MDC hockey arena plan criticized by neighbors, critiqued by legislators
Published on April 26th, 2000
STONEHAM, MA - "Impact without benefit" is how Attorney Stephen Cicatelli describes the Metropolitan District Commission's proposal to lease a 15-acre parcel of its land to private investors planning to build an ice hockey arena in Stoneham.
Cicatelli grew up on Camp-bell Road in Stoneham. He is representing, pro bono, a group of citizens protesting the proposed MDC lease of land to a group of investors including former Boston Bruin Ray Bourque.
The Bourque Group would like to build the arena off Pond Street, northeast of the Stone Zoo, where the MDC Central Services garage sits. (No new location for the garage has been mentioned.) Balfour confirmed that the group is interested in a 30-year lease.
"We want to establish this type of public-private partnership; it is the wave of the future for our rinks," MDC Commissioner Dave Balfour said.
He said the town would get "turnbacks" such as discounted ice time and locker room space. Neither Balfour nor legislators have intimated that this could be a tax money-maker for the town.
Representative Mike Festa (D-35th Middlesex) said legislators are waiting to see a draft of legislation needed to allow the public-private partnership Balfour envisions.
"I am behind the concept," Festa said. "But I can't say we (state legislators) would support anything without first seeing the details and implications."
Cicatelli said a private sale or lease of MDC property could "open the floodgates" on the release of long-protected green space.
"A third of Stoneham is (undeveloped) MDC land," Cicatelli said. "The town has to be concerned about the consequences of selling it off to private investors."
Balfour said he didn't see the hockey arena as the beginning of a slippery slope.
"We are very cautious with open space," Balfour said. "Our goal is to get more, not less." He cited the Cellucci administration's record of acquiring 100,000 square acres of protected land.
Festa identified several possible benefits to Stoneham citizens:
"We could take the cost of building and maintaining the facility off the backs of the taxpayers and still maintain the public value of the rink," Festa said.
Cicatelli said his group is worried about traffic safety, noise and destruction of wetlands.
"We have a large group of supporters from all around Stoneham," Cicatelli said.
Festa said his office has received many confused calls about the MDC project.
"The main problem is no one knows what's going on," Cicatelli said. "Since this is state land they haven't had to deal with local zoning or a site plan."
Selectmen Darin Leahy agreed that the town must be more involved.
"This project is in Stoneham, and the MDC and our legislators should involve the selectmen and neighbors in the process," Leahy said.
Leahy, Selectmen Chairman Pat Jordan and Festa are on a sub-committee of the board charged with monitoring the rinks situation, but the selectmen said they had heard little new information.
"We haven't even begun environmental testing yet," Balfour said. He promised to work "hand in hand with the community in an open process."
Several months back project abutters were angered by a meeting posted on a Thursday night and held on a Saturday morning.
Balfour said the meeting included selectmen. He added that the only thing the MDC has done so far is to survey the land, which he walked with town officials during that Saturday meeting.
"I personally attended meetings for Spot Pond," Balfour said. "And I'll do the same for this project at the Botume and on the site."
But no MDC representative attended the Tuesday, May 25, meeting of the Stoneham Board of Selectmen.
Festa defended the MDC's absence, saying that it does not make sense to have a public hearing "before any details are final."
According to both Balfour and Festa, the legislation is not complete and design plans for the arena have not yet been created.
Festa remained optimistic that compromise can be reached, but Cicatelli was uncertain.
"A lot of the constituents don't want this," Cicatelli said. "I hope our representatives will listen."
The 4/25 meeting
Cicatelli presented a petition with 323 signatures from citizens opposed to being left out of the process.
A Pond Street man was worried about traffic. Others, including Edith Previdi of Elmhurst Road and Bee Russo of North Street, feared the loss of green space.
"There is absolutely no way we would allow a project to go forward without the full knowledge and involvement of the neighbors and the town," Festa said.
He, State Representative Paul Casey (D-34th Middlesex) and State Senator Richard Tisei (R-3rd Middlesex) all said they had never seen a draft of legislation or any construction or design plans.
Pond Street neighborhood resident Robert McCormack said he had seen drawings. He said Balfour told the neighbors that the MDC wanted to put two rinks and maybe a sports fitness center and a sports museum on the site. McCormack also said Balfour knows Bourque.
"I wonder if he (Balfour) is telling you the same thing he tells us," McCormack said.
Cicatelli said the neighbors felt as if Balfour were telling them the way it was going to be.
"He cannot act without us (state legislators)," Tisei said. "...I will take my cue from the selectmen and community."
Balfour has the support of Governor A. Paul Cellucci; the bill to allow the lease will be filed from the Governor's Office. But Casey said he has never seen a bill affecting a community and opposed by all the legislators from the community jammed down the throats of the people.
In theory legislation could be passed allowing the lease and the project could move forward even if every person in town opposed it. But since everyone involved is a politician, Stoneham's legislators agreed, the scenario is not likely.
"I know David, and he is too good a politician to do something like that," Festa said.
Selectmen Al Conti said the last word he heard on the project was that the Commissioner would contact the selectmen after soil testing results returned. In a separate interview, Balfour said the testing has not begun.
The MDC and friends may know what they want, but no documents exist in the public realm for people to criticize or critique.
So the selectmen, the legislators and the townspeople are waiting to hear what's next.
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