Selectmen grapple over arena choice
Published on October 8th, 2003
STONEHAM, MA - The ironclad decision by Town Administrator Dave Berry to award the three-year Stoneham Arena management contract to Facilities Management Corporation (FMC) may not be a done deal after all.
Town Counsel Bill Solomon is looking into possible discrepancies between the Town Administrator Act and the RFP agreement between the Town and FMC.
According to Stoneham Youth Hockey spokesman Charles Houghton, the three-year pact is in direct contradiction to the Sec. 10 (h) of the Town Administrator Act. According to the act, "The town administrator shall have jurisdiction over the leasing, rental, and use of all town land and buildings...agreements, including leases and rentals, for the use of town owned land and buildings under the control of the town administrator shall not exceed twelve months and shall not be extended or renewed without a vote of town meeting."
At the heart of the argument is the interpretation of the wording "agreements, including leases and rentals."
"Read it slowly Bill," said Stoneham Selectman Cosmo Ciccarello. "To me, that reads that any agreement involving town land is subject to town meeting approval every twelve months."
According to Houghton, any Stoneham decision ultimately awarding a three-year contract to FMC could end in litigation because the wording states that any agreement concerning town land-usage must be a yearly, town meeting-approved contract.
"I'll have to talk it over with the other Stoneham Youth Hockey people, but I know what I want to do," said Houghton about challenging the contract in court.
"As a spokesperson for Stoneham Youth Hockey I'm disappointed with the decision," added Houghton. "As a taxpayer, I'm sick to my stomach. When we got involved in this, it was to save the rink from getting into outside hands."
"Once we give it (the arena) away, all that money goes into the profits of someone else's pockets," added Houghton, who estimated that Reading's Burbank Arena makes $200,000 a year. "Not only was the selection process geared toward FMC, but nobody did any homework on how much money other arenas in the area make."
Solomon maintained that the FMC management contract was probably something "between a lease agreement and a management contract", and the question was whether the use of the land was defined prior to RFP process.
"There are factors to bear in deciding what category is closest to, as I believe it falls in between, but doesn't belong to, both categories," said Solomon. "I think the key is that a lease agreement allows the lessee to determine the use of the property, while in a management contract the use has already been determined."
Solomon determined that he would take the next two weeks, and form an opinion on whether the proposed contract between FMC and the Town of Stoneham is valid.
Berry contended that he had consulted with Solomon over that very issue, but Solomon claimed that he never gave an official opinion on the legality of the contract, with respect to the Town Administrator's Act.
"I spoke with Bill about that long ago," said Berry. "Regardless of the language in the RFP, it's not a lease but a management contract. Unless he (Solomon) changes his mind, that's the way I understand the RFP."
Town Administrator Dave Berry filed an award letter with FMC days after the public hearing, after notifying the Board of Selectmen that he was sticking to his original choice of FMC.
The Selectmen voted 4-1 (Charlie Smith voted against) to "strongly recommend" that Berry award Stoneham Youth Hockey with the arena management contract.
"I'm very disappointed with the decision," said Ciccarello,. "He had a mandate from four members of the board, it wasn't even 3-2."
"We all spoke very strongly, and everyone knows how I feel, whether it's an appointment or a management contract, about taking care of Stoneham people," added Ciccarello. "If you can make money all well and good, but it's for the children of Stoneham and we (the taxpayers) pay for it."
Ciccarello said that Berry's decision is one of several choices that have fractured the relationship between the Board and the Town Administrator.
"To tell you the truth, I'm not too happy with him, and he's made quite a few mistakes," said Ciccarello alluding also to the Mike Rotondi/Town Meeting imbroglio.
In a public hearing on the arena decision two weeks ago, Stoneham Youth Hockey players, parents and officials expressed their desire to take over the management reins at the dilapidated arena.
Berry vowed to "think about the decision", but days later decided to stand firm in his decision.
"There's always a concern (about making an unpopular decision not endorsed by the Selectmen)," said Berry. "But I have to make those decisions, and some of them are tough ones."
Board of Selectmen Chairperson Mary Pecoraro, during the meeting, stepped down from her post, and moved that the Board of Selectmen vote to "strongly disagree with the Town Administrator's decision of FMC."
"I am deeply concerned that the Board of Selectmen and the Town Administrator aren't in agreement on this," said Pecoraro. "I would just like a vote on the record illustrating this."
Ciccarello and Pecoraro both voted in favor of the motion, while Charlie Smith and Anthony Kennedy voted against the motion feeling "that they had already made this vote at the last Board of Selectmen meeting."
Bob Sweeney abstained from the vote, and said that "he wasn't going to vote on the same motion twice."
"The one thing I am concerned about is that this (possible conflict with the TA's act) wasn't addressed before a decision was made to award this contract to FMC," said Swe-eney. "This stuff seems to happen time and time again around here, and it's really getting embarrassing."
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