At their last session the Selectmen had an animated discussion regarding the Stoughton property. Convening a meeting in their capacity as trustees of the Stoughton land, Mr. Sweeney recounted a recent meeting he had with Town Counsel, Marion McEttrick and others (but not the other Selectmen) in which he expressed his desire to include the animal shelter in the complaint being filed with the Attorney General’s office. Sweeney characterized it as a “procedural matter.” Hurley was blunt, “I completely disagree.”

Hurley cited a number of reasons why. Principal among them was a deep concern that inclusion of the shelter in the complaint would put the entire submission at risk. He raised a number of questions. Who would own the land and building? If it is town land then they need to comply with Chapter 30B which regulates bidding procedures. What will it cost and what will it look like? The Animal League currently has ~$1.5 million in hand. However, earlier construction estimates were for a structure costing ~$2.5 million. Hurley asked where the balance was going to come from. Those unanswered questions result in a “half-baked plan.” Hurley prefers to keep the two events (sale to Pulte and construction of new shelter) segregated. Including what he believes to be an ill-formed concept in the complaint could result in the entire plan being thrown out. “If probate disagrees you are on square one.”

Mr. Sweeney did not directly address Hurley’s concern but reiterated his strong desire to move the plan for the shelter forward. He cited the financial support of the Copeland Foundation and the support of the neighbors as positives. He also said all agreed that the current shelter, the need was pressing and they had waited long enough. He appeared frustrated by any further delay. But Shields agreed with Hurley and said, “a master plan is a lot more than what we have now.”

An additional concern was a clause on the P&S which allows Pulte to request additional land. If they are unable for whatever reason to build what they’ve characterized in P&S they can ask Selectmen for some of the 4 acres that remain under the town’s control.

Sweeney noted that “We are selling most of the land to benefit the poor.” But is was pointed out the primary responsibility is to the trust. The remaining four acres are in that trust.

Marion McEttrick was also present at the meeting and has remained active in the discussions regarding the land as she was a sitting Selectman for most of the time this issue was before the town. She suggested that the selectmen contact the Attorney General’ office to have an informal conversation regarding what they proposed to submit and get a feel for how positively or not that would be received. The Selectmen agreed to have Town Counsel make an informal inquiry of the AG’s office after the selectmen had an opportunity to review with counsel what would be covered.

Other business included but wa not limited to:

• a follow up regarding the issue of Extra Storage removing a slate roof from their building. Jane Gaughan, a resident of 88 Wharf, had raised concerns during Citizens speak at the previous Selectmen’ss meeting. Her concern was altering a buidling that was in an historic area. Extra Space was installing solar panels and she questioned their ability to do that without permission and who the proper authority was for policing that. Town Administrator Kevin Mearn followed up on the issue. He conferred with Registryof Historic Places and tehy stated that if hte solar panels were to be used to obtain a tax credit then they should have been consulted. However, that does not appear to be the case. Extra Storage is using the panels to offset their own energy bills. Given they own the buildng they can make the change.
• Beth Neville, a local artist,and Lynda Lee Sheridan of the 350h committee unveiled the design of a commemorative plate. It is Ms. Neville’s birthday gift to the town. The plate features various historic palces in Milton and is available for purchase at town hall. Ms. Neville designed the plate and has donated a large framed sketch of the design to the Selectmen. The palte is available for purchase fro Town Hall for $45 (or signed for $55 dollars). They are in a limited edition of 2000 and 70 have already been sold. So move quickly! Here is a photo of the design and a close up of words penned by Ms. Neville to honor the birthday. Ms. Sheridan also reviewed upcomng 350th events. You can find more infomation on 350th web site.