Town Notes
Published on August 22nd, 2001
STONEHAM, MA - Police chief search
Acting Town Administrator Ron Florino says Stoneham should have a new police chief by the first week in October.
The search committee looking through 42 resumes for Police Chief Gene Passaro’s successor includes Passaro, Melrose Police Chief Rick Smith, Personnel Director Betty Luciano and incoming Town Administrator David Berry.
Four resumes are from Stoneham residents, two are from within the Stoneham Police Department — Lts. Gregory O’Keefe and Joseph Del Rossi. Thirteen are from out of state.
The committee must fill the post before Passaro retires at the end of October. The members met last Friday and will meet again this Friday to cut the list of applicants to around 10. Florino said meetings will be open to the public as of the semi-final stage.
“I think the first round of interviews will take place the week the new TA starts,” Florino said. David Berry takes over the first full week in September.
“Finding the new chief will be one of Mr. Berry’s top priorities,” Florino said.
Schools may alter opening
The School Department is scrambling to realign bus schedules affected by the delayed opening of the new Central School.
Alexandra Construction won’t complete the Pomeworth Street elementary school in time for the Sept. 6 start of the school year. Superintendent Connelly and his troops have been in meetings all week going over the options: restaggering openings or reorganizing the temporary school assignments announced last week.
The School Department must consider the feelings of parents and teachers and the cost of packing and unpacking school supplies.
Final school opening plans are on the agenda of the Aug. 23 School Committee meeting.
Town Meeting update
Selectmen will announce the date of the October Town Meeting and set the open and close dates for the warrant at their Aug. 28 meeting.
Florino has sent a letter to department heads to see if any budget shortfalls or surpluses exist. Town Meeting will decide how to spend any free cash. As usual the town will ask for $150,000 to repair sidewalks and another $100-150,000 for drainage.
“Paying off our short term debt for school technology and books may be difficult,” Florino said.
But excise tax revenue and income earning are both greater than projected.
Florino said town officials won’t know what they can ask for until the final receipts and charges are certified by the Department of Revenue in September.
Gutierrez update
The Gutierrez Company will not begin construction on the former hospital campus on Woodland Road until next spring at the earliest, according to reports in a Boston trade magazine.
The draft environmental impact report prepared by Gutierrez’s engineers is under review — see Senator Tisei’s letter on page 4 for his perspective.
The project means millions in potential tax revenue for Stoneham, but it has faced strong opposition from some Stoneham residents as well as citizens and officials in neighboring communities in the form of lawsuits and legislation.
Gutierrez’s Stoneham attorney Charles Houghton says his clients are in it for the long haul. Arthur Gutierrez says prospective tenants are checking out the property. But many folks wonder how long the company can hold on to its $20 million Stoneham investment.
Middle School feasibility
The School Committee will discuss spending more than $25 million to build a new Middle School on the grounds of the High School at the Aug. 23 meeting.
Mount Vernon Group Architects presented a report to the Committee last week recommending a new building.
According to the firm, renovations to the existing school would cost $25.8 million as opposed to a new building with a “cafetorium” at $25.1 million or an auditorium at $26.5 million. With the state School Building Assistance Bureau’s 63 percent reimbursement, Stoneham would pay $9.6 million for the renovations and $9.2 or $9.8 million for the new building options. These costs may rise over time, the report notes.
The goal of the project is to build a new “program focused” building. Ideally, dedicated science, computer and language labs, for example, would enhance the educational experience of Stoneham students. The School Committee has to decide if now is the time to spend the money.
Open meeting refresher
The District Attorney’s office hosted an Open Meeting Law tutorial for Stoneham officials on Monday night.
Eight Finance Board members, Selectmen Chairman Tony Kennedy and a handful of other town officials, including Elsie Wallace of the Retirement Board and Fire Chief Larry Lamey, attended the evening session at Town Hall.
The meeting was meant as a refresher course for town officials who are charged with keeping the public informed about the workings of government.
One issue discussed is relevant to current Stoneham events. An exception to the Open Meeting Law exists to allow “preliminary employment screening” to occur behind closed doors.
Franklin Street resident John DeGeorge asked about the rules for getting on the agenda of an open meeting.
According to the DA spokesperson, a board chairman can add someone to a meeting’s agenda the night of the meeting, regardless of the posted agenda, at the chairman’s discretion.
To find out more about the Open Meeting Law, contact the Finance Board at 781-279-2631 — they requested the Monday meeting — or call the DA’s office at 1-617-679-6500.
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