 this year, reduced now to $60,000. Massachusetts communities are experiencing an increase in students from out of state in need of services; the commonwealth has more private special education schools than the rest of the states combined, Lynch said.
Unlike the case under previous administrations, the budget doesn't contain special education contingency money, and Lynch was credited by selectmen for tightening up throughout the budget. The superintendent noted that only 5 percent or so of his budget is flexible, mainly for supplies. The rest is fixed by collective bargaining contracts and unavoidable costs: utilities and transportation.
As a result, a shortfall of $3 million has an impact well beyond what would be expected in a $30 million budget, according to Lynch.
As budgeting for 2010-11 begins, the $3 million estimated gap is made up equally of higher costs, mostly for staff contracts, and lower revenues, notably reduced Medicaid reimbursement and a $500,000 cut in state school aid foreseen by local legislators.
Noting that the goal has been to keep average class size under 25, Lynch said that for next year, we'll try to keep it under 30.
Parking meters
Selectmen are considering installing parking meters in the downtown to deter all-day parking by commuters.
The MBTA boosted parking fees at it commuter rail stations, including Walpole, from $2 to $4 a day last November. As a result, many commuters have been parking all day in municipal lots and street spaces, Police Chief Richard Stillman and selectmen noted at the Nov. 3 board meeting.
Stillman said he's been in contact with a parking meter company that offers a unit that covers as many as 10 spaces, accepting coins, cash, bank cards or pre-paid town cards.
A fee of 25 cents an hour would be enough to cover part- or full-time civilian enforcement, so police wouldn't have to spend time writing tickets, the chief said.
For card users, the meters could be set so that with a reswipe, a short stop would cost only a fraction of the hourly fee.
The objective is not to raise revenue, but to make parking available for downtown merchants, according to the chief.
The town's economic development officer will be sounding out downtown businesspeople about the idea.
At the board's request, the chief will determine how long it would take to get meters in place.
New police station
Selectmen told the chief that a new police station is their top priority.
With the help of Boston Architectural College faculty and students, it's become clear that there's not enoufgh room downtown for a combined police and fire facility. So the board is redirecting its attention to a Robbins Road site, adjacent to the VFW post. Voters rejected an override for a station at that site in 2006.
The goal is to have a concept to present to the public by year's end.
Selectmen have put Allied Recycling on notice that they'll be looking for improvement at the big Main Street salvage yard when the board decides on January license renewals.
For starters, selectmen advised the Allied general manager at the Nov. 17 board meeting, will be looking for a firm commitment for a landscaping screen along the street and a site plan that shows what's where now and what the company has in mind for the future of its property in the aquifer.
Allied GM Edward Sciaba was before the board to request licenses for two 4,000-gallon diesel fuel tanks for onroad vehicles and onsite equipment. The yard already has fuel and oil storage capacity of up to 5,000 gallons; the two additional tanks would bring the yard above the 10,000-gallon figure that triggers a requirement for town licensing.
Selectmen said they welcome that additional oversight and discussed at length what they see as hazards in the way Allied handles diesel, other oil, gasoline and other fluids from vehicles and equipment it scraps.
That storage is spread across the yard; town building and fire officials told the board they didn't know about some of it until recently. Town Administrator Michael Boynton said the ongoing practice of transferring gasoline from scrapped vehicles into working cars rinks a spill and runs counter to state regulations.
Allied agreed a year ago to provide a site plan in connection with an expansion of uses it was considering at the time. Sciava indicated Nov. 17 that the expansion idea is inactive.
Building Commissioner Jack Mee told the board Allied had proposed street landscaping in connection with that plan, but that he advised the company to hold off until a plan for the entire site was prepared. Mee added that at the time, he didn't expect it to take this long.
Boynton said that in the interim all that Allied presented was an idea for a zoning overlay district for its property and the adjoining Goldie's salvage yard that would have permitted reprocessing of food waste among other new uses. Unwelcomed, the rezoning didn't make it to Town Meeting
Selectman Cliff Snuffer emphasized the importance to Allied of coming up with a site plan before the January expiration of business licenses throughout town.
Selectman Nancy Mackenzie stressed the importance of landscaping. Allied is across Main from the Walpole Industrial Park in an area the town wants upgraded for tax revenue, aquifer protection and other reasons.
"Good looking attracts good looking," Mackenzie said, "and driving by, (Allied) doesn't look good."
In anticipation of receiving the requested plans and commitments before January, selectmen continued the hearing on the two diesel tanks until Feb. 9.
The annual tax on the average single family house rises $128 after selectmen accepted the recommendation of the board of assessors (http://walpole-ma.gov/Assessors.htm) Tuesday night.
The bill for that average house for the July 2009 through June 2010 tax year will be $5,287, up 2.5 percent from $5,159 for the previous 12 months.
The average assessment for a single-family home is $417,956, down 5.5 percent from $442,102 the year before and the lowest since 2005. Assessments are based on the prior year's sales. So the new assessments are based on 2008 prices and do not reflect what happened in the market in 2009.
The new residential tax rate is $12.65 per thousand dollars of assessed valuation, up from $11.67. (When assessments go down, the rates go up to produce the total revenue set by Town Meeting.)
Assessor Chairman Jack Fisher explained at the selectmen's meeting that his board takes the dollar amount Town Meeting has set to be raised by taxation and apportions that number among three categories -- residential, commercial and industrial, based on the total assessments within each group.
The selectmen enter the picture because state law allows a shift of some of the burden away from homes and onto commercial and industrial property. As has been the practice in recent years, selectmen on the assessors' recommendation upped the commercial and industrial burden by 25 percent and as a result, reduced bills for homes by 4 percent. (Homes make up 86 percent of the town's total valuation before the shift.)
Town officials noted that businesses are taking a substantial hit to save homeowners a relatively small amount. To go to a shift higher than 25 percent would run counter to Walpole's efforts to keep and attract business, officials said.
Property owners will see the new rates and assessments in their third and fourth quarter bills.
December 2, 2009
OPEN LETTER TO THE CITIZENS OF WALPOLE
From: The Walpole Board of Selectmen
Your Board of Selectmen is in the process of collecting and disseminating information relative to the overall facility needs of our community with special emphasis on our Public Safety requirements.
This process will build upon the hard work and fine data previously collected (about three years ago) which revealed both Police and Fire needs as the most critical.
Based on the evidence, we have determined that the Police station, due to a lack of any suitable downtown space for a combined Police/Fire facility, is the first priority. (Fire must be downtown due to Federal/State/Local response time guidelines whereas Police do not.)
The police are currently housed in the 124-year-old “OLD TOWN HALL” a site NEVER intended for use as a police station. Our present Fire facility built decades ago for a “call” style fire department is most inadequate.
Each and every member of the Board of Selectman is acutely aware and respectful of the sacrifices made by all during this historic recessionary crisis. We are very sensitive to the demands placed on your families; these difficult times affect us all.
Nonetheless, an unavoidable fact is that our facilities are in decline, despite the fine work to negate the inevitable. Spending good hard-earned money for expensive band-aids with no real return is a true waste.
One effect, related to this strange economy, is the fact that a municipality can build and fund a new facility at a markedly reduced cost to the taxpayer unheard of 5 years ago. Couple this with the fact that the Board shall require no nonsense, highly effective & efficient facility, we are recommending a new police station located on Town owned property at Robbins Road. We are also recommending the start of the first phase (design criteria and planning) for a downtown Fire facility.
Initially there exists sufficient, overwhelming information to lead us to believe that by making a modest investment, through the passage of a debt exclusion override, costing the average home owner approximately $80 the first year and $50 year twenty, Walpole will make a near monumental leap forward in satisfying our police department infrastructure needs for the next fifty (50) years. We will also be making a giant leap forward towards the cost effective and efficient planning of a quick response fire facility capable of satisfying our needs for many decades.
Over the coming weeks we will be meeting with the neighbors abutting the proposed site, in order to hear their suggestions and concerns such that the facility can be a quintessential good neighbor. For greater citizen participation a separate general forum will follow soon thereafter.
We will be presenting to the community a dialog aimed at resolving the questions that we know are looming in everyone’s mind such as re-use (or alternatives) of the old library, of the old Town hall, additional planning for the Fire facility and the overall VISION for a future Walpole. Your input is of great value.
The requirements of government may slow the process and we ask you to be patient while we address your concerns and factor in your suggestions.
Very Truly Yours
The Walpole Board of Selectmen
(The Jan. 10 Boston Sunday Globe has a story (http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2010/01/10/citizens_group_files_suit_against_walpole_scrap_ya rd_for_environmental_reasons/) on a lawsuit by Clean Water Action, (http://www.cleanwateraction.org/) a nationwide environmental organization, against Allied Recycling. (http://www.alliedrecyclingcenter.com/) The suit was discussed at length at the Dec. 29 selectmen's meeting. Ed Sciaba, Allied general manager, said the company's lawyer expects the suit to be moot once Allied presents a plan acceptable to the state.)
On a 3-2 vote Tuesday, Dec. 29, selectmen approved conditional license renewals that allow Allied Recycling to continue operating its salvage yard on Route 1A.
Voting against the renewals, Selectman Nancy Mackenzie focused on the lack od appropriate screening along the yard's Main Street frontage. Cliff Snuffer said Allied has been dragging its feet on safety, environment and regulatory matters for years -- and that what progress has been made has required constant prodding.
Edward Sciaba, Allied general manager, disagreed, maintaining that the current owner has made inroads on what was left behind by others, spending $40,000 to get rid of old tires.
Sciaba said Allied cannot yet produce a plan for full remedial work at the 17-acre site, but assured the board that one will be forthcoming: Allied has been under notice by the state Department of Environmental Affairs to resolve stormwater runoff that moves contaminants from the site into wetlands, some on adjacent town property. A meeting has been scheduled in January with the state attorney general's office; the attorney general says settle or face litigation, Sciaba said.
Being worked on with the DEP, the stormwater plan has to come first, before the overall plan the town seeks, he said. And the stormwater plan will require a remedy of the effects of filling of wetlands decades ago -- on the town land, he said. Cooperation will be necessary among the present Allied owner, the estate of the previous owner and the town, he said, maintaining that aerial photos over time show that the filling did not occur under present ownership.
The solution ordered by the state could involve excavation of fill, construction of a pond and treatment plant or replication of the lost wetlands, he said. Who filled? Not us, he said, and that's what we have to show the attorney general. "We have dates of when it was filled. It's going to have to be resolved together."
Sciaba then assured the board that Allied is willing to take on the costs, likely to run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. The DEP's case is against Allied, not the town, he noted.
He did point out, however, that Allied needs to continue in operation if the company is "to generate income to pay the engineers to do this work."
Sciaba indicated that he expects a DEP plan and order to be in place next year. In the meantime, he accepted conditions imposed by selectmen that include presentation to the board within the next two months of an interim plan of work that can be done prior to the DEP's resolution, a frontage landscaping plan to be implemented in the spring, and a document outlining Allied's legal positions.
As requested by the board previously, Sciaba presented a plan showing what Allied has in mind for its property -- notably doing some building to get its operations indoors.
Noting that the school committee's tentative budget for the next academic year calls for $1.6 million more than likely will be available, Town Administrator Michael Boynton said "substantial position cuts seem inevitable."
Faced with yet another year in which revenues will not keep pace with costs, the administrator said it's time for serious discussions with neighboring communities about a regional approach for some services.
In presenting his townwide budget plan for the coming fiscal year Monday, Feb. 1, Boynton said the schools are "facing a whole host of challenges," notably cutbacks in state and federal counts. In addition, the schools are looking at $1.5 million in higher costs under collective bargaining agreements, he said.
Speaking from the floor at the Town Hall session, Chairman John Desmond responded that the school committee cut $500,000 last week from the superintendent's proposed FY 10-11 budget and is talking with the unions about reducing the remaining gap.
The $500,000 cut, Desmond said, will eliminate eight positions, notably middle school teachers. There'll be 28 pupils in a first grade class, he added.
Overall, Boynton proposes a $67 million budget for FY 2011, which will begin July 1 -- a $2.5 million (4 percent) increase. Half of the increase goes for "non-discretionary" spending, including debt and state assessments. Of the other $1.3 million, $855,000 would go to the schools in keeping with their traditional two-thirds share. Boynton proposes $30.9 million for schools, the school committee's tentative budget calls for $32.5 million.
Boynton's budget plan pares capital spending to $500,000 and eliminates two positions -- a library professional slot and a part-time DPW post.
He repeated his call for more control over health insurance costs and gave new emphasis to the potential for regional approaches.
"... if we are looking for true long-term cost savings, the time has arrived for Walpole to engage in meaningful regional services discussions with our neighbors.
"While it is unlikely that regionalization will materialize in the next one to three months, the opportunities are indeed there to see changes within the next one to three years. Not every operation or department is a candidate here. However, some may present great options for Walpole.
"Health services, animal control, engineering, dispatching, and yes even library services should be explored as soon as possible to identify the pros and cons of joining with one or more neighboring communities. In the past, turf battles and control issues have derailed regional efforts in Massachusetts. Those parochial days truly need to fade away if communities are to survive and thrive in the face of continuously declining revenues," Boynton said.
The town administrator's page on the town web site offers links to the text (http://www.walpole-ma.gov/TownAdm.htm)of Boynton's FY 2011 budget message and summaries of the proposed spending plan. (pdf files) The video of the presentation (http://origin.peg.tv/pegtv_player?s=walpolema)can be reached from this page.
Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics has strongly backed selectmen's proposed solution to a zoning tangle created by last year's rewrite effort.
"We almost ended up hurting our biggest taxpayer," selectmen Chairman Christopher Timson noted at Tuesday's board meeting.
A top executive from the Coney Street facility told the board Tuesday night that Siemens wants to continue to grow in Walpole; it's spent half-a-billion dollars over 30 years to expand its campus here. But growth would be limited if the town revised zoning to eliminate the possibility of doing Level 3 work at the facility, engineering director Michael Canary told the board.
The Walpole facility has an airtight laboratory that meets the physical requirements to work with Level 3 biohazards, dangerous pathogens that spread through the air.
Siemens does not yet have the federal and state approvals needed to do Level 3 work. But there are Level 3 programs in the pipeline, Canary said. If the work cannot be done in Walpole, he said, it will go to a facility in Germany.
The old zoning bylaw allowed Level 3 by special permit. An amendment to eliminate those levels was pulled from the warrant in the days before Town Meeting when its impact on Siemens was made clear.
Given widespread concern about biohazards, selectmen will ask spring Town Meeting to retain Level 3 zoning only for a limited overlay district -- the Siemens campus. That approach, Canary said, meets Siemens' objectives.
Canary pointed to the Walpole facility's exemplary safety record and noted the amount of expertise and money ($2,000 a square foot for a lab) it takes for Level 3. But the concerns of townspeople are genuine, he said.
The board of health is working on town regulations for biohazards that will be presented at a public hearing. The planning board will hold its hearing on the zoning article April 1.
Farmers market
Selectmen want a farmers market downtown this summer, likely in the municipal parking lot behind the police station.
Board members had considered a location on the Common, but a Saturday morning market was found to pose conflicts with church activities.
Bill Norwood, proprietor of the new Dick and Jane's General Store, came to the board Tuesday night, March 9, to urge use of the parking lot, rather than closing off a street. With experience as both a vendor and organizer of farmers markets in California, Norwood said the lot would be better for safety and set-up, and offers ample parking on Saturdays before 1 p.m.
The lot location is backed by Stephanie Mercandetti, the town's development officer, who's been working on the project, a priority for selectmen as a downtown enhancement. Police and fire departments do not have a problem with it, she said.
Norwood and Mercandetti will be sounding out downtown businesses and potential vendors. Selectmen will name a five-member committee with an eye toward a June start.
Norwood suggested that in addition to Saturdays, the market could run one night a week, perhaps at Blackburn Hall. Two sessions a week would make participation more attractive for vendors, he said.
Based on his California experience, Norwood told the board there are three requirements for a successful market: farmers, participation by the business community and some sort of family entertainment to help draw customers.
Parking enforcers
Chief Richard Stillman told selectmen Tuesday that jackets are on order for the workers in the town's property tax reduction program who'll soon be enforcing parking limits downtown.
The chief had checked out the possibility of parking meters, but that idea was dropped after running into opposition from downtown businesses.
Downtown businessman Bill Norwood, who was as the meeting to talk about farmers markets, suggested the town increase its fine for overtime parking from $15 to, say, $35 as in some nearby communities. A $15 fine is not an effective disincentive, he said.
Selectmen Chairman Christopher Timson responded that the board will see how the new enforcement works out before considering other steps.
http://www.walpolenews.com/march23.html
Selectmen told school committee members March 23 that in view of concessions by the teachers' union they'll try to help reduce the remaining $1.4 million gap in the 2010-2011 school budget.
In the clip on the link above, selectmen Chairman Chris Timson talks about the one idea that appeared to gain support of the board: limiting the amount a household could put out for rubbish collection in order to save the $70 a ton disposal cost and encourage recycling. While Timson raised the possibility of a town-imposed meals tax, Selectmen David Sullivan and Nancy Mackenzie said they are against it, given the tough business climate for restaurants.
The clip from the March 23 selectmen's session comes from the complete archive copy, available along with others via this town page. (http://origin.peg.tv/pegtv_player?s=walpolema) The new town service also offers live streaming of selectmen's meetings.
June 29: Longview Farm, deputy police chief
In 2007, Police Chief Richard Stillman told selectmen June 29, the Home for Little Wanderers contracted not to turn away any youngster referred to it by state agencies. That's when the real problems began at the Home's Longview Farm in West Walpole.
Before then, Walpole police responded to the Farm 25 or so times a year. In 2007, the number of responses doubled; they doubled again in 2008 and again last year. The pace this year is for 130 to 140 calls -- some of them requiring response by half the officers on a shift and undercutting protection elsewhere in town, the chief said. The number of calls, he said, is "intolerable and unsustainable... endangering the rest of the community."
The chief told the board that it is "ridiculous" for the Home to be planning to double the size and enrollment at the Farm when it's not handling what's there now. He stressed that an incident at the farm can cost several members of his department hours of work each, whether responding, transferring youngsters to a distant secure facility, doing the paperwork and in some cases, going to court.
The chief spoke during a session requested by neighbors of the Farm seeking selectmen's help in convincing the Home to back off its plan for a 95-foot extension of a classroom building and a new 105-foot dorm that would bring what's now a low-lying complex to a four-story height. The expansion would accommodate youngsters from the Knight Children's Center in Jamaica Plain, for the first time, bringing girls, age 5 to 13, to the Farm. There would be a total of 80 youngsters, resident or daytime.
Neighbors noted in the police log for a week in mid-June, Walpole officers were called to the Farm five times -- in one instance, requiring assistance from Norfolk. Since Jan. 1, 2008, police records show 283 responses to Longview, including reports of rape, assault, larceny, drug possession and runaways, neighbors told selectmen.
Longview has changed dramatically since 2007, the chief said. "It's a very different organization." Selectman Cliff Snuffer said the Farm is now "a holding institution," operating under the name of a school and thus sidestepping town oversight -- a situation, he said, that can be challenged in court. "To call Longview Farm a school is akin to calling Cedar Junction a university."
As an educational facility, the Farm is exempt from the town's zoning bylaw. But selectmen said that they have some authority as road commissioners and because Lincoln Road is a designated scenic roadway. There was also discussion of going to the state agencies overseeing the youngsters to discuss present and future security.
Neighbors said that given the change at the Farm, shortcomings in security and runaways, they are deeply concerned about the safety of their families.
Their presentation also aimed to show that the "massive" building project on the streetfront of the 160-acre property, complete, neighbors said, with a tower a la the Wrentham Mall, would "devastate" the rural character of Lincoln Road. The Home informed them last June that it was considering a minor expansion, then without further contact, presented the current plan in February. There were four meetings since then; the consultants were condescending, neighbors said, and maintained the Home's attitude seems to be that it's their property, they're not covered by zoning and so they can do what they want.
Selectmen indicated they will ask Home officials to a meeting to discuss problems and plans. The planning board's hearing continues July 15. Neighbors said they expect revisions, but have not heard lately from the Home.
Deputy police chief
Selectmen voted 4-1 June 29 in favor of Police Chief Richard Stillman's request to post and advertise for a deputy chief.
Michael Berry voted no, saying that with calls up 12 percent over last year and the situation at Longview Farm, it might make more sense to add a patrolman instead.
Stillman disagreed, listing the many duties in the deputy chief's job description and noting that the position was created in 2004 by replacing a lieutenant's slot at little additional cost in salary.
Since Scott Bushway's retirement, the chief said he's been spending considerable time performing tasks he hasn't done since he was a lieutenant. Comparable departments have more lieutenants (or captains) than Walpole, he said, and a vacancy would mean a town is deprived of some of the services a chief should be providing.
The town will also advertise for a fulltime veterans agent to replace John Spillane, who retired this week, after Foxboro selectmen decided not to pursue a proposal for a combined position with Walpole.
Walpole is employing a parttime animal control officer to replace Spillane in that function.
July 28: Longview Farm promises tighter screening
Longview Farm is revising its procedures and will determine more quickly whether or not a youth is a good fit for its programs, Joan Wallace-Benjamin, president of the New England Home for Little Wanderers, told selectmen July 27.
Four of five youths arrested after a disturbance at the Farm July 19 are not being allowed to continue in the program, Wallace-Benjamin said. Problems with them were not new: "We know now that we should have acted sooner." The Home, parent of Longview, will be talking with the state about new enrollment guidelines, she indicated in her presentation.
Last month, Police Chief Richard Stillman told the board that the serious troubles at Longview began three years ago after the Home agreed not to turn away youths referred to it by the state. Neighbors have made the same point repeatedly.
At a meeting with two selectmen and the police and fire chiefs July 22, the Home made several commitments, including an outside review of its procedures. Chief Stillman told selectmen that based on that meeting, he believes the Home is heading in the right direction.
The Home agreed to return to the board within six months for a follow-up. In response to a question by Selectman Michael Berry, Wallace-Benjamin said she would consider hiring outside security if the situation hasn't been resolved by then.
Concern by neighbors and town officials about safety has been heightened by the Home's plan to double enrollment at the Farm from 40 to 80 through the addition of younger boys and girls. At the July 27 meeting, Selectman Cliff Snuffer repeated his concern about bringing in young girls to what is now a school for teenage boys.
Aug. 10: Board requests Longview expansion delay
If town counsel agrees, selectmen will send a letter to the Home for Little Wanderers asking that it agree to a six-month moratorium on its applications to expand its Longview Farm.
The board's intent, as urged by Selectman Cliff Snuffer, is to provide time to determine whether improvements in procedures promised to the board two weeks ago will eliminate what have been frequent situations requiring a police response. The Farm now enrolls 40 teenage boys as boarding or day students, referred by the state or school districts. The expansion would increase that number to 80, including, for the first time, young girls.
At the Aug. 10 board meeting, Selectman Chris Timson blamed the school for "allowing kids to run rampant in the neighborhood."
Town Administrator Michael Boynton noted that as a school, Longview Farm is sheltered from the town's zoning bylaw. Under land use law, town officials do not have the authority to require the Home to accept a moratorium. But selectmen might be able to have an impact in their capacity as police commissioners, Boynton and board members maintained.
Selectmen voted to ask town counsel for advice on the extent of their public safety authority.
Sept. 7: Foxboro commuter rail report
To the ire of selectmen, a new MBTA consultants report builds a case for extension of commuter rail from the Walpole Center station to the Kraft properties around the Patriots stadium in Foxboro.
At their meeting Sept. 7, selectmen said Walpole and their board were disregarded as the MBTA plan firmed over the year. Of particular worry, selectmen said, is the possibility that as part of the Foxboro project, the T would attempt to convert the former Bird Machine property, idle for years, into a layover facility for trains on the Franklin-Walpole-Boston line. Selectman Cliff Snuffer expressed concern that a facility would mean diesel locomotives idling throughout the South Walpole night.
Board members said they believe that the impetus for the project -- estimated to cost $84 million -- comes from the plan to create 1.5 million square feet of biotech and other medical space on land controlled by the Patriots-owning Krafts that extends to the Walpole town line. Snuffer said that the state should reject the rail plan, just as it dropped its proposal to use federal stimulus money to build a pedestrian walkway over Route 1 between the stadium and other Kraft property. (The walkway idea was dropped because of federal objections.)
Selectmen noted that Walpole would end up with the danger, pollution, noise and maybe a layover facility while the Krafts and Foxboro gain the benefits but escape adverse impacts.
The board voted to send an angry letter to the state and indicated it will schedule a community meeting at the Boyden school to discuss the situation.
Bird Machine
Selectman Snuffer mentioned at the end of the Aug. 10 board meeting he's heard unofficially that Baker Hughes, owner of the former Bird Machine property in South Walpole, might be interested in turning much of the land over to the town for conservation or restricting it by deed for that purpose. Here's a link to a long-dormant page on the town website about the cleanup and reuse of the property.
Nov. 16: Route 1A project
Selectmen voted Nov. 16 to take over Route 1A between East Street and the Norwood line from the state in return for state reconstruction of that stretch, including sidewalks and new traffic signals.
The town would be responsible for maintenance and snowplowing once the state's $11.6 million reconstruction job is complete.
Consultants for the state told selectmen at the Nov. 16 meeting that the work would take two construction seasons. Town Administrator Michael Boynton noted that it might be another two or three years before work begins, given the number of similar jobs statewide awaiting funding.
The arrangement for a state-paid project followed by town ownership has been pretty much in place for years. Boynton told selectmen that the state is now insisting that any community that wants a highway in Route 1A's category rebuilt, the city or town has to agree to take it over after the state pays for reconstruction.
As part of process routine, the state's consultants outlined an alternative project that would cost $10 million and leave the highway in state ownership. One major difference is that the less expensive project would not remove an early concrete roadway under the existing tar overlay, making eventual cracking and other problems likely. Another major difference, Boynton pointed out: the state would never get around to building the $10 million project.
Walpole's quest to get the state to rebuild the deteriorating Route 1A (Main Street) and update its design goes back at least to the early 1990s. While a start of work is still years away, the selectmen's vote coupled with the detailed report presented to them by state consultants mark a milestone. In addition, getting the northern segment set is essential to moving forward on Route 1A south to Norfolk, Boynton said.
Consultants from Green International Affiliates said they could quickly transform their preliminary work into a report marking 25 percent completion of the project's design. Public hearings are mandated at the 25 and 75 percent stages; in addition, Boynton said, the town would provide for a constant flow of information and input.
The project will include a new Neponset River bridge and better visibility at the Kendall Street intersection. There'll be six-foot wide sidewalks on both sides except north of Bullard Street.
A new traffic signal system -- North Street, Stop & Shop, Gould, Fisher and Bullard -- will be synchronized.
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