Selectmen agree on SEC info campaign
Published on December 3rd, 2003
Responding to a public relations blitz by opponents of the Stoneham Executive Center (SEC), the town's Board of Selectmen agreed unanimously last Tuesday night to launch their own campaign in support of the office park development.
Included in their pro-SEC movement, the Board of Selectmen will send a letter of support for the development to each of the town's citizens and hold a public hearing this Wednesday night at 7 pm in Town Hall.
"I invited the Mayor of Melrose and everybody else to come to Stoneham so we can state our case. I just want the people of Stoneham to come out and say, we want this project and it's not about traffic. We deal with traffic everyday when people from Melrose cut through our town to get to Route 93," said Selectman Charlie Smith of the meeting.
Although Smith favored holding another public hearing on the development, Gutierrez Company attorney Charlie Houghton and the rest of the Selectmen didn't support the idea.
"We've already had numerous public hearings. I don't know what it's going to accomplish by having the same people saying the same things," said Houghton.
While Wednesday's public hearing lacked the support of most board members, all four members (Selectman Bob Sweeney was absent) agreed that something needed to be done to counter the SEC opposition.
"We've got to do something. We've got to fight for this project in Stoneham. It means more jobs. It means more taxes...And just for the record, I think most of the opposition lives in Melrose and Medford. If they live in Melrose, let them stay in Melrose. They're not getting a piece of the pie, that's what it amounts to," remarked Selectman Cosmo Ciccarello.
Responding to the need to do something, Selectman Tony Kennedy suggested that the board send a letter of support for the SEC project to each of the town's 22,000 residents.
"They've accommodated the project to fit the surroundings even better each time [they send an environmental impact report] and we're hoping this time the state will give it's blessing. I'm hoping the Board of Selectmen will realize, and I think they do, that this project is important for Stoneham. So I'd like to ask that we draft a letter of support," explained Kennedy.
Kennedy went on to explain that the Gutierrez Company would pay for the postage costs of the letter and assured the audience that doing so was not a conflict of interest.
"I realize that some people think that there would be a conflict of interest with us teaming up with the developer, so we had Town Counsel call the Ethics Commission and they said it will be alright," said Kennedy.
Stoneham Arena
The Board of Selectmen also revisited their decision to reorganize the Stoneham Arena within the town and how that goal will be accomplished.
Although Town Administrator David Berry is still unclear as to how the Arena will be reorganized, he will put together another committee consisting of Sweeney, Smith, and Arena Oversight Committee member Eric Ruben, among other members.
After a member of Stoneham Youth Hockey requested that the group be represented on the committee, Ciccarello successfully lobbied to have a member of the Stoneham Figure Skating Club, the high school, and Stoneham Youth Hockey placed on the reorganization committee.
"If we're going to reorganize, we should have imput from everybody," said Ciccarello.
Water Rates
Claiming that revenues from water usage will be less than projected, Berry also announced that the town's water rates will need to be increased in the coming months.
"The usage of water that was projected for this fiscal year was down significantly, so this means the revenues for the water are down. The longer we wait the worse it's going to be. We're talking about the need to increase the water rate 75 cents per unit of dosage," explained Berry.
While Berry had hoped that the board would commit to raising the water rates as soon as possible, Ciccarello successfully argued that a public hearing should be held for any fee increase.
Hillside Road Development
The Selectmen approved a site-plan for a 24-unit apartment complex at the gated Hillside Garden Complex at the intersections of Hillside Road and Hill Street.
According to Houghton, who represents the complex's owner Anthony Franchi, the addition marks the last stage of the development, which already contains approximately 200 units.
With Houghton detailing a Fire Department access road that will bar unauthorized vehicles from entering the complex and assuring neighbors that the building will not be assessable from Hillside Road, the Selectmen unanimously approved the site-plan.
148 Franklin Street
With Stoneham resident John Degeorge claiming that his property was not restored to its original condition after the town dug up his lawn to place a new drain, the town's Selectmen argued over who should incur the costs of the repairs.
"I walked the site and he's still waiting for three or four inches of dirt in-between the front of his house and the back of his house on the side," said Pecoraro.
However, Pecoraro, Ciccarello, and Berry all agreed that the town shouldn't be held responsible for the repairs and that Degeorge should take up the issue with the contractor.
"It's our belief that we fulfilled our commitment and the issues he has are with the contractor. He worked with them [the contractor] to make changes to his yard that were separate from the drainage issues," said Berry.
Disputing the claims of other board members, Smith argued the town had an obligation to return Degeorge's land back to its original condition.
"We hired the contractor. We have to put his land back the way it was. Everybody else who had it done, had walls put back up and their grass is now growing," Smith commented.
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