Abutters get Atwood Ave. wish granted
Published on September 10th, 2003
STONEHAM, MA - The abutters of Atwood Ave. will have a free and clear shot to present their case at the Oct. 27 Town Meeting as the Board of Selectmen opted not to re-open the bidding process on a town-owned parcel of land in the southern end of Stoneham.
According to Conservation Commission member, Matt Whooley, the commission intends to sponsor an article designed to make the parcel conservation land.
Selectmen spent the bulk of the discussion at Tuesday night's Board of Selectmen meeting deciding on whether to re-open the RFP (request for proposal) process before the October Town Meeting.
Several Selectmen, and Finance and Advisory Board member for that matter, voiced uneasiness about venturing into Town Meeting without a handful of proposals.
If the voters of Stoneham don't grant a 2/3 vote to adopt the 18,000 square foot property as conservation land, the town could be looking at a $150,000 hole in the FY2004 budget. Town Administrator Dave Berry already included the sale of the property and resulting income into Stoneham's budget.
"If Town Meeting votes against making this property conservation land, we could find ourselves behind the eight ball," said Selectman Bob Sweeney.
But Sweeney, along with several other members of the local governing board, also seemed hesitant to accept proposals for land that, theoretically, might never be made available.
"I don't think that it's right that we could go out and have people use all the time and money to create a proposal, and then have the rug pulled out to them at Town Meeting," said Sweeney. "If it's $100 (for assorted fees to submit a proposal) then it's $100...I don't like taking people's money."
Abutters Katherine Moore and Maria Salvaggi both expressed a desire to either donate the land to the Conservation Commission (first option) or have the town accept proposals with a very stringent set of conditions.
"If there's a way to keep from having a building up there, then that's what the neighbors want," said Salvaggi. "If the town says that 'it's 150K and we really need it' I supposed we'd have say OK...but our first option is conservation land."
The Selectmen voted 4-1 to allow Town Counsel, after a short debate, to assist the Conservation Commission in crafting the October Town Meeting Warrant Article. The only voice of dissent was Cosmo Ciccarello, who thought that Town Counsel Bill Solomon should be toiling solely for the Board of Selectmen.
"I believe the way it's always been in Stoneham is that the Town Counsel works for the Board of Selectmen," said Ciccarello. "Not for the School Committee, or the residents of Stoneham, or the Zoning Board of Appeals. If they need a lawyer then let them get their own legal representation."
NSTAR POLES
The Board of Selectmen unanimously approved a pair of work orders from NSTAR to either erect or relocate utility poles in Stoneham. NSTAR plans on placing a stub pole at the end of Coolidge Street to help support the existing utility pole.
According to NSTAR spokesperson Christine Crawford, the pole will be used to replace a Coolidge Street tree that the Town of Stoneham plans on removing.
The second pole, located adjacent to a driveway at 9 Bear Hill Road, was also approved to allow the Bear Hill Road resident better access to his driveway.
According to the resident, NSTAR is moving the pole at the resident's expense, a sum of approximately $3,000.
"I've finally got an answer after calling every week for a year to get this pole removed," said . "While I feel that the cost is a bit excessive, I really need that pole moved."
Board of Selectmen approved the pole changes, but continued to voice their displeasure about the still-abundant double poles inhabiting the streets of Stoneham.
"The northeastern utility companies have really done a terrible job of organizing and updating their inventories of double utility poles," said Town Counsel Bill Solomon.
The Selectmen requested that the NSTAR compile a comprehensive list of double poles in Stoneham to be removed, and gave specific examples of problem areas on Highland Ave. and Everett Street.
"If you give us the locations, we can certainly take a look and remove some of these poles," said Crawford.
Bikepath Lease
The Board of Selectmen voted to accept the bikepath lease agreement with the MBTA that allows Woburn, Winchester and Stoneham to forge ahead with the Tri-Community bikepath.
Selectmen Cosmo Ciccarello and Bob Sweeney continued their staunch opposition to the bikepath, and Ciccarello hinted that Stoneham and Woburn may have different lease agreements with the MBTA.
"According to information that I heard, Woburn has a different agreement that releases them from liability in case of contamination," said Ciccarello. "I think it would be an awful thing for the town if we end up spending millions of dollars to clean up contamination, and we could've had a better deal with the MBTA."
Selectmen Mary Pecoraro and Charlie Smith, both members of the bikepath subcommittee, assured Ciccarello that the lease agreements with Stoneham and Woburn were "part of a boiler plate agreement that the MBTA has with every city and town in the state."
Ciccarello made a motion to instruct Solomon to check into any possible differences in the lease agreement, but the motion was defeated 3-2 as Pecoraro, Smith and Anthony Kennedy voted against the measure.
"We've already been through this a million times...I just want to accept the bikepath and thank Cameron Bain for his hard work, and they're playing political games," said Smith, in rebuttal to Ciccarello and Sweeney's consistent opposition to the bikepath.
"It's not over yet, Charlie" shot back Ciccarello, who also mentioned a potentially dangerous section of the path on Main Street. "I just hope no one dies on that bike path."
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