News

East Milton-Lower Mills pipeline contract award expected this month

from The Dorchester Reporter

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority is expected to award a bid for a water pipe replacement and rehabilitation project spanning from Milton to Lower Mills at its Dec. 16 board meeting.

The cost of the project, which will include the replacement of 9,200 feet of water pipe from East Milton Square to Lower Mills, has been put at about $20 million with a 3-1/2-year completion schedule, said MWRA spokeswoman Ria Convery. Depending on the weather, work could begin as early as February, she said. (Read the full story here.)

Bill White; Milton selectman ran Chevrolet dealership; 83

from the Boston Globe

Bill White was already a seasoned veteran of local politics on Nov. 7, 1960, as the biggest night of his political life unfolded in the old Boston Garden. He first ran for Town Meeting in Milton at 21, and by his early 30s was known as a Democrat who could rally voters behind candidates and causes.

His job was running the stage at the Garden, where John F. Kennedy was giving a speech the night before he was elected president, and 20,000 people had shouldered into a building designed to accommodate 13,000. (Read the full story here.)

Meeting Notes: School Committee 12.08.09 – Bierne Lovely to retire at end of term

It was at the end of last night’s School Committee meeting that Bierne Lovely announced he would be retiring from the School Committee at the end of his current term. He expressed the need for new blood and hoped to see residents step up to run for the open seat in the spring.

That was one of two important statements Mr. Lovely made. The other was that the schools will face “very significant cuts in level of service.” given the current and projected financial health of the town. He was echoing a summation from Mary Kelly who is on the Finance subcommittee. She said that the situation could be “as dire this year as last year if not more.” And that “we are in very dire straights for FY11. [It is] not going to be a pleasant experience.”

These comments came at the end of a discussion of finances. At issue is the lack of a firm number. The Warrant Committee was looking for schools to cut approximately $440,000 in anticipation of 9C cuts. However, as member Glenn Pavlicek said, the Warrant Committee has been advised by Town Counsel not to create a budget based on a projected cut. “Choosing a number is not going to fly,” Pavlicek said.

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South Shore voters back Coakley, Brown – Milton has relatively high turn out

The Patriot Ledger reports this morning that Coakley and Brown were their respective parties top vote getters down here on the south shore. on the Democratic ticket, Coakley received more than double the number of votes of her closest rival, Rep. Michael Capuano. On the Republican side, Scott Brown practically swept Jack E. Robinson which is surprising given Robinson is from Duxbury.

Milton had the highest voter turnout of all south shore towns, 34%, according to the Ledger. You can read the full story here.

First snow!

Good morning! And what a good morning it is!

Here are some shots we took earlier this morning on a quick walk in town. What is it about the season’s first snow that makes us feel young?

We welcome and encourage readers to submit their pictures of the snow or anything else Milton. Please send submissions to editor@mytownmatters.com

There are a number of holiday events today. The cub scouts are holding a wreath sale down by the Citgo station on Canton Ave and there is a holiday concert at the library at 3:00pm. You can learn more here. Have a great day!

Click on an image for a larger view.

Milton’s political wallet is big

A story in today’s Boston Globe discusses the financial contributions various towns on the south shore have made to the different candidates for US Senate.

Milton is one of three communities that appears in the top five lists of not one but three of the four democratic candidates! Whoa. Coakley reportedly raised $45,000 followed by Capauano with $20,000 and Khazei with about $8,000.

You can read the full story here.

Planning Board post Temple Shalom article for upcoming Town Meeting

The Planning oard has posted the full text of the article they recently voted 4-1 to submit to the Board of Selectmen for inclusion in the Warrant for the Special Town Meeting currently scheduled of February 22, 2010. The temple is seeking to redevelop the property. The current structure is one they no longer need nor can support. It has become a financial burden. Their hope is to stay on the location in a smaller temple and have the remaining lot commercially developed.  You can read a series of posts on this issue here.

The article begins:

Article ________. To see if the Town will vote to amend Section 10 of the General Bylaws, known as the Zoning Bylaws, by adding the following Subsection L to Section III:
L. Institutional/Commercial Development
In a Residence C district on a lot which has at least 500 feet of frontage on a state highway, which contains at least 150,000 square feet, and which contains tax-exempt uses in a building deemed too large for its uses, the Planning Board may grant a special permit for an institutional/commercial planned unit development (“Institutional/Commercial Development”) for a building to contain a tax exempt use or tax-exempt uses and for two buildings to contain certain commercial uses upon satisfaction of all requirements specified in this subsection and upon such other requirements, terms and conditions deemed necessary or appropriate by the Planning Board as specified in the special permit.

You can find the full text here.

Planning Board vote 4-1 to submit Temple Shalom zoning article

After months of discussions, deliberations, and debate that at times was quite contentious, the Planning Board last night voted 4-1 to submit an article to the Board of Selectmen for inclusion in the Warrant to be put forward at a Special Town Meeting currently scheduled for February 22nd.

The article requests the town to allow the zoning bylaws to be amended to permit construction of a new temple along along with two buildings to contain commercial uses. These are likely a CVS and food market.

Board member Ed Duffy was the lone dissenting vote. Member Bernie Lynch requested confirmation that a “yes” vote was only to submit the article for the warrant and not a recommendation for adoption. The board confirmed that was the case.

The article as submitted contained the edits and revisions recommended the previous evening. The most notable of which was the inclusion of a property value analysis, which reads:

A reliable analysis as to the effect that the development, at the one-year anniversary of the completion of construction, will have had on real estate property values of real property within 500 feet of a lot line of the develpment. In the event that the analysis projects a decrease of real estate property values attributable to the development of this date, measures to mitigate this impact shall be included in the analysis.

[note: You can find the full text of the Planning Board’s article here.]

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