Preface to 05.09 Town Meeting

It starts tonight. Town Meeting will convene at 7:30pm this evening to take up the articles in the Town Warrant which was recently published and mailed to Milton residents. Town Meeting will continue Tuesday and Thursday of this week and Monday, Tuesday and Thursday of next week as well if needed.

The issue front and center will be the town budget. The Warrant Committee is actually presenting two budgets. One is a FY10 budget based on the amount of revenues that can be expected without an override. The Board of Assessors have advised that the FY10 budget will increase the property tax rate from $11.74 to $12.35.

After discussions with town departments on the impact a budget of that size would have; the conclusion of the Warrant Committee was: it’s not enough. Hence, the need to develop a second budget contingent on the passage of a Prop 2 1/2 override. The Warrant Committee is recommending that Town Meeting adopt a contingent budget that would result in an increase from $11.74 to $13.08.

Tom Hurley, Chairman of the Warrant Committee writes in his report regarding the recommendation, “we do not do so lightly and we are mindful of the impact that it will have upon the Town’s taxpayers, particularly in these difficult times.” He goes on to note that the contingent budget “does not provide level services it simply restores some of the services the town would lose under the balanced budget to allow us to get through FY10 without tremendous pain.”

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Poetry slam is ‘an act of love’ for Samantha Revelus

from The Patriot Ledger

The death of Samantha “Princesse” Revelus in March rocked the Milton community. Police said Samantha, 17, was killed by her brother, Kerby Revelus, 23, . . . Those close to “Princesse,” as her friends called her, were left without the bubbly teenager. And for the students who make up the school’s poetry club, it was like losing a member of their family, as they were deep into preparations for the annual poetry jam. (read the full story here.)

Cyclists race in the third Blue Hills Classic

Yesterday saw a whirlwind of cyclists flying through the Blue Hills reservation. They rolled donw Rt 138, soared down Canton Ave. then fought their way up Unquity Road on 7.2 mile loop. The Master’s race was won by former national champion Mark McCormack. Here are some pictures from the event.

04.26.09 – The Week That Was: comings and goings, school cuts spelled out, and a pond gets buffed

A weekly recap of key events and items of interest to the Milton community:

Comings and goings

The town had an election and now we have a new Treasurer, James McAuliffe. He waged a good campaign against two worthy adversaries, Charlie McCarthy and Janet Lorden. Gunning was re-elected Assessor despite failing to appear for either debate. Affanato won Park Commissioner, and Andrea Gordon was re-elected as Library Trustee along with Brendan McLaughlin and Barbara Mason. Lee Carey was elected to the housing authority.

Our long serving Town Treasurer has left. Kevin Sorgi was celebrated Friday night for his 28 years of service. Many people had many kind things to say. You can read some of them here.

We also have a new Fire Chief. Brian Linehan, a long serving deputy in the fire department was appointed by the selectmen to replace Malcolm Larsen who will retire in June.

And while he is hardly a new face, John Shields will the the chairman of the Board of Selectmen.

School cuts

The School Administration did two things this past week. They developed a plan to meet the constraints of a non-contingent budget and they communicated that plan to the public ably. Superintendent Gormley made a presenation to the School Committee early in the week that detailed the 45.5 heads that would be cut and where as well as plans for how to manage the French Immersion program The presentation was made pubic. You can find it here. Ms. Gormley also summarized the presentation in a letter to parents, also made public. You can view the letter here. And the Administration together with the School Committee held an open forum for parents and residents to voice concerns and ask questions. Whether the cuts will be required is to be determined. The next chapter will be written this week at Town Meeting.

A pond gets buffed

Members of the Pope’s Pond Neighborhood Association celebrated Green Day and filled up a significant number of trash bags in the process. You can view pictures of their efforts here.

FrankTalk: Brian Kelly tells it like it is

MyTownMatters Commentary

by Frank Schroth

Finally someone tells it like it is.

Last Thursday we attended the open forum hosted by the Milton School Administration and School Committee.

The forum was held to provide parents and concerned citizens an opportunity to speak and ask questions regarding the steps the school will take if an override fails and they are forced to meet a non-contingent budget.

In short, the school will cut 45 head count system wide, class sizes will on average swell to 30 or more, the high school’s accreditation could be at risk, and logistical challenges will arise in attempts to manage French Immersion across the 4 elementary schools that have to stay open.

Not surprisingly, parents who attended the forum were upset at the implications. A range of concerns were voiced: parents questioned if learning can possibly take place in a class that has more than thirty students; some questioned the value of the French Immersion, some expressed dismay that they had recently moved to town because of the school system program and now look what happened. One parent moved his family to Milton for French Immersion program.

And then Brian Kelly spoke.

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16th Annual Ed Baker Fishing Tournament

16TH ANNUAL ED BAKER FISHING TOURNAMENT

WHEN: Saturday, May 9, 2009: 7am – 11am
WHERE: at Turner’s Pond Milton, MA

Entry fees are $3.00 for youth and $5.00 for adults

**PRIZES
1st Prize (Youth) – 2 Red Sox Tickets donated by Cahill-Davis Group/Milton
1st Prize (Adult) – 2 Red Sox Tickets donated by AA Will Corp

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The Magic of Bonapart to benefit The Village School

Award winning family night fo Magic!

The Magic of Bonapart: Boston’s Hotest Magician. Audiences of all ages will be amazed and astounnded!

Tickets are $10.00 (max of $30 per family) and available at the door. View a preview at Bonapartemagic.com.

For more information email villageschoolevents@gmail.com

WHERE:  Cunningham Hall Milton, MA

WHEN:    Saturday, May 9 @ 11:00am

Walpole 4, Milton 1: Hierarchy in the Herget

from The Daily News Transcript

There are still four weeks to go before the start of the tournament, but if yesterday was any indication the Walpole High baseball team has found its top arm for the postseason.

In a contest featuring two of the three teams that entered the day tied for first in the Bay State Conference Herget Division, sophomore Tommy Ryan struck out 13 and scattered five hits, pitching the Rebels to a 4-1 win over Milton. (read the full story here.)

A few words of praise for a longtime civil servant: Kevin Sorgi

This evening, Friday, May1, there was a dinner to commemorate Kevin Sorgi and his 28 years of service as Town Treasurer and Collector. I took a few minutes to walk around the room at Lantana’s and ask people about Kevin. This is what they said:

“Kevin Sorgi is short in stature but a giant of a human being. Everyone in Milton should help him in his next career.”

Brian Walsh, Town Moderator

“Kevin sorgi is one of the most decent people I know . . .honest, sincere, and a great guy and a guy that was great at that job.  .   . he was not, however,  a great softball player.”

Phil Murphy, attorney and bandleader

“Kevin is and always has been a real gentleman, which explains why, even more than his diligent professional efforts, he consistently was the top vote getter in town.”

Senator Brian A. Joyce

“We’re well rid of him <g >. . . [but] he has been a terrific friend to me and a terrific mentor to me and to the town.”

John Shields, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen

“I enjoy him [Kevin] so much.  .  .his incredible wit and dry sense of humor.”

John Phelan, Asst Superintendent, Milton Public Schools

“He’s very kind and a good listener and he absorbs everything you tell him.”

Eleanor Foster, Milton resident and dear friend

It’s the week end!! Here is a round up of things to do…

Saturday – May 2

Got books? You don’t want that is. Well the Milton Public Library does assuming they are in good shape. From the Friends of the Library: “The Friends will have their first book donation day today , to start filling the shelves of their new bookstore, which is located on the lower level of the Library and accessible by elevator. ” Please no textbooks, condensed books or magazines. The book drop is from 10:00 – 4:00

Green Day – It is green day here in Milton Join your neighbors in cleaning up local parks and public areas. For more information email miltongreenday@gmail.com. Activities begin at 9:00. Need to confirm but likely at Town Hall.

MHS Poetry Jam – Here students read their poetry and perform @ 3:00 in the Milton High School Auditorium. Tickets are $7.00 at the door.

Sunday – May 3

Blue Hills Classic Bicycle Race – The Blue Hills Classic, in its third year, offers racers the opportunity to compete on a challenging 7 mile, rolling rural course for a generous prize pool just a few minutes from Boston. Raced rain or shine, the Blue Hills Classic is now a fixture on the New England spring race calendar. Learn more details here.

Selectmen name Deputy Linehan new Milton Fire Chief

This evening the Board of Selectmen announced that they had unanimously elected Deputy Brian Linehan as Milton’s next Fire Chief. He will replace Malcolm Larsen who is leaving the department in June.

The selectmen acknowledged that they were presented with three fine choices. There were few differences between the candidates and all possessed strong leadership skills; but a decision had to be made. Congratulations Deputy Linehan!

In other business:

  • A member of the Board of Health stated that residents seeking information or concered about the swine flu can call the states 211 number. You can find the MA state dept of health’s web page on swine flu here.
  • Milton will hold Greenday on May 2. Greenday is an opportunity for residents to band together to help clean up the town. For more information, please send an email to miltongreenday@gmail.com
  • Wallace Long spoke to the Selectmen about the possibility of tapping the methan gas in the town dump as a means of offsetting energy costs. Quincy has a similar effort underway at Quary Hills and is receiving approximately 10% of revenue.