Town Notes
Published on June 6th, 2001
STONEHAM, MA - New faces and new places took up much of the selectmen's time at their meeting on Tuesday of last week as they plowed through a variety of issues, some of which are sure to resurface this summer.
Appointments
Two Stoneham residents were appointed to the town's new Chapter 70 Committee. The selectmen named Franklin Street resident Shelly MacNeill and Woodbriar Road resident Laurel Scippa to the committee. Already in place on the committee are Finance and Advisory Board member John Warren and School Committee member David Sheils. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Joseph Connelly is also on the board as an ex-officio member. Two vacancies remain and the selectmen urge those residents interested in securing Stone-ham's fair share of state money to send letters of interest to the Board of Selectman Office at the Town Hall.
Three members of the Town Common Committee were appointed to the new Town Common Oversight Committee. Stephen Born, Domenic Maitino, and Steven McDonough received appointments from the Board of Selectmen to the new committee as did Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Sharon Iovanni.
99 Restaurant
The Selectmen unanimously approved a liquor license for the 99 Restaurant coming to 10 Main Street, at the former site of Denny's Restaurant. The 5,000 square foot building will seat 149 restaurant patrons. That figure includes 15 bar seats. Opening is scheduled for mid to late summer.
Attorney for the petitioner, Charles Houghton, called the restaurant a "dignified establishment," which will "fit in with the character of the community."
Restaurant Manager Dana Doe advised the board of the 99's in-house liquor liability training course required of all employees and assured the board that the company would comply to the town's bylaws.
The 99 Restaurant Corporation is a family owned business which began in 1952 by the Doe family. It currently boasts 60 restaurants throughout New England and is headquartered in Woburn.
Police Chief Search
With Police Chief Eugene Passaro scheduled to retire on Oct. 31, the Selectmen discussed the issue of procuring a replacement.
Selectmen Bob Sweeney and Darin Leahy want to hire from within the Stoneham Police Department ranks. Leahy spoke of the importance for a junior officer to be able to look forward with great expectations for his or her career.
"If we don't promote from within, then what kind of message are we sending to our juniors?"
But Selectman Mary Pecoraro disagreed, stating that for the town to get the perfect candidate, it must "throw a wide net and see what you get."
She pointed out that Passaro came to Stoneham from outside the Stoneham department and has done a fabulous job for the town.
"That's not to say the perfect candidate is not here in Stoneham," she added.
Passaro put his two cents in and stated that if the search was directed state-wide or even nationally, the IACP (International Association of Police Chiefs) could be very helpful in facilitating the process that he warned could be quite lengthy.
However, he also pointed out that there are suitable people in the Stoneham department worthy of consideration.
"One of the jobs of a Police Chief is to train someone to take his position," said Passaro.
He continued, "I stated from the first day I came to Stoneham, I wanted everybody to want my job because if you want my job, you're going to do better at your job and you're going to make me look better."
Recently several surrounding communities have appointed new Police Chiefs from among their ranks including the towns of Wilmington and Reading.
Of utmost importance, according to the Chief, is to get the process started. The town has essentially four months to find someone if it wants to give the new person about a month overlap with Passaro before he leaves.
"I want to see Stoneham with the best we can get...because I plan on staying in Stoneham."
The Town Administrator, whoever that may be, (see separate story on the status of that search) makes the appointment.
Selectmen Reject Taxpayer Fee
In a united voice, the Selectmen made it clear that taxpayers should not bear the financial burden of disposing of certain items in their trash, as proposed by the Public Works Director Robert Grover.
Grover had asked the selectmen to consider instituting a charge to residents disposing of large such items as air conditioners, refrigerators, televisions, and computers. The fee would have ranged from $8 to $10 per item.
"I'm against it...We pay enough taxes," said selectman Cosmo Ciccarello.
According to Ciccarello, the town, at one time, scheduled two pick-ups of such items per year. That was eventually cut down to one, and now no such pick-ups are made.
"Now you want to charge them for bringing it down (to the Stevens Street recycling center)!"
With the vote, the town will continue to bear the cost of disposal, on average about $7,500 per year.
DeGeorge's Concerns
Franklin Street resident John DeGeorge expressed his dismay to The Stoneham Independent when two letters he wrote to the Board of Selectmen were not mentioned at Tuesday's meeting, despite being included in the selectmen's packet.
The letters, which were reprinted in last week's edition of The Stoneham Independent, concerned two Town Meeting articles he sponsored last month. One pertained to the appointment process of a Town Administrator and the other concerned a proposed change to the Town Meeting process.
DeGeorge pointed out that the Board of Selectmen encourages residents who want to bring up an issue or get on the agenda to submit concerns in writing to its office. Yet DeGeorge stated that when his letters were not acknowledged, no mention of them could be made in meeting minutes and therefore "they lose traceability."
"These issues ... die on the vine."
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