Town now searching for a new police chief
Published on April 25th, 2007
STONEHAM, MA -Less than a week after naming Joseph Rolli Stoneham's newest Fire Chief, Town Administrator David Ragucci recently formed a second search committee to replace another public safety head.
According to Ragucci, he had again asked Human Resources Director and Benefits Coordinator Betty Luciano to head-up the search for a new police chief, who will replace outgoing force veteran Herb Moore.
Moore, who served as the police dept. head for less than a year, suffered a stroke shortly after replacing long-time Chief Gregory O'Keefe. Police Lt. Rick McCarthy has been named acting Police Chief while a replacement is being located.
In addition to Luciano, Stoneham Police Lt. Jim McIntyre and Reading Police Chief James Cormier will also be on the search committee. Resumes for the opening are due by May 11.
Special Town Meeting
The town's Board of Selectmen unanimously authorized nine new warrant articles that will be considered during a Special Town Meeting within the Annual May Town Meeting.
Selectman Paul Rotondi informed his counterparts that one of the new articles would seek to create a second stabilization account that can only be used to pay for capital repairs.
According to Rotondi, he decided to pitch the creation of a new savings account after speaking to multiple residents about his plan to plug the reported $3.8 million in FY'08 with a $3 million override.
The Selectmen, who have endorsed the "concept" of the former Finance Board and School Committee member's budget blueprint, have not formally placed an override on the ballot.
In addition, while the Selectman's bold proposal specifically returns funding to all programs and positions previously being cut under Town Administrator David Ragucci's budget, neither the Selectmen nor School Committee have agreed that FY'08 spending plan will go before the voters at Town Meeting this May.
"As I went around talking to various people about the override, one of the overriding concerns was how do we protect the stabilization account from being [raided]," Rotondi explained.
"This article...asks us to go for a special act of the legislature to set-up a second stabilization fund for capital equipment," he added. "We would have to agree that a certain percentage gets put into this special fund."
Along with that proposal, the Selectmen also endorsed an addition to the regular Town Meeting's billboard measure, which would rezone portions of land to allow for the signs to be erected along I-93.
Specifically, the newest article seeks to rezone two other spaces for billboard use along I-93 near the Ira Nissan dealership.
Six of the nine warrant articles were indefinitely postponed, either due to a lack of information, or because of opposition from community members.
Plans to sell nearly 10,000 square feet of land behind Brookbridge Road, a thirteen-acre parcel near Sabino Road and Crystal Drive on the Wakefield line, and a six-acre piece of property near Lindenwood Cemetery were all indefinitely postponed due to neighborhood opposition.
Arena roof
Another Special Town Meeting article would also seek to bond up to $500,000 to repair a hole in the Stoneham Arena roof that sprung a leak during a recent rainstorm. The leak resulted in more than a weekend's worth of MIAA tournament hockey games being relocated.
Selectmen Chair George Seibold told his counterparts that he has located a handful of local contractors who will volunteer their services in order to repair a significant leak in the Stoneham Arena ice-rink roof.
With those volunteers, the Chair believed, the actual amount being bonded would really hover closer to $275,000. Because of that discrepancy, the Selectmen held off on voting on the warrant article until a final figure could be determined.
According to the Town Administrator, who first notified the board of the capital need a number of weeks ago, he was originally seeking to have the insurance company pay for the damage, which amounted to an estimated $500,000.
It is unclear of what became of those efforts, although judging by the gratis assistance being sought by local contractors, it appears the insurance company wouldn't budge.
"There is a group of people willing to do the work on the roof at cost," Seibold said of the good Samaritans. "We would just have to pay for the materials."
Johnny's Famous Roast Beef
The Selectmen unanimously agreed that a Main Street restaurant did not need to go through another site plan hearing in order to tack-on three new seats in its dining area.
According to the Selectmen, the owners at 125 Main Street's Johnny's Famous Roast Beef had recently added the new seating at the business, but were reportedly informed by Building Inspector Cheryl Noble that an amendment to the original site plan approval might be necessary.
However, the Selectmen, with correspondence from Noble in hand, agreed that they would waive that requirement and allow the local eatery to proceed without coming back before the board.
"I move that we instruct Town Counsel [Bill Solomon] to send a letter to the Building Inspector saying no future site plan is needed," motioned Selectmen John DePinto.
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